If you know Glenn, you know he loves a good IPA. If you know me, you know I love a good buzz.

I’ve got no problem with the extra winter layer that has settled in, but we figured eliminating some of the beer intake might help the situation at hand without extra actual work. Let’s be smart.

When we made the goal, I immediately thought; craaaaaaap, I’m going to Salt ‘n’ Peppa at the Vogue with a bunch of girls in January. I’m not interested in this January goal. So we decided it was no booze at home. Out at social events or dinner, fine. We don’t go to dinner all that much and it’s January soooooo, it shouldn’t be too much booze. We’ll keep track and report back. The only thing you need to know right now is I caught Glenn drinking hot tea last night. That’s unheard of.

Glenn also added our 2016 marathon goals to the board this morning. He is adamant about my goal being sub 3:00, but I’m adamant about it being 3:05, because ain’t nobody got time to be stressed out about running fast. I did register for Grandma’s and also plan to run Carmel- not sure yet if I’ll be running Carmel fastish or pacing. Need to decide in the next week or so.

Here is a rundown:

• January: no booze at home

• 2016 Athletic Goals : < 3:05 for me, < 2:45 for Glenn, Beat my 2013 Muncie 70.3 time. (5:55:17. Lucky me, I heard they changed the bike course the year after I did it and it’s a bit faster. I’ll take any help I can get on the bike!)

• Give more:
  • Action 1: Signed up for automatic monthly donation to the PourHouse.
    • I’ve been meaning to do this for a long time. Ever since, Andrea who runs the organization put up a facebook post one day when she was feeling frustrated. Everyone “likes” and encourages when she posts something about a success, like someone moving into housing. BUT, your “likes” do not equal sustainability of the program. Your dollars will though. Ok, take action Lindsey. Liking her posts isn’t helping.
  •   Action 2: Signed up to volunteer for Circle City Relief.
    • My first volunteer shift is this Sunday. I was specifically interested in this organization because it meets in my neighborhood. I can walk across the street to where they serve. Part of the reason we like being in the city is so that we aren’t living in a bubble, but you can certainly live in the city and still live in a bubble.
  • Action 3: Adopt another sponsor child. (we have one sponsor child through Compassion- I’ve been with them for 11 years! That seems crazy long looking back. I was 21 when I started) Now that Marshall is getting older, he can start interacting and being part of the experience)
  • I write the actions, because I hope putting them here will hold me accountable. I hope I don’t sound pretentious. I do think if we all talk about these kind of things, it encourages others to step up though, so why not talk about it. I also don’t want it to stop here, but I think writing some specific things down is a good starting place.

• Read More, Social Media less. I don’t think I need to expand here.
  • I’ve been reading Jen Hatmaker books like it’s nobody’s business over the past couple of months. “For the Love”, “Seven” and “Interrupted.” I have purposely been reading them because I fully believe that if we don’t seek interruption in our lives (these books talk on this), we will sit in a stale- maybe happy, but stale life where we are just living for ourselves and our own families. And we just weren’t created to live like that. It can be overwhelming to think of all the problems and all the issues in the world that we have no control over, but doing nothing at all isn’t helping anyone.
  • I just started re-reading “Half the Sky” and plan to read “A Path Appears” when I’m done.

• This is where I want to write down a goal to have a better garden this year. I’m not feeling super organized about that yet though, so let’s check back. I need some tangible goals or something.

What are your 2016 running goals? Life goals? 

Who has book suggestions? I like for fun, education (if not too smarty pants) and anything that encourages to do better. You know what I mean.

The post 2016 Goals – No January Booze?! appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

We picked up all the snacks- everything salty sounded good. Oh and our team name was “Back up Snacks”

It was the hottest day in two years and the air was thick. I was up for the first leg and Glenn ran it with me- this ended up being a good thing because I was super frustrated with the heat and the course on this leg. They have changed the red eye route several times how over the years and road they have you start on this year was terrible. They say it’s because Upland is a big sponsor now so they want to start from their new westside brewing facility. I’ve worked behind the scenes in races before though and something tells me Upland isn’t giving all that much money- at least not enough to have the race start from all the way out there. It gave the race a bad vibe on both the first and last leg (and if you were doing two loops you’d see it again). In my opinion – the start/finish was much better from somewhere near campus. Enough about that.

 With Glenn running my first and last leg with me- it put my total at 27 miles and his at 36 for the day. The legs were much shorter this year than they were in the past. More manageable with the heat we were dealing with. The longest leg being 5.8 miles, which was the first and last leg.

There was another two man one loop team who started when we did, so we kind of had our eyes on them to beat them. I mean, I acted like I didn’t care, but who am I kidding. We bounced back and forth with them for a few legs but took them out about halfway through. My second leg was boring, other than trying to pass the guy on that team, which I did not. After climbing a huge hill on Whisnand Rd, there was a lot of downhill on this leg and I’m sure he was bombing down them. I was trying to be more conservative on the downhills- I knew they’d tear up my quads either way, but I didn’t want to be dumb about it. My third leg had a hue downhill and then a nice little uphill that I ended up catching him on on. I was trying not to be competitive in this stupid heat, but there was also a chick who passed me at the beginning of this leg and I got annoyed so put down some fast miles (that were probably too fast in the heat) to pass her back, which led to me feeling sick and had my l legs hating me the next few legs. The most dumb part about that was she was probably on a 5-7 man two loop team- running way less miles than I with much longer breaks.

