Plan The Race. Race The Plan. - Eugene Marathon 2017

by Jodi

"Plan the race.  Race the Plan."  - Cashier Guy at the Eugene Marathon 2017 Expo

Marathon #8 is in the books: 3:24:26 (7:49 pace)

I started training for the 2017 Eugene Marathon in mid-January using the same plan from the Boston Athletic Association website that I used last year for the Vernonia Marathon.  I took that marathon finish time, factored in my current fitness level and committed to train for a 3:15 (7:26 average pace) finish time at Eugene.  

This pace is very ambitious for me, especially coming off four months of very little tempo or speed work. Hitting the required paces in the first two months of training was really challenging, especially given the fact that it was the wettest winter on record for the state of Oregon.  The sun went into hibernation and it rained almost every day for months.  Since I run outside, I spent the winter feeling like a raisin and rotating my shoes on the heating vent.  It was hard.

The good news is that this training plan works. In spite of the weather and my initial lack of speed, I managed to hit the pace requirements of the training plan day in and day out. Mileage increased week by week, but the paces got easier and easier to achieve. My confidence grew with each successful track workout, tempo run, and long run.

I went into the taper week feeling mentally confident and equipped, but with an exhausted and achy body. My left knee has been bugging me since I fell hard on it last August.  I subconsciously adjust my gait to accommodate for it, so my left hip, then hamstring, then calf got tighter and sorer as marathon training intensified. Normally I would do weekly yoga to help, but marathon training is so time consuming that I let yoga lag this time.  It was a mistake I won’t make again.

My training partner Dawn didn't want to commit to training for a marathon, but she did at least one-third of my hard workouts with me.  Since my hubby was finishing up his dissertation, Dawn decided to be my wingman and come to Eugene with me. She promised to find me with about ten miles to go and run me to the finish. (I thank God every day for a friend like Dawn.) We were at the marathon expo and the Cashier Guy who rang up my purchase said something that stuck with me.

"Plan the race.  Race the plan.”

I loved the faux tattoo.  

At the expo with my Wingman Dawn

This was super cool - everyone's name printed on the banner.  Here's mine.

I had Planned the Race: Train hard. Taper well. Start with the 3:15 pace group and run even splits to the finish.  I also wanted to get on the podium in either my age group or overall Masters category. I was ready to Race the Plan… except my legs still didn’t feel fresh the night before the marathon.  It concerned me, but I chose not to dwell on it.  There was nothing I could do about it with only hours until the start of the race.

Race Morning was the typical mess of nerves and excitement.  It also happened to be an incredibly beautiful day! What a gift after months of rain to have blue skies, sunshine, crisp temperatures, and dry socks and shoes.  Dawn and I walked to the start then found Corral A and the 3:15 pacer with minutes to spare.

just before the race started.

I ran stride for stride with the 3:15 pace group for the first 15 miles.  My cardio effort was right on track – comfortably hard - and the pacer was keeping us on target to finish around 3:14.

I saw my Hood to Coast teammate Ashley at Mile 8.  She came running out to me with a water bottle and so much joy.  Dawn was next at Mile 10, then Tanya and her friends at Mile 12.  Their love and encouragement gave me a huge boost!

Dawn snapped this photo of me as I ran by her at Mile 10.

At Mile 11, the marathon course heads off the streets and onto a lovely trail system. It was at this point in the race that my legs started to tighten up.  Our pacer also kicked it up a notch, taking us from a 7:25-7:30 pace to several miles in the 7:10-7:20 pace.  It felt like a big jump in speed on legs that were acting goofy way too early in a long race.

I started to freak out mentally, but didn’t let myself go very far down the Crazy Road. I told myself,

" You're fine.  Relax your legs.  Adjust your stride.  Fast feet. Strong mind.  Race the plan. Trust your training. You can do this."

I started to pray.  I asked God to give me mental stamina and to help my muscles relax. As I was praying, God brought a song to mind that I love.

"Lord I need you.  Oh I need you.  

Every hour I need you.  

My one defense, my righteousness, oh God how I need you."

The lyrics became the cadence of my feet and the prayer of my heart.  

I let the pace group start to pull away as we climbed the overpass around mile 15, but I’m way too competitive to give up that early.  I told myself, "NO.  Trust your training.  Lean into the suck. Race the plan.”  I had to kick into another gear, but I caught them on the downhill and found my place again in the pack that was dwindling with every mile. 

