Adrienne Langelier Racing

This past week has not been one of my favorites. A slow-building achilles injury kind of put a kink in my week. After a week of post-marathon fatigue (my overall recovery, from what I can tell, is coming along decently), the legs felt ready to go come Tuesday morning; the lower quadrant of the left one, however, had other plans.

After changing shoe manufacturers, apparently the heel of my Nikes left some bruising. After trying to train through it and thinking it will eventually adapt, it did not. I was able to complete my training and run a killer marathon, now I guess I'm being told to tap the brakes for a moment.

Wednesday's run was difficult towards the end, and I decided to check into getting it looked at. Actually, the girl who examined it (ok Nurse Practitioner, that sounds better!) seemed confused with what it was and told me to lay off 2 weeks. Today I had a muscular therapy session at Julstro (highly recommended) and received some better feedback that what I had was likely not structural in nature.

With me being a bit of a fanatic for workouts and consistency, I was/am still frustrated; patience and cross-training will be the best medicine. While I hope to slowly put some easy miles in this week, I will be spending some time in the pool as well-this morning I put in a solid hour in the water after my core work and weights. It's nice to know I can still hold my own in the water, minus a slighly crooked backstroke!

Even though I will be doing no racing this next weekend, I am looking forward to watching the Buffalo Wallow 6k and helping out at Rocky Raccoon 50 and 100.

Resting and recovering was priority #1 this week. While on one hand, it was somewhat difficult to stay off the roads and my usual routine, but logic and that heavy feeling in my legs definitely trumped any desire to run extra-and that is a good thing. The mini-workouts I did put in involved just easy, watchless running and a lot of stretching and light core work. I actually found myself enjoying running sans timepiece-even if I'm tired, I still know I would look at it on the run. Instead, I just jammed to Mp3's and the slow resurgence of my running rhythm.

What I did this week:

Mon. and Tues.:Absolutely nothing!! :)
Wednesday: Indoor track run for approx 30 minutes. I think I was in between 3-4 miles on this one.
Thurs. Light upper body strength work and core exercises
Sat.: 6.5 miles easy and watchless-felt ok but still feeling some of Sunday's aftereffects
Sun.: Yet another day off

I'm still pumped about my performance and everything else surrounding last weekend. I will be slowly working myself back to full speed, but right now there is no rush. I will, however, likely register for the Park to Park 5-miler at the end of Feb. sometime soon. And....just over a month until TIR! Yay!

Next to Kara Goucher (what a marathon debut!), Ryan Hall, Liza Hunter-Galvan, Brian Sell, et al., I find her story inspiring. Kelly Jaske was the runner-up to Magda Lewy-Boulet in the Aramco Houston Half over the weekend. Apparently, she is also a Harvard (I think, anyway) -educated lawyer.

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234476-2009-houston-half-marathon/122766-kelly-jaske

It's amazing what 11 months of improved training and knowledge can do to your marathon time. I put in my second marathon and first Houston Marathon in this morning, I grade my performance definitely satisfactory! Though comparing sand to flat concrete is like comparing apples to oranges, everything was better the second time around.

....enough about that, my time = 3:05:20; 31 minutes faster than my previous! Avg. pace: 7:04.
Splits: 10K: 43:06
1/2: 1:31:24
30k:2:10:34


This finish was good enough for 16th Overall Female, 147th Overall, and 5th in my AG.

Luckily, each mile marker had it's own split time, for I had a split malfunction with my own watch-saved by the course, for split monitoring and tangents were paramount in my race plan. My race plan today called for a cushioned range of 6:50-7:10 minute miles-I was actually thinking 3:05ish given the conditions and my lack of experience. I am quickly becoming a fan of structured racing.
Besides the last two miles or so, I actually enjoyed this race quite a bit, I think had a smile on my face for at least half of it once the nerves wore off (and I corrected my 6:40 1st mile).

Instead of writing a novel of a race report, I have kind of compiled a list of some of my favorite moments, experiences, and such from this long weekend. The GRB and I are much closer now that we have spent a few days together! These are in no particular order, just whatever pops up first in my tired brain.

