Team Rogue Race Prep w/ Track Close: Method to Steve’s Madness

After almost 5 months of training with Team Rogue, this rookie finally understands some of the method to the madness of our Coach, Steve Sisson.  He designs certain workouts, like race prep’s, to test you physically and mentally.  Today was a 25-27 mile training run with 2 sets of 4 miles at marathon goal pace (MGP), recovery on the hills of Redbud and Stratford, and miles 20 to 26 were progressively faster on the track — 2 miles at MGP, 2 at half marathon pace (HMGP) and 2 at 10k pace. As my friend Kamran said, “at least that’s the theory of the workout.” 

You might think it sounds cruel to make us run progressively down to faster paces like HMGP and 10k pace at the end of such a long run.  The mileage simulates our actual race and the combination of MGP work, hills and the track close simulate the physical and mental fatigue that you have to deal with on race day, especially at the end as you push to meet your goal (or sometimes just to keep going.)

I’ve been training for an aggressive PR in Eugene (for non-runners, that’s a personal record or personal best), trying to shave off more than 30 min. from my best marathon time and run a sub-4:00 marathon.  But as our other Coach, John Schrup, has told me, I shouldn’t think about that old PR because it isn’t really applicable anymore as I “play a whole new sport now.” 

This will be my 10th and fastest marathon.  I am certain.  I’ve had an awesome training season running alongside some of my favorite people Carolyn, Holly, Joe, Bryan, Brenda, occasionally Paul, and early on with Steph Woodruff and P. (aka Priscilla).  Over the last 6 weeks or so, we’ve been training at 3:55/3:56 paces and usually nailing them in workouts.  So, today was a test to determine what’s realistic in Eugene.

Goal paces for a 3:55 marathon are as follows:

MGP 8:58
HMGP 8:30
10k 8:05

What I actually did:

2×4 miles at MGP:
Set 1 – 8:54 pace
Set 2 –  8:56 pace

Track close:
Track MGP 1 – 8:57
Track MGP 2 – 8:59
Track HMGP 1 – 8:30
Track HMGP 2 – 8:31
Track 10k 1 – 8:35
Track 10k 2 – 8:27

My mental game is usually one of my biggest strengths in marathoning, but today I was tested.  I thought I might cut the hills on RedBud and Stratford (an option our Coach gave us if we needed it), but alongside Carolyn, I could do it.  We ran it easy and knocked out the miles fairly easily.  Then we hit the track and the real test began.   The first 2 miles at MGP were no problem.  Not easy, but not too hard either.  We were right on target.  On to 2 miles of the 30-second faster HMGP.  My legs started complaining that they were tired during these laps, but my mind could still overrule them.  I was right on target until the last lap or 2 of the last HMGP.   I started thinking ahead to how on earth I was going to cut another 25 seconds/mile and get down to 10k pace next.  I was lucky to be hanging on to HMGP for heaven’s sake.

Then it was time.  I uncharacteristically dropped an F-bomb wondering aloud how the #$%! I was going to get to 8:05?!?!  I struggled around that first lap at an 8:16 pace, but was having trouble breathing and getting upset because I couldn’t get to pace.  Steve told me to go back to HMGP for the rest of that mile, then see what I had left for the last mile.  I had a much slower second 400, then had to pull myself together and get back in rhythm for the rest of the mile.  At that point, I was close to HMGP again and stayed there til the last lap, but was counting every lap and mentally reminding myself that I could do anything for 6 laps, 5 laps, 4 laps and so on.  I pushed with everything I had left to end up a little under HMGP with my fastest mile at the end of the workout.  I was grateful it was over, not sure I could have eeked out one more lap.

It was tough, but exhilirating (once it was over!)  This is the type of workout that serious runners do.  Somehow, I crossed over into their world.  I am humbled to run with the best, even though I am at the back of the pack.  They push me to work harder and be better. 

I am confident I can run sub-4 in Eugene.  I’ll figure out an exact goal in the next few weeks but something between 3:55-3:59.  It’s scary aggressive, but Team Rogue inspires me.  Or, maybe I’ve just become a crazy enough to think I’m a badass and anything is possible. 

Special thanks to:
* All of the Team Roguer’s (Coach Steve, Scoob, Paul, Joe, Nedra, Amy, Mark, Dionn, Michael, Cindy, etc.) & support team (Trey, Chris, Ruby, the bootcamp team who cheered me on the last lap) who were at the track motivating us around that #$%! asphalt oval lap after lap.  
* Scooby, my #1 fan
* Kamran, who always makes time to help me talk through things
* Lisa, the best massage therapist around, who keeps me together
* My CrossFit Team Tres Equis (XXX) – Carrie, Steph, Emily and Coach Alex who selflessly let me bow out of our final challenge workout in order to do this race prep with Team Rogue.  I was delusional thinking I could do this on my own.

Team XXX Posts Fastest Time at CrossFit Adventure Challenge

Our kick-ass team: Stephanie Woodruff, Emily Baker, me and Carrie McDonald

I’m sure you’re wondering what this is and how on earth I got myself into it.  Right?