True to her word, Dawn came running out to meet me at Mile 16.  She was sunshine and joy, encouragement and love.  The comfortability of her friendship gave me permission to lose it mentally for a brief moment.

"Dawn! My legs are so tight.  This has never happened to me before.  I don’t know what to do and I am FREAKING OUT!”

Dawn was a stabilizing force in my fluctuating emotions.  

"Walking won't help.  Slowing down won't help.  Stopping to stretch won't help.  You have to just keep running.  Stop talking and don’t respond to me.  I'll be your voice and your encouragement.  Your job is to run and keep yourself together mentally."

I mean really...  what a friend.

Slowly over the next three miles, the 3:15 pace group slipped away.  My legs were so tight it felt like I was dragging tree stumps down the path.  Everything hurt, especially the bottoms of my feet.  It felt like my shoes were made of concrete and I was just bang, bang, banging my way to a slow and painful finish. It was so hard to stay in the race mentally as I watched all I'd trained for disappear in the distance.  

Dawn kept encouraging me.  She quoted verses from the Bible, gave me practical running tips, and at one point she even sang to me.  Always the nurse, she also kept staring at me to make sure I was looking okay physically.

At Mile 20 my average pace was exactly what I needed for a 3:15 finish time in spite of slowing down each of the previous three miles.  But there were still 6.2 (or 6.43 according to my Garmin) long and brutal miles left in this race. I physically could not maintain my pace. I stopped often to walk briefly, trying to shake my legs out and get my muscles to relax.  With each mile my pace got slower.  

At Mile 23 nausea set in.  I think it's my body's way of saying, "Peace out.  You have pushed me too hard and I'm done,” because I never get nauseous when I’m training and I didn’t switch up my fueling strategy.  Everyone who knows me knows I don’t do vomit.

I briefly considered dropping out of the race.  And then I saw your faces.  YOU - my friends and neighbors - who have encouraged and prayed me through this training cycle.  I knew you were praying for me on race morning.  I couldn't let you down.  I couldn't let myself down.  

I slowed my pace by more than a minute per mile and found a zone where I could continue plodding to the finish and keep the nausea at bay.  The last three miles felt so long. I took a final walking break during mile 24 and then committed to not walk again until I finished the race.

Three women passed me in the last mile. I wanted to chase them, but I had nothing left. It was so irritating.   

Dawn ran me to the Hayward Field entrance then left me to finish on the track by myself. Ashley was at the 100 meter mark, screaming lies at me about looking strong and good. I have a photo to prove she was lying but it made me feel so loved anyway.  I have the BEST friends a girl could ask for.  

See?  She was lying!

I crossed the finish in 3 hours, 24 minutes and 36 seconds (a 7:49 average pace), nine minutes off my goal pace, but still my second fastest marathon finish ever.  This still baffles me given how awful I felt the last nine miles.  And I found out after the fact that I got on the podium for my age group and Overall Masters.  Who would have thought?

My biggest emotion in the moments after crossing the finish line was RELIEF to be done running.  And then came the DISAPPOINTMENT.  I planned the race, but couldn't race the plan.  I had to grieve the death of that dream for a few hours before I could appreciate what I had accomplished and that’s okay.

My Disappointed Face

The marathon is a formidable opponent.  Because of the distance it only takes one factor to alter the outcome.  I think that's why marathoners keep coming back, in spite of the pain. We want to feel like we won our race – like we raced our plan.  I am 0-2 against the Eugene Marathon, but God willing I’ll be back next year to try again.  

The final emotion that I felt strongly, even in the aftermath of a race that wrecked me physically and mentally, was GRATITUDE.  Gratitude for friends like Dawn and Ashley and Tanya who gave up their Sunday to come support me and my dream. Grateful that my body can do stupid hard things.  Grateful for an incredible network of friends who offered prayer and support throughout the training cycle and on race day.  Grateful for a God who knows my name and gives me strength.  To Him be the glory forever and ever.

My Grateful Face

Driving home.

MONSTER COOKIES!  The best pre and post race food.

I hobbled to church the night of the race and guess what song was in the worship set?  Lord I Need You - the exact song God gave me as I raced.  I fought back tears as I let God's personal and intimate love wash over my battered body and renew my soul.  

