Adrienne Langelier Running

PowerBar Team Elite: Another Year!

2012-02-07T17:26:00.002-06:00

Amidst the busyness that has been the theme of my life for the past couple weeks, there has been a number of positive things that I can take from the organized chaos of work, workouts, friends, and sleeping (ahhhh...). One of the highlights is that just a few weeks after my Brooks renewal, I got a notice from PowerBar letting me know that I'm in for nutrition sponsorship for the year 2012-2013. This will be a year of some big changes (to be discussed later, so stay tuned) and I'm happy to have a great nutrition sponsor in my corner. And the stuff tastes pretty darn good too! :)

Thanks again PowerBar!

Stay the course.

A Relative "Down Week"

2012-01-29T12:57:00.001-06:00

First, let's rewind back to Friday, when I received an awesomely large shipment by my beloved gear sponsor, Brooks...

New gear is always a great way to cap off a busy week.

I always enjoy "new shoe day", and my coworkers seem to do so as well, watching me giddily tearing open the brown boxes addressed to yours truly and then taking turns passing around the schwag of the month. I'm slowly trying to convince them to give running a try-maybe the stylishness of the women's line will help?! My first shipment of the year included my favorite Epiphany top, a couple singlets to race in, and some flower power shorts that resemble the board shorts I was so fond of in high school-sweet! As for shoes, I picked up the new Ravenna 3 and second pair of Pure Flows in pink. (You can read my original review of the Flows here.) I took the flows out this morning and noticed that the seemingly white midsoles were actually iridescent-what a flashy touch!

Now for the real meat of this post... Each training cycle I learn a little more about what my legs do and do not tolerate. Apparently a considerable down week after a solid 3-4 week (or just a crazy-busy month) or build is something that is necessary for me. Early on I was dealing with some nagging soreness in the lower left leg, talked to Coach, both deciding to take it easy this week.

In fact, I voluntarily took a detour to cross-train lane in order to avoid any possible complications for my upcoming races. I actually just completed my first run a few days this morning and felt the benefits of rest.

Don't feel too sorry for me though-I have stayed busy and found this past week actually refreshing. I'm a fan of cross training, personally. A fun thing that happened was conquering my fear of flip turning-and the self-consciousness that often comes with runners hitting the pool. I had the itch to jump in at the Texas A&M Natatorium when I had a break from working last week. The goal was to just get comfortable in the water again but it actually turned into a nice 45-minute personal clinic in observational learning.

Apparently if you spend enough time on a pool deck observing-you learn a thing or two; I found a stroke that actually felt smooth and pulled off some flip turns. Granted the turns need considerable work, I have been afraid to do them after hitting my head hard during one in college. I didn't care about style points-as the diving team was standing right there-I was just pumped to re-establish the skill again. I guess the older I get the less I care about what other people think.

In addition to putting in some swim yards, I threw in some cycling and made up my own spin workouts to get some LT work in. With some good music in the iPod, a little focus and a lot of intensity-it can almost be fun. All in all, I may have done MORE volume this week with less running, but my energy levels feel higher than the weeks prior. Perhaps having Jarrett work his magic helped as wel.

I am constantly re-teaching myself and learning again the limits and preferences of my body. Each time I do, I feel more confident and mature about it. When I wanted to freak out about missing a run in the face my upcoming half, I would talk myself through it and remind myself of the importance of rest and changing up the stimulus every now and again. If today's short run was any indication-it makes me feel much stronger in the end. So here's to nailing negative cycles-just all part of the process of becoming a better athlete!

Stay the course- even when you have to mix it up every once in a while!

RunRunLive Podcast

2012-01-20T21:25:00.002-06:00

This may be my shortest-longest post ever. I recently did a fun little interview (be kind, I'm a beginner!) with RunRunLive, a Boston-based podcast for runners by runners. Besides my brief talk of Running Psych 101, there's a multitude of resources, topics, and guests, ranging from top sports docs, Dave McGilvray, the RD of the Boston Marathon, Josh Cox, Dean Karnazes, and so on.

