Race Archives - Lindsey Hein

Mohican 50 – Week 5

GlennHein — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 18:56:00 +0000

Hey it’s Sunday and I am on top of things this week. Working on my training log early. We are in Bloomington right now visiting Lindsey’s mom, Lori, who had knee surgery this week. Have you seen her knee? Look at my twitter if you want to see it. I won’t put it in your face on the blog. It is intense.

Another good week. Lots of snow and cold again so lots of treadmill running for me. I mainly go to the treadmill out of ease of use. It is a lot easier to get my work on the mill as opposed to layering up and dealing with crap conditions sometimes. I know I could run outside a lot more then I do but I’ve been lazy with it by taking the easy way out. I don’t mind it and I don’t have to worry about ice or anything when doing my workouts. I think there are advantages to both the treadmill and to ‘manning up’ and going outside but either way at the end of the day the work needs to get done so do it, whatever it takes.

Don’t let the weather, the treadmill, getting up early, or whatever it is stand in your way of working toward your goal. Enough about winter running and the treadmill.

Here is my log:

Week 5 – Feb 3rd – 9th

71.54 Miles
8 Runs
2/3 Workouts

Monday – 5

Recovery 5. Easy 40 minutes of running to shake out the weekend. Feeling good with running everyday lately so I use Monday as a fake rest day and run super easy.

Tuesday (Another big snow storm) – 12.5

Morning
8.54 Miles
7:01 Pace
Easy running with some pickups the last 2.5 miles. Finished at about 5:40 or so. I am really enjoying this type of run lately. Little bit of stress but not too much.

Afternoon
Easy 4 around 8:00 pace. Another week of adding a secondary run.

Wednesday (Stupid Cold Out) – 10 Miles
7:13 Pace
Easy run with some hills thrown in for fun.

Thursday (Stupid Cold Again) – 10 Miles
6:49 Pace

3 mile warm up
6 miles Wave Tempo – 6:27,6:07,6:27,5:56,6:27,5:49
1 mile cool down

I am a big fan of the Wave tempo workout. The alternating pace provides a nice stressor especially with having to “recover” at a quicker pace in between those LT miles.

Good workout.

I wanted to do a secondary run after this workout but the day didn’t work out that way.

Friday – 6 Miles

7:49 Pace

Recovery day following yesterday’s workout and the lack of the secondary run to excelerate the recovery process.

Saturday – 18 Miles

7:12 Pace

It was finally warm enough to have a decent run outside but Lindsey convinced me to go to the gym with her and Marshall so I ran on the treadmill. Pretty standard long run. I am sure people were wondering what I was doing on the treadmill for 2 hours.

Marshall stranded at kids club for the full two hour limit they allow. Awesome track suit, compliments of Simon.

Sunday – 10 Miles

7:08 Pace

A good Bloomington hill run with a progressive up tempo finish. I had been kind of slacking on hill work recently so it felt good to run strong on the hills. I need to make sure to maximize my hill time in order to be ready for Mohican.

Next week looks to be more of the same for me. I am trying to figure out the next couple of weeks right now. I am pretty early into my cycle so I don’t want to push too hard too soon so I am thinking that I will run 75 miles or so the next two weeks and then cut things back at the end of Feb a bit to really absorb all the stress and then ramp up again a little more in March. I am taking this cycle slowly and am trying not to over do things. Feeling good so far.

And just because- here’s a creepy “My Buddy” doll we found in the closet at Lindsey’s parents house last night: (His sister came out today and she looked to have some vacation braids in her hair) Marshall is obsessed with this thing.

You remember My Buddy right?!

How is your running going? Any races coming up? I’d like to race soon.

Did you have a “My Buddy”? Were they this creepy when we were kids?

The post Mohican 50 – Week 5 appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

Overdid it yesterday.