On my 5th leg I was feeling pretty bad and thankfully was able to run with my friends Wes and JoAnn. My head was not in the game and I wanted to quit badly. The heat had gotten to me and the hills were beating me up. We try to get down to Bloomington to run on hills and trails a decent amount, but 90% of my runs are done in flat Indy. They talked the whole time and I was so thankful to have them on that leg- both were super encouraging and I so needed that. I like to be the encourager when I can in running but I needed to be on the receiving end bad. When I finished this leg, I was to a point where I truly thought I might call it a day after that leg. I had two legs to go and I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I quickly told myself that I’d walk the entirety of the legs before I quit. Although, I didn’t want to do that because I wanted to get done and get to bed because it was already 11pm and I was trying to secure at least 3 hours of sleep that night before Big Lou and Marshall had us up in the AM.

My sister who came along for the ride to sag with my dad was so much fun… she doesn’t run and had had a few drinks but hopped out of the car and ran 2 of the 3.5 miles with me for the next leg. We got to mile 2 and she said she was going to throw up and got back in the car. I was so thankful to have her with me though. It was awesome, because instead of thinking about how bad I felt, I was pushing her to get to mile 2. Then Glenn trying to be all tough guy ran my last leg with me, right before he had to finish his last leg of 5.8 gradual uphill the entire time leg. I think he regretted running with me once he realized how much uphill that last leg was going to be.

We were all ready to be done. Runners. Drivers. Cheerleaders. This was the third time we’ve done this race and every time we do it, my dad tags along to sag us. If you know GA, you know he’s a good time so that’s always a highlight of the race.

 Here are some videos from the day/night. I wanted to put them all together for a cute little video but ain’t nobody got time for that.  Actually I started to try and my Mac didn’t have enough space to update my iMovie and I really didn’t want to deal with trying to clear that out.

The take away from Red Eye this year- It was F-ing hot. I felt fine going into it, and it would have been hard no matter what, but man it was hot. I was in a perfect spot to quit- had a ride, Glenn would have ran my last legs in for me even. He would have been secretly happy to get more miles in because he’s sick like that. I knew I’d be so disappointed in myself though. Lot’s of salt tabs and lot’s of hydrating and the mental strength to just say I’m going to shuffle my way through these last legs and get there one step at a time. Although the circumstances weren’t amazing, the race kind of left me feeling a little discouraged about what I want to do in the marathon this fall, but I’ve quickly come out of that and am feeling confident again.

I was gonna give you a week run down of what I’ve been up to run wise- but this post ended up being way longer than I anticipated- so I’ll do that this weekend and give a three week catch up.

Oh yeah and we did win the two man one loop team. (out of only 4 two man one loop teams) We were one team away from winning the one loop outright but a team of four guys beat us.

The post Red Eye Relay 2015 appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

Starting to feel like I am throwing together some consistent weeks and slowing bringing the mileage up. Back to back 60 mile weeks. 24 days in a row. I’ll take it at this point with the baby…well being a baby.

We joined the Y recently as a family, aside from Lindsey being an unpaid spokesman, it is really nice to have a gym again. I dropped LA Fitness about a year ago as I had no need for it. With Louis’s arrival in January my morning run routine was out the door so during the week I have become a lunch runner. I had been running outside all winter but now with the Y is logistically a lot simpler and convenient.

March 2 – 8

7 runs

61 miles

Monday: 5.8 miles @ Eagle Creek about 7:38 per mile

Tuesday: 6 miles on the treadmill at the Y. Had to check out the new membership. Did a hill climbing workout. Alternating between 2 and 5% incline over the 6 miles. Since I’m not really doing a lot of tempo or speed work…hills are a great strength builder. It was also 30*F and raining so the gym was an easy choice.

Wednesday: 7 miles @ the Y. 7:17 pace

Thursday: 45 minutes of climbing again at the Y covering 5.6 miles. This time incline work from 3 to 6.5%.

Friday: Chillin. 7 miles @ 8:09

Saturday: Lindsey was working in the morning and running outside so the boys and I hit up the Y again. It was a great spring day but treadmill again for me. 90 minutes easy. 12 miles. I am also pretty good at tweeting and running. Haha.

Sunday: Long run with a small workout. Getting back into shape is no fun that’s for sure. 2 hr run. 17.3 miles. Miles 10 – 16 were ran in a cut down marathon progression moving from 7:04 to 6:22. I was happy with the effort and definitely tired at the end. Plenty of time to get in shape.

There’s my 61 miles. Looking to get about 65 or so this week. With the spring thaw in full effect this week I am hopeful that secondary runs with Marshall and Cadence can be brought back after work. Besides that I am now officially signed up again as the 3:15 Carmel Marathon pacer. Are you running it? I’ll yell at you to keep up with me at mile 23 if you want.

