Adrienne Langelier Racing

In my sports psychology practice I often talk about breaking down your goals into manageable subgoals; each being its own entity yet a defined part of the big picture. Sometimes these goals do not unfold in a linear sequence-one may have to take various detours and make adjustments. Sometimes we just need to just slow down and let things unfold as they should.

Funny thing about this principle I often teach is how easily I forget to apply it to my own life and training! When I am not minding to the process, I sometimes find myself getting lost in my ambitions and forgetting about the importance and the joy of the steps involved. Being a naturally-driven woman, I like to set the bar high for both my career and my running. I have tended to get lost in my sub-3 marathon quest and also the details of what I am/ am not doing correctly instead of enjoying every workout, race and my ability.

After some discussions with my coach and thinking about my upcoming races in the next few months, I have decided to pursue a new goal: focusing more on the here and now and each race at a time; being a little more in the moment. Big races such as Boston and even San Antonio will be here soon enough.

In the meantime, I have the Friends Helping Friends 10k next month, a chance to better my season's 5k time after that, and then the USA 10-miler (a new distance I am really looking forward to). Each race is different, some are likely more competitive than others, but all part of gaining more experience and enjoying my sport. While I have aspirations of one day hitting the sub-3 marathon and perhaps the Olympic Trials, I need to make sure I focus on one step and race at a time and see the forest with all its trees. Why do I get so ahead of myself??! The marathon is just one distance, my mission for the next few months is to improve in other events I love to do, such as the half (probably my real favorite), and take my first crack at a 10-miler in October.

This will keep me enjoying what I am doing and the sheer freedom of getting out there and hitting the roads. I have been blessed with resources and the opportunity to meet great people through running. I am challenging myself: treat one event as it is, just one among many, have more fun, and focus on one race at a time. If I can't change how competitive I am, I might as well channel it!

Run Happy everyone:)

"You ran another race already!" This was my mother's fairly comical response as I spoke with her on the phone after participating in On The Run's 22nd annual Lunar Rendezvous 5k this morning. I still think it's funny how my family often reacts as if I am engaging in some high-risk behaviors by running. C'mon now, I could always be a basejumper or trapeze artist instead! :O I guess what prompted that question was that I am just coming out of post-marathon mode. That being said, I noticed still some effects from last month, but not enough to totally slow me down. I think I put a good effort in, even if I was far away from PR land.

I hitched a ride with Bill and Randy S. and headed down to NASA shortly after 5:00 this morning. I woke up extra early this morning with my eyes opening before 4:00. I suppose there were a little nerves there given I have not done a short fast race in a while. In true fashion, we were some of the first to arrive, and I had all kinds of time to get ready: chip and bib on, the usual port-o-can drill, warm up and stretch out. The race started at 7:30, even though it already looked and felt like 11:00 or noon under a sunny and warm Houston sky. After a little small talk and strides, a fairly large field lined up and the gun went off after a astronaut-style countdown from 10.

I was fairly surprised how hot the field was as many runners took off at paces in the 4:00-5:00 range. I knew my body was not up to that type of challenge, so I backed it down to about a 5:50 pace and planned on holding it somewhere around there for as long as I could. The first mile was pretty shady as we ran by rocket hangars and stands of oak trees. The field was still pretty crowded as I hit my first split in 5:53-not bad. I was feeling relatively strong.

As mile 2 approached, the field was less bunched and I managed to overtake a couple of girls who had started apparently a little too fast. I was holding strong at just below a 6 min pace and took my split registering at 6:00 or so. I was not so concerned with splits today as I was just not trying to totally blow up. Shortly after the 2 mile mark I began to get a little hot and tired. I kept telling myself to relax, and I eventually was able to hold about a 6:15 pace.

The last part of the course was totally sun exposed (I'm trying not to use typical "Houston heat" excuse TOO much) and challenging. I talked myself into maintaining the pace I had and had just enough to give it a little kick in as I crossed the finish line in 19:15. It took me a minute to recover from the last push daze, but afterward my legs felt surprisingly good as I cooled down.