OutForARunAdmin — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 20:39:00 +0000

I overdid it yesterday. My return to running has been pretty uneventful and very rewarding. Just enjoying it for what it is. For a a couple of weeks there I thought I might lose it. It wasn’t just about not running- it was about not exercising. I was grumpy & cooped up with a maniac kid in a small house and like a lot of people my outlet is sweating.

Yesterday I planned on running easy, with not a set plan of how far. I had in my head I wanted to hit 10-12, but wasn’t sure how that would go down. I peaked out at 10 last week, so wanted to hit at least that.

We’ve had a cranky/sick kid since Thursday and as soon as I started running- away from everyone and everything for the time being, I felt really good and refreshed. I was happy to be alone and quiet, no music either. Just running. I was just so excited to not be on a treadmill or have a kid or a dog with me, so I got a little ahead of myself.

At miles 2-3, I felt good around 7:40 pace and decided I’d hang there even though that was faster than I planned. Then I got to miles 4-5 and felt really good and started speeding up. The route I took had some big hills and I was having fun with them. I’m so used to running flat monon miles and hills make the run go by faster for me, gives you something to think about.

My splits ended up looking like this:

Mile 1- 8:10

Mile 2- 7:40

Mile 3- 7:29

Mile 4- 7:38

Mile 5- 7:30

Mile 6- 7:20

Mile 7- 7:24

Mile 8- 7:30

Mile 9- 7:00

Mile 10- 6:44

Mile 11- 8:09 – Cool down w/ Cadence

Mile 12- 8:10 – Cool down w/ Cadence

I got a little too excited about running fast at the end but had it in my mind that I wanted to run close to 7s toward the end and for my last mile to be sub 7 before I cooled down.

Well. I was an idiot yesterday. That run was straight up stupid. Man it felt good, but it was stupid and I paid for it last night and I’m still paying for it now.

After the 2 hour car ride home of sitting still, I was in major pain. It’s been 9 weeks since my surgery and my chest wasn’t ready for those hills, the pounding and the speed. I don’t think it was the speed as much as the hills though. I didn’t even think about it as I was flying on the down hills and working hard on the uphill. When you haven’t had major surgery on your chest area, you don’t really think about how much work you actually do there.

My expanders are right under the muscle in my chest and they were all like WTF did you do to us today? I don’t know how it all works really, but I know that I can barely put a shirt on, hardly carry my kid and am back to sleeping on my back for the next couple of days.

To top off the chest situation, I was also dehydrated, so my head hurt and stomach hurt and I couldn’t warm up, I shivered for an hour straight. Oh my goodness, I was a wreck, you would have thought I did an ironman or something like that based on how I felt. It’s nothing serious, but just blah!

I do think my legs and the rest of my body were ready for this run- just not the surgery site!

Moving on though- I feel fine today, just crazy sore in the chest. Oh and it really hurts to sneeze.

Next time I think about getting too ambitious too soon- I will very much remember how I felt last night. WOOF! Definitely taking the day off and relaxing as much as possible today.

Have you heard enough of my complaining?! A word to the wise- don’t overdo it 9 weeks post surgery and remember that 3 weeks isn’t all that long to be back at it. Sheesh! No complaining next post- promise!!

Anyone ever experience something like this? Getting back at it too hard too soon?

Thanks for listening to me whine about my poor little wimpy self haha!

The post Overdid it yesterday. appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

Belle Conquers her first Half Marathon Tomorrow!

OutForARunAdmin — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 13:45:00 +0000

GUESS WHAT? Belle is running her FIRST half marathon tomorrow!

I remember my first half marathon very clearly- don’t we all? I say this to make sure Belle soaks up every bit of the experience. One thing I know for sure is I wasn’t nearly as prepared as this woman is. She is ready to conquer the beast.

Belle contacted us back in May as a new runner looking to work her way up to her first half marathon.

Tomorrow morning, the show goes down. She absolutley dominated her most recent race which was a 10 miler just a few weeks ago. She ran the race so smart that her last mile was her fastest! Then she dominated an Oreo Brownie Blizzard like any real runner would. My kind of girl.