Friends, Jesus loves you.  Deeply.  Personally.  Intimately.  He is for you.  He is with you.  Even when it includes unplanned detours, Jesus is with you. We Plan our life Race.  But He helps us Race the Plan.   Run on friends...

Official Race Results: 3:24:26. 26.2 miles. 7:49 avg. pace. 

·       263rd of 1,480 overall. 

·       37th of 680 females. 

·       2nd of 94 in my age division. 

·       3rd of 277 female masters.

By the Splits and According to my Garmin: 

3:24:38.  26:43 miles (the course measured long) 7:44 avg. pace

Mile 1: 7:23	Mile 10: 7:27	Mile 19: 8:08
Mile 2: 7:35	Mile 11: 7:20	Mile 20: 8:07
Mile 3: 7:27	Mile 12: 7:13	Mile 21: 8:10
Mile 4: 7:28	Mile 13: 7:18	Mile 22: 8:18
Mile 5: 7:15	Mile 14: 7:17	Mile 23: 8:12
Mile 6: 7:25	Mile 15: 7:23	Mile 24: 9:19
Mile 7: 7:22	Mile 16: 7:16	Mile 25: 8:43
Mile 8: 7:27	Mile 17:  7:22	Mile 26: 8:39
Mile 9: 7:33	Mile 18: 7:50	Mile 26.2 (or 26.43): 8:29

Boston Training Weeks 14 and 15: Shamrock Run and 22 miles

By Carissa

My muscles are sore and my left arch is tight, but I made it.  The past two weeks concluded what my schedule deemed race preparation.  Am I prepared to race?  I sure hope so.  One would think fifteen weeks of training would get me ready.  But the marathon has an uncanny way of humbling every runner.  There’s no guarantee that all this work will translate into a great race.  As a runner we must embrace that uncertainty and be prepared for the lessons we will learn along the way because lessons and growth are what is guaranteed. 

At least I had some new shoes and
Skirt Sports shorts to break in on the treadmill.

Week fourteen started with the treadmill.  Four days later I was still on my treadmill due mainly to the fact that my youngest is three years old and with me 24/7.  As much as the treadmill is a lifesaver, twenty eight miles on the thing drove me a little nuts.  I cut my Thursday run short by two miles because I couldn’t handle another minute on the thing.

Sunday of week fourteen was Portland’s Shamrock Run.  I signed up to run the 15k although I have never run that distance before.  I wasn’t sure what to expect out of the hilly course that climbs up Terwilliger before dropping back down for the finish or an event that hosts 35,000 runners! Lucky for me the race starts were staggered and the 15k started first so I was up against the smallest crowds of the day.  After a warm up I knew I needed one more trip to the bathroom and by the time I was out of the port-o-potty, the race was about to start.  My friend Kelly and I rushed to the start and jumped through an opening in the barricades where the 7-8 minute milers were lined up just before the gun went off.  

I stole the green arm band from my six year old.

The first couple of miles were really crowded.  I forced my way through narrow gaps between people instead of my normal strategy of weaving around racers.  The crowds thinned out by the time I started to make my way up Broadway.  I tried to race at a comfortable pace because I didn’t want to totally burn out on the big climb up Terwilliger.  Once I got to Terwillerger my pace felt good for the climb.  I have the opportunity to run hills frequently so they do not scare me.  This gave me an advantage over many other racers.  I passed people at a steady clip and  felt remarkably well.  All I had to do was get to the Chart House and it was downhill from there.

Official results

Many racers dress festively for this event so I made it my goal to not let someone in a tutu beat me.   Once I reached the downhill, it was bliss.  I was flying and hoped the course wouldn’t level out before the finish.  About two miles from the end of the race I counted seven women in front of me.  I knew having that many women finish right in front of me would be a good ding in my standing so I worked on passing each of them.  By the end of the race I passed all seven!  I came into the finish feeling strong, fast, and ecstatic to be feeling good after such a disappointing last race.  My finish time was 1:04:22.

The following day was a challenge.  My schedule called for a seventeen mile training run on tired muscles.  I know how sore I can be after racing and I wasn’t sure how it would feel.  My answer?  IT WAS SO HARD.  I was really blessed to have Jodi join me for this one.  I love spending long runs catching up with her.  It was the only thing that saved me.