Episode 208 can be found here. Hope you enjoy and learn something!

Stay the course.

Houston/Olympic Trials 2012 Inspiration and Observations

2012-01-16T14:42:00.005-06:00

If you follow running at all, you are all now aware that it' s going Shalane, Meb, Ryan, Desi, Kara, and Abdi. What is really cool is that I stood there and watched it all unfold on the streets of Downtown Houston. Before I post some observations that I made at my first - ever trials experience I have to congratulate all my friends and teammates who raced this weekend. The conditions were great and inspiration ran high. Special props go out to marathon queen Rebecca for notching her marathon PR once again!

I went into the weekend with two jobs to do: the first escorting a newly minted Olympian Saturday morning and playing "coach" for some club mates prior to running the races on Sunday. Although I missed actually racing, I definitely walked away with some great experiences.I was able to get an in depth perspective at the Trials, seeing the starts and finishes for both men's and women's races.

The start was especially intense and you could feel it in the air and see it in the athlete 's faces. After the tedious prestart moments, at the end of the day it was down to 3. I will elaborate more on the. Women 's race because I was backstage with first place finisher Shalane Flanagan. Before you get too excited, I was merely a 'shadow' volunteer!

I did get to see a bit of her competitive style, as all 3 elite women had starkly different approaches. Please note that the following contains merely my 100% opinion and analysis.

Our aforementioned trials champ. Flanagan appeared composed yet ready to attack if needed-definitely very mentally tough but with a touch of her own mystique and grace.

Speaking of mentally tough, you don't get any tougher than Ms. Davila, a Hansons-Brooks runner. she appeared relaxed before, during, and after the event was over. From what I saw of her performance, her countenance never changed. She was quoted by emphasizing execution of an "honest, fast, race". Ask and you shall receive. The last few miles were intriguing as all 3 eventual teammates kept the victory anybody's guess.

Honesty was written all over Kara Goucher's face for a large portion of the race. It was apparent she wanted to make the team very badly and was prepared to hurt for it. After coming back from injury, she had some catching up to d training wise and I was thoroughly with her honest display of toughness, genuine emotion, and determination. Off the record, I found her very easy to talk to and just like you and I. Aside from her world-class speed, I found her to be just like any other runner girl just wanting to improve and succeed. And she really likes hamburgers-as I found out after the race!

Despite very different styles in these competitors, they also have some things in common. Along with the obvious talent and work ethic, there were some common threads that I find in athletes among "the best of the best"; as these were on full display on Saturday:

An "extra gear"-when it counts, it can be dialed in.
Willingness to be uncomfortable-and stay there. Elite marathoners train and are great at this.
Patience.
A focus on execution versus emotion. These athletes seemed to put their emotional needs aside for a couple hours; saving it all for after the finish.

All in all, this was a great experience to behold and I was glad to witness history being made en route to London. Best wishes to the new USA Marathon team!

Stay the course.

Being Part of History!

2012-01-13T08:51:00.002-06:00

Mostly wordless post here, but I think the picture offers enough explanation. Tomorrow morning, my adopted city will be hosting both the Women's and Men's US Olympic Trials. I get to watch it all unfold at the finish as I serve as a volunteer. This weekend will be filled with joy, excitement, running and friends and I can't wait. Good luck to everyone racing in H-Town this weekend!
Stay the course.

First Light Marathon Relay-Livin' It Up Down South

2012-01-10T21:21:00.002-06:00

"We're on an open-bed truck on the highway...and we're on the run..." Heartbeat by The Fray

As I drove away from my friend Rebecca's apartment in Alabama I couldn't help but notice how fitting the timely Fray song on the radio was to describe the weekend. I will do my best to describe the event and keep it brief-but it may be difficult, because, it was simply awesome! I'll even attempt to entertain the reader with my "race" (or more like relay leg) report by loosely describing the miles "by song" (as you'll see soon) for creativity and brevity. Here's my account of how the First Light Marathon Relay's Female Open course record got demolished by "The Benoits of Spiridon"...