When we first started working with Belle her weekly average mileage was 10 miles and her longest run was 5 miles. To date she is constantly running 25 mile weeks with her longest run is 11 miles. It took some major confidence and hard work conuquering each new distance. She built slow and steady, avoiding injury and burnout and her day has finally come!

There is nothing better than going into a race knowing you are prepared. And that she is!

Belle- enjoy every step tomorrow. Remember all of your hard work and how far you have come. Think about the runner you have evolved to and how strong you are right now. You have the endurance you need, and you are not only physically prepared but you are mentally prepared as well. Don’t forget that! Remember your strong words and use them during this race. 5 words. Pick them and make them your mantra. I like – strong, steady, confident, happy and power. You pick your words or use those, but get something positive engrained in you head!

GO GET EM Belle. Embrace this race…. you’ll never get to run your first half marathon again. With every step remember how much joy and peace this running thing has given you. We are proud of you.

Who’s got a word of encouragement and support they can give Belle? Do it now- her race is tomorrow!!

The post Belle Conquers her first Half Marathon Tomorrow! appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

Carmel Marathon Training Partnership

OutForARunAdmin — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 19:13:00 +0000

We are so excited to be partnering with the Carmel Marathon for 2014!

Carmel Marathon Training:

Race Date: Saturday, April 12th, 2014

We are excited to be partnering with the Carmel Marathon as the official training partners. We are offering discounted rates for both Individual Customized and Basic Training plans for athletes participating in the race. We’ve participated in this event since it’s inaugural running in 2011, it’s a great race and we cant wait to help YOU succeed on the course!

Together we have completed 26 marathons, including several Boston Qualifying races, numerous half marathons, countless 5 and 10Ks, triathlons and one Ironman. We have a strong history of coaching athletes to finish races of all distances as strong, confident runners. Running and endurance sports are our love and our lifestyle and we want to share it with you.

Customized:

Individual Customized Out for a Run Training Plans. We will work together to develop a program that is geared toward your personal goals and unique lifestyle. Every runner is different and there is no one size fits all training plan.

Participant will take a brief athlete survey, Out for a Run will provide a unique 16 week training program built on athletes goals, desires, life, etc.

Athlete will receive training plan in full.

Full Marathon- Monday, December 16th, 2013
Half Marathon- Monday, January 6th, 2014
8K- Monday, January 27th, 2014

Out for a Run will provide bi-weekly email communications to all athletes enrolled in custom training with tips, pointers, inspiration, course previews, etc

Cost:

$30 cost for 8K
$40 cost for Half Marathon
$80 cost for Full Marathon

Basic:

Looking for a training plan but not sure what you are looking for? Choose from one of our three Programs: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced. Designed to get you to the finish line feeling stronger then ever before!

Out for a Run will generate 16-week training plans based on experience level.

Athlete will receive training plan in full.

Full Marathon- Monday, December 16th, 2013
Half Marathon- Monday, January 6th, 2014
8K- Monday, January 27th, 2014

Out for a Run will provide bi-weekly email communications to all athletes enrolled in custom training with tips, pointers, inspiration, course previews, etc

Cost:

$20 cost for 8K
$30 cost for Half Marathon
$40 cost for Full Marathon

Contact us to get started today!
outforarun.training@gmail.com
317.517.8699

The post Carmel Marathon Training Partnership appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

What Now?

OutForARunAdmin — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 23:52:00 +0000

It’s been a little over 48 hours since Chicago. Sunday was supposed to be the culmination of months of dedication, miles, early mornings, long runs, sacrifice, etc, etc, etc resulting in a nice big fat PR.

Sunday was anything but that. In my eyes, it was pretty much an utter failure. People will say… and its fine, hey “I’d love to have X:XX:XX time” and “don’t be so hard on yourself”, “marathons are tough” etc… and I get all that and its fine but given the amount of time and energy I invested in Chicago, I wanted more…much more. Like I’ve talked to Lindsey about many times before, the time on the clock is a relative thing for everyone and given what transpired Sunday….I hate the one I saw. I was ready. It just didn’t happen and I don’t know why.