I could tell by six miles that I was fatigued.  By twelve miles I was hungry.  Really hungry.  I had another Gu but my body wanted food.  A hamburger in fact.  Jodi had some raisins/Craisins with her and I ate all of them.  It didn’t hit the spot but it was better than a Gu.  By the grace of God my watch eventually dinged 17 miles.  I made it!  We returned to the small shopping strip where our cars were parked and Jodi joined me as I scarfed down some Mexican food which she said looked like “barf on a plate.”  She cracks me up.

My muscles took some time to recover from that big effort.  It’s no surprise that my speed session that week did not go well.  By the weekend it was time for my last long run and my only 22 miler of the training cycle.  I was intimidated by the thought that this run could feel anything like the one with Jodi. Despite feeling nervous I set off to meet my friend Holly.  Holly and I live a couple of miles apart.  She’s one of my roommates for Boston and though our pace is really compatible we haven’t done much training together.  I’m so glad we could run that last big one together.  We had some climbs and some rolling hills and it was nice to pass the miles catching up with each other.  When I got home I was so excited.  I was heading into the three week taper that comes before the race.

We'd love to hear from you Sole Sisters!  Did you run Shamrock?  Have you ever raced in a tutu?  Have you ever gotten REALLY hungry on a long run?  Do you have experience with racing the day before a long run?

Boston Training Weeks 12 and 13: Up All Night and Revising the Plan

By Carissa

The finish line is in sight.  Ahead are two weeks of hard training and then it will be time to taper.  Weeks twelve and thirteen brought more lessons in training.  Literal, by-the-book, see-the-workout-through-even-if-it-kills-you Carissa made some revisions to the plan and they were good choices.  

The best part about week twelve had nothing to do with running.  For the second year in a row I had the luxury and privilege of attending a Women’s Night of Prayer.  This event went from 11:59PM to 6:00AM.  Last year I was training for a spring marathon as well. It was with trepidation that I ran seventeen miles the morning of the event wondering if I really could stay up all night.  By the grace of God I did and I knew I could do it again this year.  I wasn’t the only one either.  Three of my friends that attended Night of Prayer are also marathon training.  I love that they chose this event over sleep.  The night was food for my soul: worship, prayer, confession, quiet time, girlfriend time.  I came home refueled and refreshed.

My name of God from the night of prayer.
I'm so thankful that He DOES supply all my needs.

I’ve been making a few revisions to the running plan.  I mentioned last time that I didn’t realize when I chose this plan that it would be so much harder than my last training plan.  I continue to suspect that I’m toeing the line with overtraining.  I feel pretty unequipped to make the call but I’m doing my best to be smart and open to revisions.

My first revision was in week twelve.  The day before my 17 mile long run I was supposed to run a race.  It was a Thursday and there was no race for me to run.  In fact I was at home running on my treadmill.  Initially I thought I would run a mock 10k.  I’ve read about runners doing this and it seemed to go well for them.  However, thanks to some wise advice from the Team Athena coach I realized this workout wasn’t the right choice.  Instead I ran a tempo run and it felt like the appropriate level of difficulty.

The next revision came this week for my long run.  As I have mentioned before, the Hal Higdon schedule I followed last spring alternates peak training weeks with recovery weeks.  The Advanced Marathoning schedule has five hard weeks in a row.  This week was the third hard week.  My long run was going to be a tough one: eighteen miles with the last fourteen at marathon pace.  Suffice it to say this run has been taking up a lot of mental space all week.  

I picked up this tank and shirt to get printed with the Team Athena logo.
I will probably be wearing one of these for my race.

On Thursday I came to terms with how tired my body was.  My speed work on Tuesday was a poor showing yet again.  I just can’t rely on my legs for speed lately.  I thought to myself, "I’ve already logged 29 miles this week.  I should just log two more easy runs, use this week as a recovery week and go into the next two hard weeks refreshed."  

The morning after I made the decision to scrap my long run, I planned to run six easy miles.  It was a cool sunny day and it felt great to be outside.  With a full night’s sleep under my belt and no expectations for the run, I set out.  I was less than a quarter mile into my run when I decided I should make it a pace run.  The schedule doesn’t have me running race pace very often. I felt good. Why not take this opportunity to log some miles at race pace?  Six miles became eight.  And eight miles became ten.  I felt great. I could have kept going but I needed to get back home. 