Is it lunch yet?

The post Training Log: March 2 – 8 appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

Took a couple days off and started running on Wednesday Dec 10th. Real short and shakeoutish…I was super sore and stiff from Jackson County. That race beat the crap out of me. Getting to 3,000 was going to be real fun

With nothing to train for I just set about logging miles. Did some still pregnant running with Lindsey, lot of running with the dog, met up with Scott a bunch over the holidays, ran in Bloomington, ran new trail in the Hoosier National, and started a new podcast ( I know am  a big This American Life fan).

By the time New Years Eve rolled around I was 13 miles short of 3,000 and feeling real burnt out and tired. If I was trying to ramp back up after Jackson County I should have shut it down for like 10 days and then resumed running but with nothing happening in the future I just kept running for fun. I logged one final Monon run and shut it down for 2014.

Final stats? 395 hours of running and 3,000.5 miles of running. Thanks Strava. Pretty solid year overall and the highest mileage I’ve ever had…not sure entirely but fairly certain 2014 was it, even with having to basically take February off with an Achilles issue. Finished my first two 50 mile races, placing 6th and 2nd overall, respectively; took 5 minutes off my road marathon PR in November and finally cracked the elusive 2:50 barrier logging a 2:49. I can’t decide if I want to chase 2:40-5:45 in 2015…we’ll see. Its a grind.

It has been a slow build over the years to handle the miles. Maybe I’ll go for 3,XXX or something in 2015…but I really don’t have a goal. Seriously.  

2015 has gotten off to a slow start and that is fine with me. I took a week off at the beginning of the year just to rest a little and have slowly start to ramp things back up.

Dec 29th – Jan 4th: 31 miles and nothing after Dec 31st

Jan 5th – Jan 11th: 41 miles. Started to run again later in the week

Jan 12th – Jan 18th:  32 miles. Louis Frederick Hein was born on January 15th.

Jan 19th – 25th: 49 miles. Trying to figure out the new schedule of work, baby, sleep, and running.

Jan 26th – Feb 1st: 52 miles

Feb 2nd – Feb 8th: 51 miles

Around 50 miles a week seems to be where I am landing right now. Which is fine for now. I’ve been sprinkling in some effort in the running but the vast majority of it has been easy with any hills I can find thrown in. Hills are hard to find in Central Indiana. It is real annoying.  Ideally I’d like to have my non training miles closer to 65-70 but that will take time to adjust to Louis and the new family dynamic. Running is important and Lindsey and I prioritize but sometimes it needs to take a back seat. I’ll get there. Plenty of time in 2015 to log the miles and get fit.

I did sketch out a long run schedule to get me to the Carmel marathon in April. I will be pacing the 3:15 marathon group again this year. It was a blast last year and  I am looking forward to doing it again. The furthest I have ran since Jackson County was 14.5 miles last Saturday so I’d like to get my long run up over the next couple weeks so I don’t get tired pacing the race. I am not worried about it at all…I just don’t want the marathon to drain me for a couple of weeks afterward.

Besides that not much is happening. I signed up for the Kettle Moraine 100K in early June so I will start to focus on that soon. Lindsey will start running again shortly so I  get to geek out over that which will be fun too! We’re thinking about doing the Red Eye Relay as a two man team in July but I’m worried the miles will be too much for her too soon. It would be 110 total so 55 each. Depending on how that shakes out, I’ll do 55 solo or skip it. We’ll see. Maybe I can find someone to do it with me if Lindsey can’t.

Keep running.

The post Running since Jackson County appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

But before you venture over to purchase one- let’s see if  you might win one. Below are some pictures of the shirt – Out for a Run logo on the front, with of course our favorite saying “Work Works” on the back. We seriously wear these jersey’s all the time (well, I did before it became a half top… but can’t wait to get back in it) Thanks Amy for being my model below!!

 You have until midnight on Tuesday night- so go ahead and enter now by following steps below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Out for a Run Jersey Giveaway! appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

Final stats on the race

9:32

2nd place overall

Apprx 8,000 feet of climbing

Elevation profile of course. My watch died at mile 44ish. Missing the last set of climbs.

Southern Indiana received about 2 inches of rain Friday into Saturday morning.

Mud fest

Got lost

Ate a lot of food

Climbed a lot

Climbed some more

Feel down a couple of times

876 creek crossings…that might be an overestimation but seriously if I never encounter another cold water creek crossing I’d be happy.

Climbed some more

Course was a mud mess. Like crazy muddy

Almost lost a shoe about 5 times from stepping a mug bog.

I am pretty sure that my race report can be summed up with what I told Lindsey on Saturday after finishing. I told her that if Brian, DINO owner and race director, told me after lap 3 or 4 that the race was called due to poor conditions I probably would have hugged him and thanked Jesus.