This is around mile 17 when I knew things were not going to get better.

It brings me to today where I am questioning everything. Did I over train? Did I taper wrong? Are my goals unrealistic? Should I have run without a watch? Was it just a bad day? Should I have used a coach? Should I give it another go this fall? Can it be saved? Am I crazy? The list of questions and “ifs” can go on and on.

Want me to answer those questions? In order: No. Don’t think so. Maybe. No. Probably. Probably. Not sure. If I want to. Probably.

I have my guesses and suspicions as to what went wrong in Chicago and I am going to continue to work through those but for now I am working on way forward. Do I race again and try to wash away this bad taste in my mouth or just shut it down and regroup for the spring?

In the immediate aftermath, Lindsey and I discussed racing the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. It is a local race, I have buddies running that are targeting my goals, I know the streets like the back of my hand. It would be a great race but the more I think about it, it’s too soon. IMM is 18 days from today. While I pretty much jogged the last 10 miles on Sunday, I still gave race effort for 16-18 miles and ran for 3 hours …I just don’t think I’d be ready to race again so soon. What are my other options? Philly? Rocket City? Rehoboth Beach? All of these races give me more time…5-8 weeks. So depending on which one, if I pick one, I could fully recover from Chicago, get some workouts in, and then properly taper.

If I am honest with myself, I want another shot. I know deep down inside of me, I am capable of so much more then what transpired on Sunday. So if that is the case, do I go after the same goal? Do I adjust my goal? This entire training cycle was been focused on 2:45. It is a big PR jump for me but my half time, my evolution since running a 2:56 and the training told me I could handle it. Using that 2:45 as my guide, I didn’t miss workouts, cut things short, need extra days to recover so everything told me I could handle that 6:18 pace.

Last Sunday, was a different story. I never felt comfortable. Felt tired from the start…like I was running into a headwind the whole time. I knew pretty early it was going to be a bad day. I spent the first half trying to work through it but it never clicked and things unglued finally around 16 or so. I gave in. Was the goal pace too much? I have never thought so…until now. If I run again, do I back the goal down slightly and take a smaller chunk and then take the spring to work on the 2:45? Maybe that is the approach to take.

My mind is all over the place about what to do next and what happened in Chicago. In the meantime, I’m going to give myself a week or so to decide do I want to run another marathon in late November or early December.

At least I had some legit support in the crowd:

Lindsey, my sister Erica & Marshman. Biggest day for Lindsey post surgery- walked around 5 miles.

Let’s do some crowd sourcing about what to do next:

Have you had a bad race in your “A” race?

What did you do to recover and move on?

Should I race another marathon this fall?

The post What Now? appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

Ripple Effect Race Report

OutForARunAdmin — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 23:44:00 +0000

Historically the Ripple Effect has been held in Broad Ripple on Sunday Evening of Labor Day Weekend which means, at least for us, it is usually a no go. This year, however, the race directors decided to change it to a Monday 8:30AM start and so having learned this fact on the Wednesday before I decided to go ahead and sign up.

It worked out nicely as Monday’s workout, at least in terms of total time. The workout was going to be very similar to racing this 4 mile event and with the quick turn around from Saturday, which was a 20 Mile Block Progression run to Monday’s workout I thought a race environment would be more motivation to make sure I got up and did what I needed to do.

We were in Bloomington all weekend, checking out Lindsey’s parents new house and celebrating her birthday. We ended up getting home later than planned on Sunday night, so I ended up sleeping in a little too much Monday. Quick coffee, bathroom, race shoes, and I was out the door. I was going to use the 2 mile run up The Monon as a warm up. I ran into Gabe and Dan, who were also running, and finished out the warm up with about 5 minutes to grab my bib and head to the start. It was a low key event so the time crunch was not an issue.