To begin, I could not get to the AL Gulf Coast fast enough on Friday. After an uneventful drive, I arrived and the female bonding was already in full swing as Courtney had made an awesome dinner for all of us. Then came the bedazzling our our race shirts- gray tech fabric with silver skulls. Pow! With tough looking shirts like that, we were bound to smash the course record. That and I was on a fairly stacked team with former college runners and a lot of talent. These girls are also all pretty swell. :)

Saturday Rebecca showed me around her too-cute surroundings and I instantly took to the town of Fairhope on Mobile Bay. This quaint yet lively town offered some great running and the team did our shakeout along the bay and some really awesome houses. Other fun things included a trip to the beach at Gulf Shores (including the "mandatory" Bushwacker at the Pink Pony) and dinner with Spiridon's teams (the local training group) and believe it or not, Coach Bill and Jon W. I'll admit I was tired and not feeling too great Sat. night, perhaps a little much travel, but after an early night I woke up a bit more spry-thank goodness because that's when the fun began....

We had our hilarious posters made, our skull and crossbone shirts, our pacing plan, and leg assignments in place and soon enough the gun went off and speedy (ok that girl's blazin fast) Courtney lead us off for the first 5 in just over 30:00. Nice. We keep that up and we'll take that record running backwards. After Courtney passed off to Sam 1 of 2 (or as they call them 'Sam Squared') we hopped in the back of Becca's awesome boyfriend's truck (yep!) and we rode along the streets of Mobile hollering and cheering all the way.

Do we look like we're having a good time, cuz we are!

Exchanges 2 and 3 went off with great runs by Sam C. and Sam G. That was when I started feeling and hearing about the heat and humidity-oh well, I was prepared to give it a strong effort on my 10k anchor leg. Becca takes off, definitely taking one for the team tackling the hills and I have one more truck bed ride until I rendezvous with my best running bud at the top of a hill-yeah downhill start, baby!

After the best warmup I can throw together after sitting in the back of a truck up came Becca and it was time to go as the bracelet was passed. My objective was mid 6:00's and seeing what happened. Now for the "song" part; sometimes when I need to manage an effort (or boredom) I'll think of a certain song. Sometimes they take on a life of their own depending on how I feel-on this leg, it was a little of both. Again, whether you like it or not, you get inside Adrienne's head a bit again!

Mile 1: "Good Feelin'" by Flo Rida-crusin down a hill "I get a feelin like I've never had before..." I am way ahead of pace on this one, as coach suggested hitting the first in 6:30. Oh, well! I heard shouts of "go honey badger!!" As Bill and Jon passed in their rental car. Feeling good and having fun.

Mile 2: "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5-"You wanna steer, but I'm shifting gear, I'll take it from here...and it goes like this..." I can hear the team coming up behind me as I hit 6:25 pace on mile 2 and as they pass, I do the Ryan Hall crowd pumping thing and signal for them to yell louder. And that they responded as my favorite moment out there happened: as I ran up to a male marathoner I hear Becca belt out "chick him, Adrienne!!" and so I did. I still feel kinda bad for sandbagging the poor dude since I was just 2 miles in and he was 24. He did look strong regardless.

Mile 3: "All These Things That I Have Done" by The Killers- "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier"...Okay, this is when the cheering went away and I started to feel the heat. Wearing a long sleeve didn't help either. I noticed the pace fluctuate and the Garmin 'act up' I'll admit I had to fight off a little frustration here but kept moving forward. Besides, I had a record to help break!

Mile 4: "The Show Goes On" by Lupe Fiasco- "All right already the show goes on..." While I'm still passing people right and left I'm baking as I pour water over myself and have to talk myself through a rough patch. This is where I hit 'stop' on the Garmin and just paid attention to the master marathon time for the whole relay. I was doin' this for the girls, and a little bit of pride-besides I was still on pace with cushion to break 3 hours-our team's time goal.Who cares if I feel like poo at the moment? Onward!