I’m not trying to complain and everyone out there had the same weather  and conditions but it was a freaking mess. Combine 100+ runners across the Fun Run, 50K and 50 miler, 2 inches of rain, Indiana fall winter ground thaw, a multiple loop course, valleys for water to collect and you’ve got the mud pit on your hands we encountered on Saturday.

The race itself? 

Lindsey, Greg, and I left Bloomington in the RV around 5:30 or so. This got us to Brownstown and the race site around 6:30. After jacking around with parking and almost getting the RV stuck I picked up my packet and set up my drop bag by 7:15. Race started at 7:30. I realized I forgot my watch in the RV at 7:25 so I ran out to get it and missed most of the pre-race instructions…this would be important later but I didn’t know it at the time.

Support Crew

7:30 race starts with a slow wimper. Ultra starts are funny like that. Everyone just kind of jogs off. No real racing. It did stop raining too…so that was real nice. Based on the forecast I had planned to be rained on until about 11AM…the early stop was an added bonus.

I settled in on the first lap into about 3rd…I was hoping to stay around 3rd or 4th most of the day. Peter Hogg was leading and I knew I couldn’t keep up with him but also knew that he wasn’t entirely committed  to racing so it was possible he was going to drop. We hit the first climb around mile 2 and it was long and steep at the top, this would be a theme  for the climbs. Most of them would pitch up to 30 or 40 degrees at the peak as they are hiking trail and not really designed for people to run on them. I had decided early that walking up the steep climbs was my best plan. I can keep a pretty quick hike and trying to run them would maybe net me 30 seconds but cost me in the long run plus it would probably send my heart rate to 274. The first climb is really like 2 or 3 seperate climbs combined into one.  I’m not sure if you can tell from the pic above but you would summit, descend or move a little along the ridge line and then climb again.

Once I did finally summit the total climb I came bombing down the descent. I told Lindsey that I’m not sure how some of the people on Saturday made it down. I’m not a great trail runner but can handle myself pretty well and move my feet pretty well and some of the descents had me a little sketched out. They were just as steep coming off the ridge as coming up it.

The next section of trail is pretty runable and is miles 3-5.25ish where you dump out into the campground area. This is where we got lost. I was just off the back of the front pack of runners and we beat the aid station volunteers to the check point. I mean they were there but not entirely ready. I asked where the bathroom. Found it and after a quick stop  was running again. I noted before hitting the bathroom that the leaders were headed toward the dam.

Upon leaving the head I went toward the dam and into the woods but it didn’t seem right. I called out to the runner behind and wasn’t sure either. I told him I was going to run back to the aid station and ask them. I run back probably .25 miles and ask them. The dude is like yeah head toward the dam. I ask are you sure? He gets his map out. So no. Luckily at this point more runners come out of woods and correctly tell me to run up the road and that you hit the dam on your way back. That was only half right it turns out. We really were supposed to turn left at the playground, hit trail again, and then the road toward Pinnacle Trail and old Lookout Tower. Turns out the signs with markings were not up yet. I would get this right on laps 2-5. Not a big deal and it is on me to know the course. The whole fiasco probably cost me 5 minutes.

Pinnacle on the pic above is the second peak and just like the first one is really multiple climbs. More power walking. Bombing down Pinnacle and onto the last set of climbs. It is a series of a think 4 summits with the last being the worst around mile 7. Incredible view of the valley and trail but an insanely steep ascent to the top. Make it to the top and bomb down the side again back toward the playground. Lots of creek crossing and loose footing here. I make it to the dam, nearly slip as it is just a grass hill with no trail. I would eventually bite it on lap 2. I either use the fence for support or run out to the road on laps 3,4,5 to  avoid the wet grass mud dam hill.

Once back to the aid station, the same one you use at mile 4.5, it is .5-.75 of a mile of road to a small section of trail around the lake. Real muddy in here from the lake and low laying area. Upon coming into the lodge area for my first lap I see that Peter has dropped. My guess is he didn’t want to deal with this shit for 50 miles as his goal race is still coming up.

Lap 1 – 1:38:57. Only four more to go. This would be the best conditions the trail were in all day.

Lap 2 – 1:46:36. More of the same. Feel okay. Still moving pretty well. Trying to keep my mind focused. Needed to stop and use the bathroom again. Dude in 2nd place has now dropped. I guess he got turned around and completed the lap backwards and decided to stop after that. I’m pretty sure I know where he did it. There is a small two way traffic section where he went straight instead of turning. They both lead back to the start/finish. I am now in second place.

Completing lap 2

Lap 3 – 1:54:35. Nothing happened on this lap. I know the deal by this point. Keep grinding. The hills are going to come. Keep working. Keep eating. Keep drinking. Pray for a race stoppage. Haha. I guess the only thing of note on this lap is I get passed  the only time all day on this lap. It is towards the end of the last climb so around mile 28 at this point. It is the 50K leader so it is his last lap and almost done. They started 30 minutes after us so I figured at some point the leaders would catch me. He was the only though. We chatted a little and I ran behind him for 10 minutes but let him go as he was kicking to finish and I had 20 more miles to go. He had a Quaff On! racing jersey and so I asked if he knew Scott Breeden. Sure did. We joked that Scott was doing his own suffering as well at this point, he was in Cali doing The North Face 50. Turns out the 50K winner was Ron Brooks. We are now Strava buds…so basically best friends.