For those who are familiar with Broad Ripple or the old Drumstick Dash course, The Ripple Effect started us on Compton right by the High School. No timing mat, just a spray painted line and a start sign. It was a chipped race…but just at the end so if you wanted an exact time you needed to be on the line. I lined up in front with about 15 other guys and one or two girls…I of course did a check “eye test” and I liked my chances for a good race. I knew a “W” was out of the question as I recognized John Poray (sub 5 racer) but thought I could go Top 5 if I raced well.

They yelled start and we were off. John and a young kid immediately take off running about 4:30 or so and I follow behind in about 5:10 with 6 other guys. By the time we hit Guilford (.25 miles in) we settled into a more reasonable pace of about 5:20 or so…fast but the first mile of these local races seems to be quick.

By the time we dump out onto College, it is me and two other guys with two in front of us and then the leaders…so I was in 7^thplace…which was fine with me. Before we knew it, we reeled in one of the guys off the front and hit the first mile in 5:23. We then continued north on College toward the river and Park Tudor. I knew when we got the river it would be a good chance to see what the group had, as you have to climb up a bit of a bridge and for a short Indy based race it is enough to jump the heart rate and create some burning. Sure enough as we climbed the bridge over the river, we dropped one of the group so now it was me and one other guy with three people in front of us.

We continued north on College toward 75^thand hit mile 2 in 5:41. As we headed back east on 75^th toward the Monon, we were going slightly uphill again. It is nothing really but it is enough that your pace and breathing notices. Another chance to see if the guy to my right had it going today. I surge toward The Monon and turn south on Westfield and as I turn I give a slight look back and created a bit of gap…now I just need to hold it. I am alone in 4^th.

I could see the guy in 3^rdup the road by about 20 seconds or so and I was focused on him. Catch him, reel him in, bring him back. He looked to be laboring…but so did I am sure…so I thought I could reel him back the last 1.5 miles. I hit mile 3 in 5:41 again but the gap didn’t seem to be closing. Maybe it was a little but nothing that was noticeable. It didn’t look like it was going to happen today. I needed to hold on to 4^th.

Remember that river we went over heading North? Well, we had to run over it again heading south this time. The incline on Westfield is not as noticeable as College but again it is enough to labor you. I get over it …by this point I am cramping and want to be done. I was tried from the week.

I make the slight left hand dogleg to continue on Westfield. I don’t sense anyone behind. I keep pushing. There’s the finishing chute.

I hear Lindsey before I see her. She was screaming (shocker) because apparently the guy I dropped was kicking strong. I finally see Lindsey and head toward the finishing chute. Boom. It’s over. Mile 4 5:44.

Stats:

Mile 1 – 5:23

Mile 2 – 5:41

Mile 3 – 5:41

Mile 4 – 5:44

Overall – 22:37

Place: 4^th

AG 30-34: 1st

Overall, I am happy with how the race went. I ran well and it was a great workout for the day. A lot better then suffering through K Repeats alone and who knows how they would have went considering the week I had just put in. I am also very please to see consistent pacing, at least on the last 3 miles, those two 5k’s I ran earlier this year I felt like I struggled to keep a good pace toward the end so I happy to see consistency once I came back to reality from the first mile.

Family after the race

Einsteins post race. Give Marshall an apple and you rock his world.

I finished out the day with 5 miles later to make it 11 for the day and then proceeded to drink too much Monday Night at the Mumford & Sons concert. I may or may not have thrown up out of a car window on the drive home…this has yet to be confirmed J. You would think a 30 year old would know better. Nope.

Mumford Tailgating

Mumford Concert

Anyway a good race and a great Labor Day weekend.

Questions: Do any Holiday races? Do you like Holiday races? I’m racing the Chicago Half this weekend, anyone else?

The post Ripple Effect Race Report appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

30 weekend.

OutForARunAdmin — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 16:47:00 +0000

Let me first start this by saying, I never used to be into birthdays. I always thought it was weird that people made a big deal about them.