Mile 5: "Give a Little More" by Maroon 5- "If I get a little more, from you baby..." Aw yeah, the flat and fast Dauphin St. I am starting to get out of my midrace slump and plan how I want to close this leg out.

Mile 6.2: back to Good Feelin'...I realize how cool this experience was and start mounting a kick that I am actually quite proud of heading back into downtown Mobile. I'm tired and hot but excited. Seeing my teammates and familar faces I throw it into gear, watching the clock tick 2:57 and close hard, pointing at the clock.

Original course record for Female Open: 3:19. New Record. 2:57. We came, we saw, we conquered. I had a blast and enjoyed immensely the girl bonding time, the ocean, running with friends, and everything else that I have trouble putting into words. And cruising around in the back of a pickup truck. Even though we take our racing seriously most of the time, this was a great opportunity to let our hair down. And that we did.

Champs. For the record, I did pour water over myself!

Thanks, Becca, Keith, Sam Squared, Courtney and the rest of Team Spiridon! This Texan is grateful for the opportunity to run with you all. Anyone else ever done a relay race of any kind? I am quite fond of them myself. You are ALL awesome!

Alabama, I will be back:)

Stay the course.

The Year of the __________

2011-12-29T20:17:00.004-06:00

Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted". Dr. Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

I had trouble coming up with a title for my "year in review" posting. I don't think there is a good word that could describe 2011. Looking back on 2011, there honestly is not much I would do differently. There were some experiences I could have done without, but that is life and I believe everything we experience, good or bad, is all part of His plan for us. This year was as challenging as it was beautiful, and that is just how it should be. Although I didn't always get to hold the wheel and steer in 2011, but wow, what an awesome ride its been. It makes me excited and hopeful of the fresh set of calendar months ahead. I do, however, apologize in advance for the likely lengthiness of this post.

Life On the Run

Let's start with running, because that is what this blog is mostly about, right? This was ideally the year I was going to be gearing for the Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston-obviously, this was not to be. Actually, I didn't set one single PR this year. And as weird as it sounds, I really don't care, because I consider this one of my best running years to date- here I'll attempt to explain why.

As a friend told me after a recent race experience, the finish time does not tell the whole story. This time last year, I was suffering the effects of a major injury and various nutrient deficiencies/overtraining syndrome; and now I am currently putting in about 60 miles per week in training; often doubling a couple days/wk. and am feeling refreshed and invigorated from it, as opposed to run down and barely hanging on. I may not be at my top speed right now, but I am strong, and that's a pretty cool feeling. Instead of thinking "I don't know if I can handle that" I happily run, recover, and repeat! Like I mentioned in post before last, there's a lot of mechanical changes and solid base building to thank for that. I also learned a thing or two about peaking this year-expecting to be in top shape year round is just silly and absurd! In reality, races come and go, but there really is no true finish line in the grand scheme. That's what makes being a runner so cool-at least to me.

To take the "no finish line" concept a bit further, I am also stronger because I am gradually learning to stay the course, learning to do the work and be patient; learning to make the right decisions and be more in the moment. Dr. Rob Bell states in his book on mental toughness that "in order to gain control we must give up control" sometimes. Not every race is going to go as you planned, but that is part of being in this sport-what fun would it be? I think that by doing this is not just how we grow as athletes but as human beings-learning from the uglier experiences and reveling in the good ones. Running has taught me this, but it may not have been possible for me to see this unless I had encountered the challenges I have within the past 12 months. I am eternally grateful for these experiences.

I realized also this past year that running has made me more confident, more relaxed and more centered, and perhaps these things help me do better at my job (which also has had an awesome year) and not be afraid to seek out opportunities. I guess this is part of what Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano refer to as "Running the Edge".