30 miles done. I hate my life.

Lap 4 – 2:02:20. Finally crept over 2 hours per lap. The climbing, descending and poor trail footing was taking its toll. The end of 3 or beginning of 4 was probably my low point mentally. I was 30+ miles in and knew that I had two more very difficult laps left. Best get on with it. More mud. More climbing. Bombed some more descents. Almost lose another shoe. Just get through this lap and I can finish the last one. My feet hurt real bad. Like never before. I think it is from all the mud and downhills and trying to stabilize and balance myself. More power hiking. About the only highlight of this lap is the Reese’s Fast Break candy bar I ate. #blessed. Finally finish the lap. My legs hurt but my stride is good. I told Lindsey if I could have avoided the mud I could run all day on the trail…that was never a problem. The mud was a problem.

Tired. Sore. 40 miles done. 1 lap to go.

Lap 5 – 2:09:45. Just get this thing over with. Pretty sure that I have 2nd place locked up at this point. I am getting real tired by now but just keeping checking mental checkpoints off in my mind. I make it to the playground. Use the bathroom again. Make it to the stairs that lead to the Pinnacle Peak trail… basically a 1 mile hike. Bomb down the the next aid station. Pass some people. I can really feel the fatigue at this point at the power hiking is getting real hard. Finally make it to the summit  of the last climb. 2 miles to go. Blow past the last aid station. I don’t want anything execpt to stop running. One last lap around the lake. Almost fall coming up the small dam wall. I see the finish and Lindsey. Done. Finally. Thank you! Finally. 9:32:13. 2nd place.

My feet after 50 miles of mud, falling, and 874 creek crossings.

All done. Young Love. haha. Lindsey must really love me to hug with after 9 hours of running.

Looking back Saturday was probably the most difficult and demanding races I have done. The course itself was very difficult but add in the multiple loops, the rain, and the mud and it became very difficult. I am satisfied with my race. I told Lindsey and maybe given a dry day I could have run 8:30 or so. Definitely not as fast as Mohican. The course was just harder. Maybe I’ll run it again next year?!!? Haha. Overall a great event and great experience. The venue, DINO, the volunteers all awesome! You just can’t help 2 inches of rain the night and morning off an event.

All done! Pretty cool custom trophy and stand.

I told Lindsey after the race that I am not running until Christmas…well today is Tuesday and I’m ready to start again. It will all be easy till the New Year. Like real easy

Next up…that baby!

The post Jackson County 50 Race Report appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

With only five weeks between Monumental, big fall goal road marathon, and Jackson County. my second 50 miler, I knew the weeks in between would be tricky. It has been a weird hybrid rest/recover/maintain/specific training/taper thing going on.

Here is what my weeks from a volume standpoint have looked like.

Week 1 (first week post IMM) – 6 runs 30 miles. All easy

Week 2 – 6 runs. 50 miles. Easy but 2 runs in Monroe County to get hill work in.

Week 3 – 7 runs. 65 miles. Small mid week cut down. Felt pretty good. Another long run in Bloomington to get hill work in.

Week 4 – 8 runs. 53 miles. Taperish week. Semi raced the Drumstick Dash as I had Marshall in the stroller for the first two miles. Decent effort. Gave my last “effort” run on Friday. Good strong tempo type hill run around IU.

Week 5 – Jackson County race week. Everything is easy. Probably end up  with 22 miles prior to the race.

Coming off Monumental I had always planned a non-traditional taper for Jackson County so we’ll see how it goes…it will essentially be 8-10 days. Where as for Mohican I took a much more traditional taper cycle as Mohican was the goal and focus.

I’d like to run and place well at Jackson County but I honestly have no idea. The course is supposed to be difficult.

Here is the description from the website: “The course is a 10-mile loop with approximately 1,600 feet of vertical gain per lap (for comparison, about 25% more average elevation gain per mile than Tecumseh Trail Marathon). The trail is a mix of double-track (fire road style) trail and single-track narrow trail.”

It will be similar to Mohican but a more vertical in nature. I think Mohican had about 5,000-5,500. If the website is accurate this will be close to 8,000. Every ultra/trail course is different anyway so who knows anyway. One thing that is different is that it is 5, 10 mile loops. Which I think I might like. Just one loop at a time.

My goal for Mohican was sub 9 hrs. I was able to run basically 8 hours…coming in at 8:07 and snag 6th. So I’ll say my goal for Jackson County is around 8 hrs again. This should place me well and probably realistic for my fitness and mental state…but again you never know. Looking at the start list there are some fast dudes I know so it would be cool to hook with them but too much effort too early could be a disaster. We’ll see what happens. Either way I’ll give a good hard effort and enjoy the trail. 

I’m sure Lindsey will be tweeting up a storm if you want to follow my race. These ultras aren’t like road races…no real tracking.