Even though my time was no where near my best, I think I did the best I could for the here and now, finishing 1st in my AG and 4th overall. Those college girls in front of me gave this ol' lady a race today! :) How'd I do? Of course, I'm hard to please with my race times, but for coming off a big one I am pretty satisfied. Post-race there were plenty of bananas and Hydrive energy water (which is both tasty and gross at the same time-is that weird?) to go around. My award was a useful one: a lovely 20 oz engraved beer glass-nice! Who says the glass is not half full?

Next week I will be ramping up the training and am looking forward to it. I am feeling healthy and not too fatigued after this race, so I take that as a good sign. I also hit a very small milestone in my still-young racing career: race # 30 is in the books, and I'm looking forward to more. Thanks to Jay Lee and all who put on such a nice, organized event. Yup, I ran a race already;)

I write this post relaxed with my feet up on my desk relaxing from my first double-digit run in a few weeks. My legs feel good and I had a good time this morning running with a different group than usual (Russell's frozen towels afterward=brilliant!). These individuals are some of the most talented in The Woodlands; evidenced by most of us running at a conversational 7:30 or below pace on an easy run. I also have to keep reminding myself that today is Sunday, not Saturday as I usually am a bit of a homebody on Friday nights to get up for what I like to call a Saturday "party in reverse"-lots of people out at the beginning of the day instead of the end;), but anyway... An all-day counseling ethics seminar pushed my usual routine back a day, which is a good thing for a creature of habit like myself; cant get too stagnant:). Besides, I feel more ethical today than I did yesterday! (ok, bad joke...)

Despite the schedule shift and resulting confusion (doesn't take much with yours truly!), training is about to resemble what I am used to again, which I am looking forward to. I think I have benefited from the days of downpour last week, making use of the treadmill enticing. Don't get me wrong, I do sometimes enjoy running in the rain, but not with flood watches in effect! Therefore, most of my 40ish mile week consisted of dry clothes (or at least drier for the sweat queen), music, and that slight bouncing sensation you get when you are on the 'mill of highest quality. Finally, on Friday the sun came out and so did I for a solid little run outdoors.

Today I still did not feel 100%, but close. Of course, it's no secret that it's freakin hot out right about now, so I had Bill in the corner of my eye on the bike for most of the time given he had my PowerBar Endurance on hand-gotta stay hydrated! I finished up almost 12 miles in about 1:27, took in my Recovery and a coffee afterward, and hung out for a bit. It's always fun to hear about other people's goals, experiences, and what they want to accomplish in the next few months. I will be adding, adjusting, and fine-tuning my own in the upcoming months, so stay tuned....

One week and a half post-marathon and I find a growing positivity associated with my experience in Seattle. Did I get the time I want? No, but I am proud that I faced some adversity and did not quit. Actually, it's not too bad an effort given my very compressed training. Just as Mr. Armstrong famously said: "Pain is temporary, quitting is forever", I chose to avoid the long-term consequences. As my carbohydrate stores restock themselves, I have been able to catch up with other things during my little training "break".

The craziest thing was at my massage session last week, Jarrett actually had trouble finding "rough spots" in my legs! Want to straighten your muscle fibers, go run 26.2!* (Please don't try previous statement that at home!)

I have enjoyed being able to sleep a little later (as in past 5:30 AM most mornings:)) and have some extra time to relax... err, work in the evenings. Last week I spent several evenings talking about one of my most favorite things in the world, sports psychology to various groups in The Woodlands.

Over the 4th weekend, I was able to travel to see family, including my 9-day old nephew Carson.
Although kids are not really my forte, I have to say that he is a cute one-and already pretty strong.

I also have done a little running in the past weeks, mainly just shorter easy runs. It took a good 7 to 8 days for the "trauma" effects to begin to lessen. I completed a 6-mile run on the treadmill tonight with 10 short pickups for turnover, and finally did not experience that heavy feeling in my legs after the first couple miles...slowly returning to normalcy! I put in 17 really easy miles last week, and am on pace for just over 30 this week. None of the hard stuff, just keeping moving. With the Lunar Rendezvous 5k coming up next weekend, hopefully there won't be too many cobwebs!