Running has always provided me with some great and solid friendships and connections, but this year it was magnified perhaps tenfold. Maybe because I didn't spend the seasons obsessing about PR's, mileage, or what food I should be eating. Maybe it was because the running community not just in The Woodlands but nationwide is so awesome. Maybe it's a little bit of everything. This sport is still enjoyable and even more so when you come back from virtually nothing to rebuild things to be perhaps better than before, with MORE support than ever. I have connected with so many new people in my club, a new speedy running buddies, a new agent in Michael R., and so many others online (way too many to list). Of course I always have my awesome coach, family, and friends.

After my experience at San Antonio this year, Bill said something I found quite strange at the time-that I "became a runner" this year. You know what, coach just may be right! :)

While I'm trying not to be too deep here. This year has had some fun, neat, and darn near transformative moments. I will try and narrow it down to what stands out the most (and may be most entertaining to the reader!!)....

Favorite example of the strength of the running community: (I'm a little biased on this one...) Run for the Eagles and the Blueberry Chase 5k (June)-good times for a good cause and a good friend! (also my first attempt at hosting a fundraising event/race)

Race bibs courtesy of Brooks Sports

Best "Outside the Box" race: I cashed in on all my XT and Tri'ed (ok couldn't resist) something new-with pretty good results in the Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Triathlon (June): 1st AG and 5th Overall. Just add swim skills!

Thanks PowerBar for the slick tri suit!

Best "Run-in finish": Running the coach in at the Gulf Coast Half Marathon in Mandeville, LA (Oct.).

Biggest Race-Day Dichotomy: Rock n Roll San Antonio Half Marathon (Nov.) vs. Run Girl 13.1 (Dec.)-evidence that no one race really has much bearing to another (11 minute time differential). (Note: San Antonio was run in honor of my late grandmother-I'll miss you Nana.)

I'm saying :"I can't breathe"!

Smiling (and breathing easily) all the way to a strong run.

Some other blessings this year (that I can remember!) in no particular order:

Winning 1F or my AG in 8 events-a great foundation for the next year.
As I mentioned earlier-hooking up with Threshold Talent and its athletes.
Getting my Brooks sponsorship renewed
Putting on various seminars on the topic of running and sports psychology to some of the area's top athletes
Starting the (slow) writing process of my unofficially titled book "Running. Living. Thriving: A Personal and Practical Approach to the Psychology of Running and Endurance.
Enjoying the growth of my super-rewarding sports psychology consulting work. I love every minute of it and hope to continue to make a difference in the lives of fellow athletes.
Starting to see glimpses of my abilities of seasons past, although much, much healthier this season.

Looking ahead

So what does 2012 hold? Besides a couple upcoming Spring Half Marathons, I have no clue but know it will all come into place. Some things I would like to see are a continuation of my current progress, even better health, and making sure I sit back and see the process of things in lieu of the outcome and outcomes will surely take care of themselves. Hopefully running and everything related will continue to be the blessing and gift that it has been this year.

2012 is currently the year of ________. And I'm just fine with that.

Stay the course.

Book Review: Phil Reilly's Chasing Ghosts

2011-12-26T16:03:00.000-06:00

Even though the pace of my family Holiday celebration(s) was fast and furious, I managed to find some peaceful downtime in order to finish up the latest and greatest on Adrienne's reading list: Phil Reilly's Chasing Ghosts. This is also my first-ever stab at a review of the fictional nature. So here goes...

I will begin with a personal observation that I have held for some time that Mr. Reilly clearly illuminates in his novel: while many individuals entertain the thoughts of "what if" and possess a desire to test their true potential, so few actually ever put these thoughts into action-that is-unless you're a distance runner.

And so we have Joey McNeal. A former college runner living an active yet somewhat unfulfilled existence working as a teacher and coach, "Joey Mac" yields to his desire for more and returns to running in order to test his true athletic potential in hopes of Olympic glory. As the reader comes to see, McNeal's task is not without consequence, as he encounters numerous personal and professional obstacles in this well-written journey on the streets and ovals of Philadelphia. Joey Mac is not alone in his quest, however, as he successfully recruits his cousin and two best friends, also former high-level runners to lace up once again alongside him and put it all on the line for just once more. Then throw in Seamus O'Toole, an unpredictable and surly Irish coach into the mix and you have a great set-up for a story with rich elements of character development.