Then I married Glenn. And his family is ALL ABOUT birthdays. There is a special birthday tablecloth that is brought out for every birthday. Nobody misses calling or texting someone on their birthday and it’s always a big deal.

Then I started getting close to 30. And I realized I liked having reasons to celebrate. So we threw ourselves a joint 30th birthday party, why not.

Then I turned 30… yesterday. And I feel the same as I did when I turned 29, 28, 27 and that’s probably as far as it goes. It seems like you change a lot somewhere around 26 or so. I do know that I’d like to stay right where I am for the next 10 years if we can possibly freeze time. I have to think the 30s are one of the best decades. Then again, I’ll probably say that about 40 in 10 years. I know one thing- I’m glad I’m 30 and not 20.

And here’s how the day went:

I ran a half marathon, that I wasn’t very happy about. One thing you learn as you get older though is not to dwell on things that didn’t go as planned. Can’t change it now.

Ashley and I post race.

I’ll write up a recap on the race later, but I’ll tell you now, it wasn’t pretty.

The rest of the day was pretty perfect. We headed down to Bloomington to my parents new house and spent time with family and laid around by their pool. Yes they moved to Indy in November and yes they are already back in Bloomington…. that didn’t take long.

Then my parents babysat and we went out to have dinner and drinks. We checked out The Rail, which was really good. It is so nice and it made me feel like I was in a big city. Not that there’s anything wrong with being in Bloomington, but it just had a different feel to it than what I think of when I think about Bloomington. The food and drinks were delicious and the atmosphere was just perfect.

Despite the nasty race. (I’m so embarrassed about my splits, I can’t even talk about it) We had a really great day and I am more than thrilled about the long weekend.

Tomorrow Glenn is going to race the Ripple Effect, a 4 mile race in Broad Ripple. He had a workout that called for 9 X 3 minutes for Monday anyway and they recently changed the time of this race from evening to morning, so he’s just going to use the race as his workout. Plus, the entry was only $20.

The weekend is topped off with a babysitter and we’re heading to Mumford and Sons with some of my most favorite people ever.

I’m digging the weekend…. and so is Cadence.

The post 30 weekend. appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

My Strong Words Today.

OutForARunAdmin — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 10:03:00 +0000

Are you racing this weekend?

I am. I’m going to repeat the words below in my mind and have them written on my arm. It’s not going to hurt until mile 6 or so. But there will be some doubts that start creeping in sooner. And then I’ll get through half way and I know the feeling that will happen and I know how bad it will hurt when I’m chasing down the last 5 miles. No matter how great or how rough I feel through each piece of this run though, these are my words:

Brave

Strong

Fighter

Relax

Control

These words are simple. But they are going to help get me to the finish line. I have other words, but these are the five I’m choosing to focus on during this particular race. They are going to help me push as hard as I can. Reminding me that I do not need to give up, even when my body tells me it wants to and thinks it needs to.

Different words can be meaningful for different races. For instance, if I was racing a full marathon or a longer distance race, like a half ironman, I would use words more like “consistent” and “calm”… with a few of the words I’m using for this shorter race mixed in as well.

What is your favorite “strong” word that you go to when you need to dig deep?

Who’s racing this weekend?!

The post My Strong Words Today. appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

Lindsey’s CRRG 5K Report

OutForARunAdmin — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 14:11:00 +0000

Ok, so I haven’t raced a 5K since the Big Ten Hoops Day 5k…. in 2009. That’s right 2009. It was when I was training for my second marathon and I had run 20 miles the day prior. Needless to say, the PR was outdated and just not even for real anymore. I’ve been so ready to update it for a long time. That race was pre “Out for a Run” days, so there is no race report to look back on. But what I do know is my time was 20:55, and I ran the race at 6:44 pace. This is around the pace (give or take 5 seconds… I’ll be happy if I stay within 5 seconds of that range, up or down) I hope to run the Indy Women’s half in on Saturday. Yikes!