After the workout I felt conflicted.  I thought I was being smart by making the change.  But because the run felt so good, I also felt like I just missed my opportunity for a confidence building, challenging eighteen mile run.  In either case, the benefits remain.  I was happy that ten went so smoothly and I think my legs will feel better going into next week.  Even if I could have run eighteen and have it go well, it doesn’t change the fact that cumulatively it might have done me in.  It’s a hard call to make.  

Try this for a quick lunch: massaged kale (prep ahead), lentils,
avocado and Annie's Goddess dressing

On another note, my pacing is dreadful.  The race pace I wanted to train at was 7:38.  Hitting 7:3X on my pace run would have been great but I couldn’t do it.  Every time I looked at my watch I was up to 30 seconds faster.  If I tried to slow down I would miss the mark and end up being 30 seconds too high.  My overall pace ended up being 7:24.  I hope this isn’t a problem when I’m running Boston.  I am queen of going out too fast at the start.

Do you ever notice your body wants to go a certain pace?  What if your targeted race pace is different than what feels natural?

Boston Training: Weeks 10 and 11

By Carissa

Just like that two more weeks are completed.  I wrapped up the eleventh week of training with a twenty mile run.  I checked the last workout off the second mesocycle (or phase) of my schedule.  The mesocycles I have completed now are endurance and lactate threshold and endurance.  The next two phases will be race preparation (intimidating!!!) and tapering (my favorite.)  The Boston marathon is now seven weeks away.  It finally doesn’t feel so far in the future.  

Top: The whole schedule
Bottom: Mesocycle 2

I like to study my training schedules.  Looking at the big picture or even just the next few weeks helps me wrap my head around what is ahead of me.  It was the process of looking ahead that brought about some anxiety and concern last week.  I looked at the next five weeks of training and saw that they were all 50+ miles a week. It dawned on me how much more demanding this schedule was going to be.  I wasn’t sure I could handle it.

Boston Training Week 6: Confessions of the Overtrained

by Carissa

I have a problem.  I am six weeks into my training plan for Boston and I’m beat.  This week was a recovery week where my mileage dropped down.  In theory it would give my body a chance to recover before I ramp up for the next couple weeks of training.  However, I don’t feel recovered.  I came out of week five with an unhappy calf and foot.  I ran nice and slow this week hoping the aches and pains would go away.  They are better but my body might not be ready for the 50 mile training week that’s up next.  

Six weeks of training all checked off

In addition to my leg not being 100% my schedule is wearing on me.  Last spring I trained for Eugene Marathon using a schedule with the same amount of peak training miles.  It was challenging but doable.  I ran but I didn’t do any cross training.  I didn’t do core work.  I didn’t do weight training.  I know these things are important for running strong but I did not feel like I could squeeze them in.  

After the marathon I finally established the habit of strengthening my core. I added strength training twice a week.  I added swimming twice a week.  Six weeks ago I added a marathon training schedule from the book Advanced Marathoning.  I tried for several weeks to keep up with it all.  I added too much.

Boston Training Week 2: Slow Down!

By Carissa

Do you ever hear something and know it to be true but then one day it falls on fresh ears and changes everything?  That’s what happened to me this week.  I knew that running paces were important and that each run should have an objective.  Pace runs are different from long runs which are different from recovery runs.  What I didn’t realize was just how much slower these runs should be compared to how I’m used to training.

I’m using the book Advanced Marathoning to train for the Boston Marathon.  This book is loaded with great advice and I really like how the training program is laid out.  I can tell this is the kind of plan that will allow me to show up prepared on race day.  Early in the week I read the chapter called Following the Schedules. In this section the objective of each run is outlined and training paces are prescribed based on one’s marathon race pace.

Marathon race pace can be a tricky thing to determine.  There’s McMillan Running Calculator which will give you a marathon pace based on your most recent race of another distance.  McMillan gives me a race pace of 7:26 minutes/mile.  This would mean a 3:14 marathon.  I know Boston is a tough course. I also know historically I’ve underperformed compared to McMillan paces.  With this in mind I think 3:20 is a realistic goal.  The pace per mile for a 3:20 marathon is 7:38 minutes/mile.  Based on this information I chose 7:30 minutes/mile as a marathon pace for training purposes.