As a fairly serious runner ironically on the verge of thirty myself, I see a lot of the central themes ringing true in my own experiences. Besides the sacrifices that have to be made in order to compete at a high level, it often takes support and understanding from others in order to achieve our goals and aspirations. The delicate balancing act of friends, family, work, and running (in no particular order) is another constant conflict for McNeal in "Chasing Ghosts" and I couldn't help but feel some vicarious strain coming right off the page as the protagonist navigates through the process of becoming the best he can be.

Riley succeeds in creating an entertaining, relatable, and suspenseful narrative of athletes of my own age living on the edge and loving it. Even though I have not yet been to Philadelphia, I became familiar with various running landmarks of the city as Joey Mac and friends knew it: featured are the Broad Street 10-Mile, Pennypack Park, and the Penn Relays to name a few. Chasing Ghosts strikes a good balance between suspenseful action on the track (as Joey Mac is an 800-meter runner) and the back stories of the main characters. This balance of storytelling to me appeals to readers of both running and non-running backgrounds.

Those who purely want a story about racing, however, should be cautioned that this book is almost if not more so about relationships and personal development as it is about running. Those who like works like "Once a Runner" (one of my favorites) will likely find Chasing Ghosts up their alley. Some of the themes in my last reviewed work "Running the Edge" also neatly overlap with Chasing Ghosts. I myself find that appealing, however-as I believe what happens alongside and outside of one's running life is so often intertwined.

To close this out, Chasing Ghosts is recommended without reservation for anyone looking for a good story about running, life and essentially "staying the course". The reader just may walk away with a better understanding that the pursuit of our own excellence is hard-fought but well worth the rewards. Thank you Phil for the opportunity to read and review 'Ghosts!

Stay the course.

Mind, Body, and Sole: A Few Training Reflections

2011-12-20T20:01:00.001-06:00

I love December and I always have. Being a self-professed "Christmas dork", I relish the festive atmosphere and love taking in the sights and sounds of the Holiday season. I may be nearing thirty years old, but my inner child always comes out at about this time annually, and I don't plan on suppressing young Adrienne any time soon! Historically, I always seem to encounter a good training rhythm in Dec. as well; and so far this year appears to be furthering my "trend of the 12th month". After a lower mileage week, I look to complete another 60ish before gifts are opened this weekend.

Here's what I did for my "recovery" week after RunGirl 13.1:

Sunday: Race

Monday: Easy 4

Tuesday: 'Easy' 7 (or almost) with Tuesday morning fasties

Wednesday: 10 with 2 miles at 6:30 pace.

Th: REST with massage by Jarrett

Fri: Easy 6

Sat: Easy 14

Sun: Easy 5.5

Total: 47 (perhaps the most miles I've done after a race in a long time)

Looking at a bigger picture, 2011 for me has been a year of considerable development and change for me as an athlete and I have achieved a rhythm in the past few months in training and racing that I hope to continue and build upon in the new year. Two big improvements I feel I have made have occurred on on the mental and mechanical sides of my running.

Mind: Mentally (because we all know I'm borderline obsessed with this part of sport!), I have seen the most gains in being able to come take a step back and look at running for what it is: running. Sometimes my running is good, and sometimes sometimes its not so much; but if I keep believing I'm good enough, I will keep improving on my OWN terms (perhaps my biggest lesson of the year). How? By being patient and minding process goals over outcome goals. Of course, I want to run a sub 1:20 half marathon sometime in the near future, but for me the likely way to do it is to know what state I race best in-positive through and through-and use my 'power' words, whatever they may be on the given day. Based on my good races, I have found the formula that seems to work 'upstairs'. Its a work in progress, but that's the coolest part about it.