• My sister, aunts, uncle, and cousins who came down from the San Antonio area to watch me finish-complete with "Psych Ward" t-shirts. Hmmm... original and made them easy to find at least!
• My big PR jump!
• Montrose/University Ave. stretch of the course
• Everybody from my clubs' support and cheering-it was sooo morale-boosting to see all of you out there on Allen Parkway! ~too many to list here
  
• Coach Bill's input-I think I finally learned to regulate my pace
• The Invited Runner experience-it was truly unreal.
• Riding the elevator with the soon-to-be course record holder-Deriba Merga.
• Having lunch amongst the real elites (Meb is shorter than I thought he was!)
• The powerful mix of emotions I had in the ready room before heading out to the starting line.
  
• My dietary/fueling plan seemed to really pay off; there really was no real "wall" on this one.
• Allen Parkway being nothing like the hills of Huntsvegas-thank goodness!!
  
• Julie the massage therapist, who worked me over after the race, when I needed it the most.
• Qualifying for Boston! (and having 2 years to use it)

Of course, I had a good case of nerves and in the beginning and was coming off a near-sleepless night, but I think I did well in calming myself down. I kept using the mantra: "Don't change a thing" regarding where my pace was at, along with "run the mile that you're in". Psychology is a beautiful thing!

While I still have time and room to improve, again, I find myself super-excited about this one. For now, all I plan on is getting some recovery time in, and focusing on having fun at some smaller races. After that-???? I will then be hungry for more!

Congrats to all today's finishers!

Actually she's been at it for a few weeks now. After taking in the race atmosphere and all it's warm splendor as a spectator, my mom has gotten into running! I am so proud of her! Rumor has it that my dad also just bought some running kicks. Mother should debut at the Bellaire Trolley Run later this Spring, and I think the Beneezy Purple Monkey Run may be a family affair in August. I have been in total "marathon drive mode" as of late, so it's kind of nice to think towards future (and shorter) races and how excited I am that my family is getting more involved.

Speaking of the marathon, I am actually sort of enjoying the taper and the extra energy that comes with it.I'm sure it will turn a little more into nervous energy as the week progresses. The weather on Sunday morning is all abuzz, and so far it sounds pretty decent. According to the website, there are only 4 days and 11 hours to go!

Training has been light this week, with a comfortable 4 at a 7:40ish pace on Monday and 6 at the same clip (brrrr!) this morning. Tomorrow I will throw in some goal pace miles inside my 6 miles.

It is not time to focus mostly on rest, putting in only the mileage my training plan calls for. My objective this week is to get as much rest as possible and hopefully cruise as much as possible through the first week of classes/internship (for what it's worth, I think this may help distract me from next weekend's task some).

Today called for the last longish run before the race. After playing around with the USATF tracker and probably overthinking how to find a route in Huntsville that is of "moderate difficulty", I decided on a 6-mile double loop that turned out to be relatively hilly, but that should make me appreciate the Houston streets that much more. I think the conditions were great this morning, not that they were particularly comfortable, but that the temps were in the high 40s-low 50s, plus a considerable headwind for at least half of the run. This could be good if it is cooler or windier that I would like next Sunday. I find that it is not too difficult for me to get comfortable in cooler weather with arm warmers and gloves.

The run itself went by fast, I began with roughly an 8:30 pace and ended with 6:55 (likely a little faster) before cooling down. I even had the little surprise of finding $10 on the road halfway through. I did feel a little guilty putting it in my pocket-but I had to keep running! It can go toward my "poor student GPS fund", I still could use some help with my pacing skills. Upon getting in I grabbed a 16-minute (a personal record!) ice bath. Afternoon nap coming shortly-and I will likely take tomorrow off.

Next week's gonna be crazy!

I have never tried a designated goal pace run before until this morning; being the "dedicated student" that I am :), I went out to the track and belted out 4.5 miles of it. An added bonus was getting in some cold weather work in, as temps in Huntsville were still under 40 degrees-it is January, so it may come in handy.

I began with a warmup run to the track on the edge of SHSU. It is actually a tad further than the one-mile warmup I was slated to run, but the muscles benefitted from a little extra warmup time this morning. I wasted no time getting started at the track, picking up the pace shortly after entry.

Training Splits (goal of 6:55):
First mile-I like to call this the "calibration mile" as I pay extra close attention to each lap to make sure I am properly pacing:
400m: 1:42
800m: 3:27 (almost perfect)
1600m: 6:51-actual pace not too far off.
@2-mile: 13:32
@3-mile: 20:30
Last mile: 27:17-likely I sped up some towards the end.
800m @ goal pace-final time:????-stopped watch at 4. I mainly wanted to drill in this speed and how it feels.