She’ll also be responsible for giving me updates on The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship 50 mile race taking place at the same time out in the Marin Headlands of California near San Fransisco. $10,000 is on the line and the field is stacked as usual. Butler alum and ultra running machine Rob Krar won itself dropping the field over the last 15K to win by 10 minutes in what had been competitive race. There will be a strong contingent of Hoosier born, raised and/or living runners competing at the pointy end of the race so I’m excited to hear the updates!

If you want to follow along at home I highly suggest following @irunfar on the twitters. They do a great job and will be all over the men’s and women’s race.

Also of note, assuming I finish race on Saturday that will put me at 2,855 miles for the year. I’ve never been one to keep detailed track of miles and logs but thanks to Strava it does it for me. I have 391 miles pre-Strava so assuming that is right I have got to think that 2,855 is my highest mileage year to date. I don’t set mileage goals but just something cool to track. We’ll see how I feel after the race but I sure would like to crack 3,000 for the year. We’ see.

Good luck to all those running this weekend both in Jackson County and the Marin Headlands! We may have similar weather.

The post Jackson County 50 Miler- 5 Weeks Post Marathon appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

It was pretty freaking cold, as it was last year- so I think for 2015 we are due for some warmer weather. Marshall was not thrilled with the cold.

We were fortunate enough to be able to use the VIP tent before the race- which was heated & had lot’s of donuts. I was most happy with the heat and Marshall was most happy about the donuts. Big thanks to Steve Kerr for including us.

I got to start 5 minutes ahead of the group as a “celebrity runner” No I don’t think I’m a celebrity runner- but the whole Women’s Running Cover thing made that possible. The celebrity runners were mostly local news anchors and radio personalities. It was great to see a lot of familiar faces before the race- congrats to my friend Larra, who won the celebrity division- although I still don’t know what she actually ran because we weren’t chipped! I’m excited to train with Larra next year when I’m not running 11 minute miles.

Since I hit my third trimester, I’ve been consistently running 3-5 miles 4 days a week, around a 10:30-11:00/min mile. Well, I guess when you start a race, whether you’re pregnant or not- your 10:30 mile drops down to 8:45 or so. I knew I was running too fast for my 33 week pregnant self, but I was having fun.

Around mile 1.5, the race caught up to me and I of course stopped to take a picture of the lead pack, because that’s what I do. I cheered on some runners I knew and that was fun. Around mile 2 I saw Glenn- pushing Marshall running a 6 minute mile, NBD. His plan was to race with the stroller to get a little workout in, but for some reason I ended up taking over stroller duty- (still not sure why) and ran it it in for the lats 2.5 miles.

Well, wouldn’t you know- Marshall turns into a crying mess at this point and I end up pulled over on the side of the race for a minute looking for a donut, a paci, anything and I got nothing. I see Glenn with about a half mile to go and he had taken off with the freaking paci. I could have killed him. No really. Runners who passed us were super friendly and tried to help cheer Marshall up for the most part- but even looking at a 2 year old having a tantrum can sometimes make it worse. Oh boy. It was also fun to see plenty of friends (Nita, Lesley, Brian, etc.) pass by as we made our way to the finish line.

We finished in one piece, rode a train and and headed back to the car. I have no idea what I actually ran the race in time wise, since I’m pretty much anti watch right now. I only knew my first mile because I was running with someone who told me. And I only know my pace on other days when I run on the treadmill or when I run with Glenn, who is strava obsessed and wouldn’t miss logging any miles.

I think next year, I’ll race it ad Glenn can push the double stroller next to me as I race. 

This is Marshall wanting to ride on that darn train again, while also being cold and tired.

UP NEXT: Glenn is racing the Jackson 50/50 this weekend! It’s a 50K and 50 Mile race- and he’s doing the 50 miler. I’m excited because there are 5 loops, each 10 miles, so we get to see him quite a bit during the race. My Dad is loading up his RV and we will be cheering, while my mom watches Marshall for us in Btown.

The course is supposed to be fairly difficult- at least elevation wise, not sure how technical it is though. It will be interesting to see how he does compared to Mohican back in June. Definitely a little bit of different training as he’s just coming off Monumental. He ran 8:07 at Mohican, placing 6th and was really happy with the experience, time and place for his first 50 miler. It’s looking like things could shape up around the same for this race.

As for my race- I have 6 weeks to go with this baby.

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The sleep has gotten better as I’ve settled back into routine. I never sleep that well in the days immediately after a race. Not exactly sure why…but I think it is somewhat common. I am just kind of restless.

Resting heart rate is back in the normal range of high 30’s/low 40. I keep track of it a couple times a week to monitor over-reaching and the week leading up to the race I couldn’t get it down and then immediately following the race it goes right back to normal. I guess between work, Lindsey’ grandma, and the race I was a little stressed leading up to the race. haha. Pay attention to that stuff…it makes a difference.

November 3rd-9th

5 runs

26.2 miles…didn’t plan that just happened I guess 

Didn’t pay attention to pace or mile and used time on my feet as my guide this week.