The Carmel Road Racing Group is an event management company that I’ve been working with a bit and when Todd presented the idea of this Thursday Night 5K series for $10 a race- I thought it was a fantastic idea. A chipped 5K that doesn’t mess with your Saturday morning long run and for that price? Why wouldn’t people be into it? So there were two races in August and there is one more Thursday, September 19th.

Marshall duties kept me home for the first of the series, but I was able to run the second one last Thursday and was excited to brush up the 5K PR. I’m not too keen on waiting the entire day to run a race, but whatevs. I went to the gym in the AM and ran 3 miles easy and then before the race warmed up about 2 miles with Glenn.

Keep in mind, this is a small race, (79 people ran) but Glenn won the last one and wanted to win this one. Looking at the times for the first one, I figured I could win for the women too, depending on who showed up. It wasn’t what I really cared about though, I really just wanted that new time.

When I was signing people in, Sarah Overpeck, (who I found out is super speedy) registered and I figured she’d probably take the win after a little chit chat when she told me she was running the Indy Women’s half as a training run and would prob run somewhere between 1:25-1:30. So at that point, I decided to make it my goal to hang with her as best as possible. When we talked prior to the race, she said she has recently found our blog- if you are reading- HI SARAH!

Another person running was Dan, who does speed work on Wednesdays with us. He and I are pretty equal in our pace, when we are both present at speed work, we run together, so I was happy to have him there to help give me a plan of where I should be in the race. I knew running with him would be a realistic pace for me.

Here’s the start! The shirtless guy in front of me is Glenn. Too close. Photo Credit: Terry Fletcher

The race breakdown:

About 30 seconds after we took off, I looked up and realized Glenn was only about 10 steps ahead of me and made a conscious decision to settle down… I was in over my head if I was that close to him and needed to slow down.

I let Sarah take off in front of me once we settled into the mile and ran with Dan through the first mile. After the first mile, Dan sped up and was running with Sarah for the majority of the rest of the race. I had them in a pretty close distance but stayed back. I kept wondering if I had it in me mentally more than anything to move in, but stayed back where I was “comfortable”. I gained a little bit in the last mile, but didn’t have it my head to want it enough to push in and pass.

Here are my Splits:

Mile 1- 5:58
Mile 2- 6:15
Mile 3- 6:23

Results Here

Average pace: 6:14 (thanks to that 5:58- err actually not thanks to… probably would have been quicker if that first mile would have been slower and the other two faster)

I went out too fast. I should have went out at 6:10 or so and tried harder to be consistent. When I saw 5:58 on my watch, I knew that wasn’t manageable for the whole race. BUT, I haven’t raced a 5K in soooo long and my speed work indicates that I should probably have been able to hold closer to 6:05-6:10 pace. I just need to race smarter.

Somewhere around mile 1.5 probably. Photo Credit: Terry Fletcher

I gave up a little bit mentally somewhere around 1.75-2.75. It wasn’t totally giving up mentally, but I wasn’t fighting very hard. I was able to pick it up a bit at the very end, but know I could and should have pushed that last mile in closer to 6:10-6:15 pace. I honestly just wanted to be done though. Also, I remember looking at my watch somewhere around 14 minutes thinking- oh good Glenn is still out here suffering and I bet he is working a lot harder than me. He usually does.

Photo Credit: Terry Fletcher

Now- after some good internet stalking I see that Sarah is a very good runner, with a sub three marathon under her belt. She was doing this run as a workout (as was I) but I’m sure she’s got a much speedier 5K in her too. I was happy to have someone to keep me motivated during the run.