Body: Along with regular auxiliary exercises and stretches, I've played with the form a bit. since reading Greg McMillan's simple yet so-profound article a few months ago (I believe the Oct. issue of Running Times), my mechanics have evolved to what I feel is the most efficient stride for me. By focusing on running tall and keeping my feet underneath me, I have been able to increase the mileage with what feels like minimal effort since I'm closer to running how I was perhaps designed to do so-which was hard to figure out since I have short legs and (mild) scoliosis. For those wanting to slowly develop a safer, more efficient gait, I recommend checking out the aforementioned Running Times article.

Sole: Related, I have some photo evidence of what the stride changes have done to my foot strike. Recall, I started out a severe oversupinator, to become an overpronator, and now....

Although you may not be able to see clearly, but it appears I have adopted a more forefoot strike. I discovered this when I was checking to see if Ghost pair #1 needs retirement. I think they may be close!

There we have it. Hope you've enjoyed my ramblings as the never ending project continues!

Stay the course.

Zipfizz Review

2011-12-16T18:49:00.000-06:00

"A healthier alternative to energy drinks": ZipFizz recently approached me for a product review recently-and being the beverage hound that I am, I took them up on the challenge. This was an interesting taste trial because I have been a Red Bull drinker (although much less recently) for several years; often sipping on one in the hours before races (note: for those who may be sensitive to caffeine, this practice may not be advisable).

At any rate, this single-serve beverage comes in convenient and attractive packaging in plastic :test" tubes: pour one tube in 20 oz. of water and you're set! ZipFizz contains natural sweeteners as opposed to aspartame and plain old sugars found in other beverages of the same variety. It also contains essential electrolytes important for hydration. As far as taste goes, I'd give it a 'B' across the board. The flavors I liked best were Pink Lemonade, Grape, and Citrus. My least favorite was the "limited edition" Orange Cream...I'm not much of a "cream fan" , so I'm a bit biased there.

As for the drink doing what it says it does: the higher dose of caffeine (again, each individual has their own tolerance) actually did give me a nice lift on the run. The morning after my sample kit arrived I substituted my usual coffee for a grape ZipFizz and had no trouble keeping up with my speedy training mate. The following day I broke a cardinal rule of mine by switching beverages and tried it before my half-marathon. I had the same result on race day: perhaps a little help with sustained energy and focus on the course. And no crash or jitters either, which is nice.

My final thought is that it is a tasty product with a decent electrolyte profile and an nice B-vitamin kick. The natural ingredients are a nice plus and most of the flavors are good. For those who typically consume a caffienated beverages before working out, I'd give Zipfizz a shot (or test tube!).

Running Happy at RunGirl 13.1: A Surprise Race Report

2011-12-11T15:25:00.002-06:00

Solid effort in the cold today.

First off, my "research project" that I have previously posted about is back on. Sometimes life just takes us in directions and causes consequences that are not always pleasant but are meaningful and teach us a lot about ourselves and about life.

That being said, about an hour after finishing San Antonio, Coach Bill suggested that I run another half marathon in place of my un-Adrienne-like (but proud nonetheless) effort. The race of choice was today's RunGirl 13.1 put on by TriGirl Sports. TriGirl was kind enough to let me come talk Sports Psych at their Ladies' Night function in October, so I really wanted to go try their race out. I also heeded coach's advice and stayed very "under the radar" regarding my participation to help ensure less pressure; both self-and other induced. I'm glad I did; as I had a great time and felt even better out on the flat, well-supported course this chilly morning.

What a difference a few weeks makes. I had a period of healing after my grandmother's death, the addition of a FAST new training partner, re-upping with Brooks, and many other good things that allude me now-I was set up to have an enjoyable experience, even if basically training through this thing. This was also my first race I treated mostly as "training" and saved some effort for later. I used to not believe in this, but after today, the concept's not so bad!!