My running buddy and fellow CrossFitter, Steph, and I decided to be part of the 7-week CrossFit Adventure Challenge while running one cold January morning.  It sounded like a good idea — a secret benchmark workout for a team of 3, body composition measurements, nutrition logging and goal setting for changes at the end of 7 weeks.  At the end of the competition, the team with the biggest time improvement on the benchmark workout and biggest change in body composition as a team (most body fat%/inches lost) wins.

Steph recruited another CrossFit friend, Carrie McDonald, to join us and with our trio complete, our team of 3 hottie, CrossFitters — Team Tres Equis (XXX) was born.  Unfortunately by the time of the challenge, Steph couldn’t compete, but it gave us an opportunity to recruit Emily Baker to the team.  Before the challenge even began, I had already gained 2 new friends! 

On Friday night, we finally learned what that challenge was going to be — a combination of 100 thrusters, sprinting with med. balls (twice each), running to Zilker, the rowing dock and Deep Eddy, kayaking (twice!), 50 burpees, 50 in/outs, 50 lunges and 100 swings. 

On Saturday morning, 9 teams showed up for the challenge, including 2 other teams of friends coached by our favorite CrossFit trainer Alex Janss, The Invincibles (Peggy, Susan and Vince) and General’s Triple Threat (Anna, Chris and Dolly.)  It was cold and muddy, but we all cranked out the benchmark workout.  Thanks to my amazing teammates, we finished in 29:18.  (I can admit that on Friday night, we were worried about whether or not we could complete the workout in an hour!)

We couldn’t believe it when we finished and the volunteer coach helping us out told us that we finished first with the fastest time.  We were elated.  Yes, part of the challenge is on how much time you can shave off the workout, but with a team of competitive women, the thought of taking our time or sandbagging a little, just didn’t occur to us.  Like everyone, we were in it to win it.  (Carrie and I decided to reward ourselves with a little Lululemon afterward. : )

So, we’ve decided we’ll have to work even harder on the body composition part of the challenge and have thought of a few ways to cut a little more time out of the workout.  Stay tuned for that when we re-do the challenge on Mar. 27.

I may need your help to keep my diet clean and remain focused on hard training.  I’ve been using My Fit Foods, a healthy meal service, to help me get to a 40/40/20 diet with proper portion sizes and may need to for a while longer.  I figure that by focusing on the body composition part of the challenge, I’ll naturally be getting stronger and better at the challenge workout next time.  I guess that means I’m going to have to remain Diet Coke and alcohol-free for another 7 weeks or so!

New Year, New Goals

I apologize, but I am a lapsed blogger. A lot has happened since my last post:
* Laura and I have been coaching a beginner’s Half-Marathon training group since Sept. 22 of our runners ran 3M and approx. 28 are running the Austin Half Marathon. We are extremely proud of them.
* I rebounded from injury and ran the New York Marathon in November with my sweet friend, Laura (her FIRST marathon!)
* 2 weeks after New York, I set a new half-marathon PR of 2:08 in San Antonio (and so did Scott!)
* I joined the Team Rogue training group right after the San Antonio Half.
* Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s went by in a blur and I hate to admit I let my weight get a little out of control during this time.
* I started fresh Jan. 4 with a renewed commitment to eating clean and sticking to my demanding workout schedule of approx. 60 miles/week of running and at least 2 CrossFit workouts for core/strength-training, with the hopes of sprinkling in a yoga class or two when I can.
* I was part of a major product launch releasing LabVIEW Robotics to the world on Jan. 11.
* I set a goal to lose 8 lbs. by 3M in order to run a better race and achieved it, down 8.4 lbs. and setting a new PR of 1:57, the first time I’ve ever broken 2 hours, and averaging 8:55/mi. (Again, Scott also set a new PR too as did many of our friends, which made for a great day!)

Now, somehow it’s already February and I have new goals to tackle:
* Train consistently with Team Rogue, averaging 60 miles/week. The program is demanding, but a real highlight of my week. I never thought I would enjoy waking up at 4:30/4:45 a.m., running at least 3 double-digit runs/week, doing 2 Quality workouts a week (instead of one), but I love the challenge and feel like I’m getting stronger with each workout.
* I also committed to the CrossFit Adventure Challenge with friends, Stephanie Woodruff, Carrie McDonald, and Emily Baker, which was a real jump for me, especially with my Team Rogue commitment. It’s a 7-week challenge with benchmark workouts, body composition, nutrition logging, etc. (More on this to come.)
* I am still resolved to eat clean and stick to my workout schedules to lose another 12 lbs. by May. I am 5 wks. free of my Diet Coke habit.
* My next race is to run the Eugene Marathon on May 2. I haven’t set my exact time goal yet, but it will somewhere around 4 hours, hopefully a 30+ min. PR.
* Be more consistent with my blog, posting at least twice a month.

Now you know what I’ve been up to . . . my excuse for slacking on my blog.

What are your goals for the New Year? : )