Carmel Half Marathon Training {Week 4}

I am going to let you in on a secret – one that might surprise you.

I don't want to PR the half marathon.

It sounds weird, right? Many times we go into a training cycle with the hope of getting stronger, faster and nailing a certain time. I want to do those things, of course. I want to get stronger. I want to get faster. And, when I toe the line in Carmel on April 16, I want a certain time. I want to run 1:59.

My PR, though, is 1:54:12. I ran that time 5.5 years ago and came within 1:30 of it in September 2014, when I was 12 weeks pregnant with Si. It was hard work to get that fast (relatively) – I ran 30+ miles a week, my log full of long tempos and intervals. I felt pushed to the limit and like I was breaking barriers. I set PRs in the 5K and 10K that helped me believe a half marathon best was possible. It was a type of training that I was ready for, and it was the only way I could tackle it.

Now, life with two kids, I'm not ready for that and as such, I haven't expected super great things with my running. I've been plugging away albeit picking up a challenge here and there along the way. So color me surprised when I crossed the mats at a local, low-key 5K on Saturday in a time of 25:17 – two seconds off my PR.

Later that night, Mark told me that I was definitely going to PR in Carmel. I wanted to shrug him off but part of me wondered if it would be wrong to call him a nut job and ignore him.

The race was part of a long run sandwich – log miles before the start, run the race and then keep going until you hit your mileage goal. The plan called for 12 miles with the mid-4 at race pace (9:00-9:09), making the long run sandwich an ideal option.

The first 5 miles went great. I ran with the girls for four, hitting about 10 minutes/mile for the first three and then picking it up to 8:50 for miles 4 and 5. I felt good and loose by the time I hit the start and told myself that I just had to run two more fast miles and then I could jog it into the finish. My running partner, Karen, was also participating and thought she'd like to be around 8:30 pace for the race. I figured that I'd keep her in my sights and chug away.

Which is what I did. Except, she ran more like 8:05 and I averaged 8:09 (officially).

I'm not going to give you a blow-by-blow of the race – don't even think I could if I wanted to – but a few notes. It was hard, and I definitely was working. However, I know that there were 3 seconds that could have easily been shaved. The park is known for its hills, and I nearly called "trail hill" on the second go-around. It was windy, and I definitely tried to draft off some of the high school guys who weren't keen on letting me pass them any way.

The course, two loops at a local park, and I know I finished the first lap in less than 12:30. According to my Soleus, my splits were actually pretty consistent between 7:55 and 8:05. But as with most GPS devices, it had me finishing the 5K distance in 24:4X and finishing the race around 3.2 miles. To break 25 in the 5K is a definite goal for the year, and it was rad to think I'm close.

I'm not getting ahead of myself, mind you. I'm going to continue training for Carmel as I have. Goal pace will be 9:00 to 9:09 and training paces will be based on that. But, I'm not going to hold myself back either.

The week, in running:

Tuesday: 5.2 miles, tempo
Thursday: 5.1 miles, hilly
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 12 miles total

Triple threat: Race recap

The call it the Fanny Freezer. For the first track club race of the year, it's an appropriate name as it's pretty much guaranteed that your backside will be on the chilly side during February in Indiana.

And, I'm glad (??) to report, that the race did live up to it's name. I had a frozen fanny ... and my fastest 5K in three years and I placed third in my age group. Official finish time (gun start, chip finish): 26:58.

Three "runs": Being the multitasker I am ... and having a running partner training for the L.A. Marathon, we opted to turn the race into a long run with some faster miles in between. We ran the course backward to warm up, did the race and did a long cool down of nearly 4 miles. In addition, I wanted the 5K to be at tempo pace so that I could cross that off the calendar as well.

Three things about the course: It was two loops at a local park with a decent-for-Indiana hill to start and a downhill at the end. • This year, the track club got sassy and reversed the course, which I thought was much better. •  The first part of the course, with the uphill, is a road and as such was fairly slushy. The middle section was snowy but passable, and I found it the easiest to hold a difficult pace. I thought I'd be able to open up on the downhill but it was a layer of ice with snow on top and was quite slick.