Overall, not a bad workout. I ran on a granite track still puddle-laiden. The pace was the right balance of comfortable and challenging. Used the run home as a cool-down and recovered with some yogurt and 2 cups of green tea.

I was planning on waiting the weather out this morning to get my easy run in, but my patience with the rain wore thin and I was not feeling "belt-riding" on the treadmill this morning. Expecting a call this morning sometime before lunch, I slipped on my new vest, arm warmers, and tights and proceeded on. While I am not a big fan of the wet and cold thing, I felt good on this one and it was almost enjoyable-usually I get cold on these ones, but today was not the case. The cold raindrops on my face were almost refreshing. Despite the relative difficulty to actually get out and face the weather, I always feel productive after training in less-than-ideal conditions.

After dealing with some weekend fatigue, I'm beginning to feel some snap in my stride and was able to hit some short pickups on the flat areas of this course with no problem. Based on my watch, I averaged a few seconds faster than my targeted pace of 7:45, but not too much. Tomorrow I will be more of a stickler for proper pacing, as I am heading to the track for a 4-5 mile goal marathon pace run-this is something I really want to get right.

Another aspect I am trying to be mindful of, and luckily my habits are already pretty decent, is getting in proper fuel. Striking a proper balance of carbohydrates for energy and protein for recovery/repair is imperative. Something I have been paying a little more attention to is taking something in right after a run, which I have sometimes slacked off on in the past.

It turned out that the title song was just what I needed, pumping through my headphones for the last couple miles of my long run this morning. Thanks to AC/DC! It was also nice that thunderstruck was not the theme of the weather today, as thunderstorms were forecasted, but didn't deliver (the humidity was brutal, nonetheless).

With just over 2 weeks until the marathon, I found myself in "no man's land" on this run. I began my 15-mile progression run feeling less-than-stellar, so much so I found it a little frustrating. I kept thinking "it's only an 8:30 pace, c'mon!"Actually I was pretty tired through the first 7 miles of my run around Huntsville. Luckily, after making a deal internally to give it a couple more miles and then reevaluate what I was going to do with this junky run, I began to run/feel better. Maybe it was the carbs finally kicking in, maybe it was my body just saying "fine, I'll do it", or the music, with U2's "Beautiful Day" coming on, who knows? Nonetheless I had a little morale boost and kicked it up to a 7:30 pace at mile 6.

The last 5 miles, run at a 6:55 pace were actually the best ones I put in. I tried to visualize the midpoint of the marathon and reflect on the mental toughness that has gotten me to this point, and what maintaining it can do. Mile 13ish: last of the tough ones, and just the song to get me to the end of the workout-I listened to it twice!

Workout Breakdown:
3 mi warmup at 8:30 (yuck today!)
3 mi at 8:00
3 mi at 7:30
5 mi. at 6:55
1 mi cooldown at 8:30 pace
Actual total time was about 1:46.

With the temps and humidity, I ran sockless in my Lunars. They are actually more comfortable that way, except for the heel, which is not too kind to the achilles.

I'm not too big on the whole "New Year/resolution/New (fill in the blank here)", or feeling the need to make big changes just because one digit does on the calendar. Perhaps I tend to like continuity; things just rolling into the next. That being said, 2008 did bring some definite notables and new experiences. Like many of you have already done before me, I will list a handful of some.

Highlights of '08:

Surviving and relatively thriving in my first full year of graduate school.
Running (and managing to win) my first marathon at Surfside-an unforgettable experience.
TIR!!!-With a special thanks to Katy L. and Jon for inviting me to join the 'Bloggers last-minute.
Meeting many new friends in the running community (the best individuals around)!
Finally learning how to properly train and rest for races, with a little help.
My awesome running clubs.
After a second attempt, scoring an invite to the Houston Marathon-hopefully this can become a 2009 highlight!

"Experiences" (good or bad) of '08:

Ike-I've never experienced a hurricane before, and I can say now that I don't like them.
Running against tougher competition in the Houston area.
Spring 2008 semester.
Learning how to balance things better; will always be a constant work in progress.
Learning that I am capable of getting up at 5:30 AM!
Working as a counselor in training.
Dropping my Master's Thesis.

Goals and plans for this year include: a marathon PR, and improve my running further; possibly help others learn and improve theirs , graduate with the MA, and keep on a generally positive wavelength....that's all I can think of for the moment.