Monday – Rest. Busy at work and there was no way that I was running with the shape that my calves were in. They were probably the most sore/stiff following a race that I have ever had.

Tuesday – 40 minutes. Little stiff. 4.3 miles…about 9:15 miles

Wednesday – Another 40 minutes with the dog. Just moving. Less sore. Little faster. 4.5 miles @ 8:54

Thursday – Rest

Friday – Cross country laps during work at Ben Davis. Another 40 minutes. Little faster again. 4.7 miles @ 8:35.

Saturday – In Crown Point for the weekend visiting my family so Lindsey and I ran together while my parents watched Marshall. I convinced Lindsey to do 60 minutes. We covered 5.2 miles. About 11 minute miles. Lindsey is committed to keeping moving for the rest of pregnancy but things are getting tough.

Sunday – Ran alone in Crown Point before anyone was awake. Another 60 minutes. 7.6 miles. 7:50 miles. Then we ate a bunch of doughnuts at my sister’s house. #blessed

I’ll probably do another week of time based running as I continue to recover. My guess is I’ll come in around 35-40 miles. I have the DINO Jackson County 50/50 coming up on Dec. 6th so I’ll start to work on that here in a week or so and try to get a couple longer trail runs in to at least attempt some course prep. Who signs up for a 50 mile trail race 5 weeks after racing marathon? Woof. I’m not overly concerned about the race at this point. I can complete it but I am a little worried about how hard it will be and if I’m mentally committed to the cause. Guess we’ll find out in a couple of weeks.

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Saturday was a good day. Here’s the recap.

Going into the race I had various goals but I’d say the ultimate goal was to break 2:50. I’ve targeted that for a while now…and really blew my fall race last year in Chicago going for it.

Coming into Monumental, if I had a good day and everything came together (weather, stress, taper, racing, the moon, stars, beer intake, etc) I fully believed and still do that I am more in 2:46-2:48 shape right now and was going to target that. I have emails with Lindsey going over the race plan to land at 2:46-2:48…I won’t bore you with those details. Basically…we talk about running a lot and coach mentor each other into reality.

As the week leading up the race wore on… it seemed like it was going to be less then ideal weather conditions. I will never use the weather as an excuse. Everyone has the same weather. Accept it. Plan for it. Adjust as needed and then go race in it. It was forecast to be about 27*F with a stiff north wind (18-20 MPH). Ok…whatever…not ideal but not that bad. Given how the course lays out if you are going to have a wind, straight out of the north is probably the best you could hope for.

Following an early Chipotle burrito dinner (veggie of course) with Marshall and Lindsey and a couple of calm the nerve beers it was bed time and show time on Saturday before I knew it.

Lindsey drove with me down to start, which was nice, so I didn’t have to mess with gear checking my keys, wallet, and phone. It was cold, windy, and dark. We  parted at about 7:45 so I could go do my shakeout and get into the corral. The shakeout was about 10 minutes with some strides to wake up the legs.

Did I mention I was cold? I had planned on racing in shorts, the new Out for a Run singlet, arm warmers, hat and gloves. As more throw away layers came off…the colder I got. I wasn’t worried about as I knew once I started racing I would warm up about 20-25 minutes into it.

Jumped into the front of the corral at about 7:55 for a 8:00 start (hello Indy!) and saw Collin and Micheal, exchanged some hellos, complained about the weather, talked about wanting to get this over with, maybe hugged it out and wished each luck and got set. I won’t steal their thunder but they both had amazing races coming in at 2:42:XX…which was PB’s for both! Micheal by more then 8 minutes!!! I’ll get there eventually.

Randomly spotted Lindsey one more time and we’re off…another marathon underway.

The plan was to take out the first 10K real comfortable in the 6:30 range given the cold and wind…this would give me plenty of time to get warmed up. Not much happened over the first 10K. I had to lap my watch around mile 3 due to the course going under the bridge on Virginia and the lost signal.

Miles 0 – 10K

1  – 6:39

2 – 6:34

3 – 6:16…had to lap it here from bridge underpass.

4 – 6:25

5 – 6:30

6 – 6:27

10K – 40:41 6:28 per mile pace

Felt pretty good through the first 10K. I was really really cold the first 4 miles…like my toes were numb cold. I spend most of it loosely running in a pack trying to figure out if anybody was going along for the full.

Once onto Fall Creek, we encountered a little bit of wind winding north toward the fairgrounds. At this point, the half pulls off and the full continues on. I spotted a small group up the road containing Christian High and a couple of other guys. I knew he was targeting 2:50 so I spent the next 1-1.5 miles bridging up to the group. I finally caught them at about mile nine on 38th street. I’d stay with them for a while. We talked a little but not much really.

Once we turned north onto Washington Blvd this was going to be the most significant area of wind for the day and the splits show it. I also sipped my second gel during this stretch…with the first coming around 40 minutes into the race.  The idea iwith the wind…not worry about pace and keep the effort honest. If you spend too much time and energy trying to fight the wind you’re setting it up for failure. Adjust and keep the effort honest.