Dan and Sarah somewhere in the middle- probably around mile 2. I’m creepin in the back, mostly holding on, thinking about chasing down. Photo Credit: Terry Fletcher

Finishing it up! Dan was hurting- he’s going to kill his time on the next one for sure. Photo Credit: Terry Fletcher

Conclusion:

A good warm up is key to success in a short distance race like this. I’m glad we did 2 miles prior.
Trying to negative split a 5K might be more discipline and harder work than negative splitting a distance race. Control that first mile!!
I want to break 19:00 in this distance, not sure when, but it will by my next goal for the distance.
I kind of like the idea of working on the 5K PR.
The mental game for a 5K is completely different than the mental game for a half or full marathon. I already knew that, but haven’t put it to action in such a long time.
The CRRG Merrell 5K Series is pretty awesome. And you should run the next one.

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Chicago Marathon Training Cycle 3

GlennHein — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 13:53:00 +0000

Chicago Marathon – Cycle 3: Weeks 5 & 6

96 Miles

3 Quality workouts

1 race

13 runs

This past cycle was a bit of mixed bag for me, it started out strong, got a little shaky in the middle and finished pretty well.

In the weeks leading up to this cycle and during the beginning of this cycle, I was grinding hard. I was feeling strong and running more then my hamstring wanted but it wasn’t flaring up so I kept pushing. I was chasing miles. Week 5 started strong, I had two good workouts, a solid tempo and a Lactic Threshold (LT) Repeat workout. The LT workout was a killer…it was 4×9 minutes at 5:52 with a two minute rest. It was tough and I felt good and strong. Then came Friday the 26^th…it was an easy run following a tough workout on Thursday and something didn’t feel right. It was the hamstring.

I was mad. I was made at my leg, the situation, the foam roller, etc…but mainly myself. I was mad that I was not smarter in my own training. I talk to our athletes all the time about listening to their body and not being afraid/scared of taking days off when the need arises and what did I do…I didn’t plan smartly I chased miles and was lying on the ground foam rolling wondering…did I do it again? Is this going to be a problem? When I looked back, I had ran 17 days in a row…that is way too much for my leg!!! I know people can handle it but not me…not now. I need to be smarter. I needed to rest. So the weekend had called for my first 20 mile run. It was not a stress session…it was just going to be an easy 20 but I knew that resting was going to more important than logging those 20 at this point in the training. So I shut it down for the weekend and rested. Saturday nothing. Sunday northing. 42 total miles for the week.

Week 6 was now starting on shaky ground and it was race week. I using racing the Eagle Creek Trail Half on Saturday and wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

I returned to running Monday and Tuesday with some easy miles and the real test came Wednesday. The leg was feeling good so I decided to attempt the workout. 5×1 mile repeats in 5:25-5:30 with 2:00 minutes rest. Woof. That was hard. It took everything in me to get through #5 but I came out the other side and the leg felt strong. Following some recovery miles that night, I knew it was time to rest the leg again so no running Thursday and some easy miles Friday made for a mini-mini taper for Saturday’s race.

My Race recap explains everything in detail… it was hard. Real hard. I was happy with the effort though. It essentially was another workout. I took 2^nd, won free gear, and got muddy…it was a good hard day. On Sunday, I finished up cycle 3 with 5.5 miles of easy recovery. 54 miles total for the week.

Looking back, I should have seen this coming. I dealt with my hamstring injury for essentially the first 4 months of 2013 and need to be smarter about my running. Even though the injury is gone, if I am not smart it can easily reappear as shown by the end of week 5. The goal is 2:45 at the Chicago Marathon not great training logs. I know that I can get there but only if I am smart.

Going forward I am looking to limit my running to no more than 4/5 consecutive days with at least one day being rest or biking. This will cut down my total miles but it is the right thing for me at this point in my running. My hamstring can’t handle too many 80-90 mile weeks and that is fine. I will reach my goal.

Looking forward, the race kind of threw things off a little. I am pretty beat up so I might need to be move some of the key sessions around for week 7. We’ll see. Being flexible and persistent are tough things to pull off in tandem.

Have you ever dealt with a nagging hamstring injury?

Do you race when training for your BIG race? If so, how often?

What’s your weekly mileage peak when marathon training?

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