Three things about my race: My compatriots and I had a delicious warmup on the course, and we agreed that the 10-minute miles just felt good. So good, in fact, that I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to kick it up to tempo pace - especially with the conditions. • I was very thankful that despite feeling like I was moving at light speed yet not going anywhere (because that makes sense), I was hitting the goal. • The first loop was manageable but, when greeted with an incline for the second time, it became much more challenging. I really had to dig to keep the pace under 9 minutes. I had to dig more when I knew I'd be close to a sub-27 finish.

Three randoms from the race: During the second loop, when I felt like crap, a tween boy told me, "Nice job." He was so sweet, and I very much needed to hear it at that moment. And then I passed him. • I tried to keep picking it up as I saw a curly pony tail ahead, and I thought it was a speedier girl who aged up into my group. I was right about who it was but I didn't managed to catch her. She ended up winning 30-34, 19 seconds ahead of me. • I felt like this race was the first time where I really belonged. I am an official member of the track club, there were lots of familiar faces and I just felt invested in the community.

Big, showy races are great but there's something about being able to smack someone's butt as you pass and feel good doing it.

Things

1. I have my first race of the year Saturday - the Fanny Freezer 5K. After unseasonably warm temperatures, Mother Nature has decided to allow the race to live up to its name.

 

See there - the temperature dips just in time for Saturday. I don't care all that much except that it might alter my outfit selection. You see, I bought my first matchy-matchy outfit from Nike, and it features a pair of plum capris. Capris + 22 degrees  = No good.

2. I would like to say that I have no particular goals for this race as I haven't done a 5K in a year and a half but that would be a lie. And, according to my grandma, lying is bad.

I know I can do it: Sub-30
I might be able to do it: Sub-28
Wouldn't it be nice if the stars aligned: Sub-27

3. Of course, it doesn't really matter how I do. It's more about having a baseline to use for my speedwork and tempo runs as I look ahead to the Martian half-marathon.

4. Oh, and the fact that I'm doing the race with a ton of awesome girls and having lunch with them after the fact. We're going to Chili's, which is not known for being healthy (the Quesadilla Explosion Salad has 1,300 calories) but I have a coupon and I'm a sucker for a coupon.

5. Coupons, and my love of them, are the reason I picked up some Balance bars at Kroger this weekend. They were on sale for 99 cents but them if you bought 10 participating items, the price got knocked down to 49 cents. Pair that with a $1 off coupon when buying three, and I couldn't resist.

6. I had one for breakfast this morning - mocha chip, I think. It tasted OK, and it was easy to grab and slam while I was feeding Miles this morning. What I hate about those bars and any bar like it is that they fail to hold me for very long. It's 8:30, and I have already had my second breakfast.

7. I was able to make breakfast because I actually got Miles to take a nap without going for run (I'll be doing that tonight). It might not seem like such a big deal but I find it nearly impossible to get him to sleep during the day without having him in the car seat/out and about. I hate to say it but I'm actually getting the hang of this mom thing.

8. I really wanted to use this unexpected time to do my hair but I can't find my hair straightener. I have a feeling that Mark put it away because I left it in the living room (where I sometimes do my hair so I can keep Miles company while he plays in the bouncer). So it's my fault ... sort of. It is Mark's fault, though, for not putting it anywhere that makes sense. I have checked every drawer and cabinet in both bathrooms, the laundry baskets and the dishwasher. Nothing.

9. Since I'm bound to look like a hot mess with unkempt hair and perpetual undereye circles, I decided to throw on some makeup and a pair of earrings. I'm sure most people do these sorts of things every day for work but I don't. I could pretend that I'm just so beautiful that I don't need it but it's really that I just don't get around to it/need an upgrade (read: need to spend $$$) in all things beauty related.

10. Or, I could say it's just no use trying to compete for cuteness around here.

Miles is always going to win.

We went shopping this weekend and as we were perusing Penney's, a woman from the portrait studio asked if she could take photos of Miles. The studio had gotten a new prop for taking babies' photos and she wanted to try it out since there were no appointments. In exchange for our time, we'd get a free 10 by 13.

I'm sure you can guess what I said.

I don't think you can have enough photos of a baby. Even if some of them look, well, a little ...

Well, I just don't think there are words. But look how good he's sitting up! And the little man, who is now 7 months old, is on his knees, rocking around. We'll be moving and shaking soon, I'm sure!