You then make a small turn east and then north again into Broad Ripple for miles 11 – 13.1. Again…don’t worry about pace. Keep the effort honest. Saw local celebrity runner, Jackie Dikos, at this point. It’s always nice to see familiar faces. Not going to lie around mile 12.5 or so I definitely hit a low point mentally…I wasn’t really feeling it and knew I had work to do. Did my best to just keep moving and work through.

Made it through the half and onto Riverview…only 13.1 to go! Haha.

Mile 10.5

Miles 10K – 13.1

7 – 6:30

8 – 6:26

9 – 6:29

10 – 6:26

11 – 6:28

12 – 6:40

13.1 – 1:25:20…6:30 pace. Little slow to goal. Needed to make back at least 20 seconds on the 2nd half. 

Circling around Riverview coming toward Meridian I was still trying to figure out mentally what the deal was…best get on with it. This section finally has you turn south back toward the city…so our first tailwind along with the only incline on the entire course. It is ever so slightly uphill on Meridian…not really anything but not entirely flat. I began to accelerate slowly over the next couple of miles losing touch with Christian and Garrett and began to focus on runners up the road and seeing if I could run them down. 14 rolled by, 15 rolled by…I began looking for Lindsey around 46th and Meridian just past 16. She of course was there with Anna (Colllin’s wife). We chatted, I asked about Collin who was ahead of me and I was on my way. It made good logistical sense for Lindsey & Anna to hang together as we knew Collin and I would be at least close enough to move around from spot to spot without missing anyone.

Lindsey and Anna

More slow acceleration. 17 done. Onto Butler. This started to hurt and get real annoying. I feel good though. Get through the IMA and the next  timing mat and see how you feel. That’s the plan. I keep catching runners that are crashing. Pick off a couple more on 42nd St toward the IMA and get two more inside the IMA before you turn onto 38th and head to White River Parkway.

Miles 13.1 – 30K (18.6)

14 – 6:31

15 – 6:33 (uphill)

16 – 6:24

17 – 6:25

18 – 6:26

30K (18.6) 2:00:44 6:28 pace.

Once onto White River Parkway this is by far the worst section of the course. One it is late in the race but you still have a lot of distance to cover, there is not support, its kind of crappy on that side of town…about the only thing the section has is these random posters in ground that are a mix of jokes and Indiana facts. While running done White River Saturday all I could think about was what Scott told me a couple weeks back when he raced IMM last year he got so pissed during this section he kicked a couple of signs…haha.

Mile 16.5

I kept blowing on 19 done, 20 done, past the naval armory and into Riverside Park. I was looking for the turn onto Burdsal as I knew that was another milestone for the race. That is just past 21 I believe…get there and through another 2 miles of blah and you have a 5K left on Meridian.

Onto Burdsal, past Community Spirits and the fire station. Do you get a sense that I know this course inside and out? Haha. I spend a lot of time running it. Keep focused on who is in front of me. Still feeling good. Take another gel at this point. # 3 for the day. Holding about 6:20’s.

Just before I get to West and Burdsal I get passed by a guy probably running 6:00 flat. He was motoring. I remembered him from earlier. He no longer had his buddy. This would be the only runner that passed me in the 2nd half of the race.

Catch a couple more people….two girls but mostly guys. At this point we make a small turn north to Meridian. Once on Meridian…it is essentially 3 miles. I run through the BoMF water stop and make sure to get a cup from Tommy G. He gives some encouraging words. You think I didn’t look for someone I know to take water from…haha.

Couple more miles. I can do this. My legs hurt. I’m doing math. Pretty sure I have sub 2:50 nailed. Keep catching people. Keep pushing. More math. Another gel. I take my hat and gloves off as the tailwind, sun, and effort are making me warm. Keep pushing. There is mile 25. Two turns to go. I make the turn onto New York and am greeted by a headwind. Woof. Keep running. Looking for Lindsey. I wasn’t sure exactly where she would. Getting close. Keep pushing. I hear her before I her…surprise surprise! I run by the group and try to accelerate. Make the final turn on West and then to the state house. 400. Boom. Done.

2:49:05

30K – Finish

19 – 6:22

20 – 6:19

21 – 6:18

22 – 6:16

23 – 6:26

24 – 6:34

25 – 6:21

26 – 6:08

Finish – 2:49:05 6:27 per mile.

Mile 26

Overall, I am extremely happy with the race result and effort. Given everything leading up to the race, the day itself, and the race I left it all out there on Saturday. I could play ‘what-if’ a thousand time but it won’t change anything. Hard to argue a race performance that generates a 95 second negative split.

Nothing life changing or profound left to say but I have to say when I ran my first marathon with Lindsey back in 2008 in 3:49:38, I would have never imagined 6 years later that I would beat that time by 60 minutes! I guess patience, consistency, and hard work pay off! Haha.

Thanks for reading. Next up is Jackson County 50/50 in 5 weeks and then new goals for 2015. Lindsey has 2015 priority..but I’m sure I’ll come up with something…2:40? Why not?

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