Fast forward to race morning and I have gotten at least 17 hours of sleep in the past two nights-awesome! I minded my hydration and consumed my usual pre-race day foods. After waking refreshed and exceptionally relaxed I put down some oatmeal and caught my ride to nearby Lake Houston. It was on the way there that I processed what my goals were for the day; my ultimate was to just have a positive experience, but I came up with 6:45 avg. pace or faster (my outcome goal) and be the happiest woman on the course (my process goal). I told myself I could do these and then we were off...and I was already smiling.

We were off and I made it a point to go out conservatively-which was kind of tricky since I felt really good, so much so it caught me off guard. I settled in to a 6:37ish pace and managed the course by an old strategy I brought back of keeping 2-mile splits and solely focusing on those vs. each mile. I think I was wise in doing this, as my little sub-units kept clicking off as I found myself smiling and thinking of nothing more than how much I was actually enjoying the effort and how mid 6:00's felt easy again. I probably smiled for at least 85 percent of this race-some of it may have been involuntary. I was due for a positive race experience and it was unfolding for me out there. I was securely in second place and remained there, running alone but running my own race.

I finished in 1:28 and change, accomplishing the pace goal as well. Crossing the line, I also felt like I have more in the tank and just need to sharpen up as I build for The Woodlands this spring. I think I crossed the line with a smile on my face as well. My increasing mileage I believe helped me feel and stay strong out there. I was second overall, earning a 1st AG plaque behind super-speedy training buddy Krista B. She's incredible!

As far as the "nuts and bolts" go, the course was a unique double-loop and was very manageable and there was enough support to make it interesting. I only felt fatigued for the last couple miles and I feel that I held pace well and stayed mentally tough through the last part. As far as nutrition is concerned, I tried something a little different, actually taking in a little more before the race and I think it was beneficial: Oatmeal 3 hours before, 1/2 of a PowerBar (Berry Blast today-mmmmm) and a sports drink :45 minutes before. I also took 1.5 PowerGels with water only out on the course, as I typically do. I guess I'm one of those athletes that gets bad "gas mileage" and needs a lot of fuel beforehand!! Stable blood sugars are a must-have though.

To close this one out, being the brainy, nerdy runner that I am, here are some of my lessons and observations from RunGirl:

I succeeded in regrouping from a difficult past performance very well.
I am actually responding the way I want to with my 14-day training cycle/mileage build.
Brooks PureFlows worked great for me today-stable and comfortable throughout the whole 13.1.
If I spill water on myself in the cold, it is actually a good thing as it keeps the core body temp. down even longer! :)
I did not wear my neon Brooks uniform, but a more subdued singlet and compression short from my beloved sponsor. I felt more comfortable sporting the low-key look.
Of course, what's a race for me without a power word? Today's was "perfect rhythm".

Thanks go out to everyone for their support and to Jana Landry and Carrie Godfrey with TriGirl for putting on such a nice, fun event just for us girls! I'm gonna take it easy for a few days, then back at it with a renewed sense of confidence.

Stay the course. :)

Brooks Sponsorship Renewal

2011-12-08T06:56:00.001-06:00

Looks like I get to Run Happy for my third year in a row as a member of the Brooks ID program and I couldn't be more excited, and admittedly a bit humbled!

I was not expecting at all to get the email yesterday announcing that I was in, but it definitely was a nice little surprise to end an already good day. So how did I celebrate? Like any good running nerd, I went out for a little run-albeit just a short recovery jaunt with friends, tacking on 12 miles for the day-sweet!

I don't know what all 2012 will hold, but if the first quarter of the year is any indication, It's gonna be awesome, both on the roads and off. In just the first 4 mos. I am not only blessed with gear support, but get the following opportunities:

Working for the Elite Committee for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials! Yes, the trials are in my own backyard here in Houston!! Who says the running isn't good down here in Southeast TX?
Smashing the course record for the Women's Marathon Relay in January's First Light Marathon among some speedy girlfriends!
Running as an elite in my own race in March: The resurrected The Woodlands Half Marathon.
Taking on the challenging yet beautiful course at the Charlottesville Half Marathon in April.

Materially speaking, I am able to further access and sport one of my new favorite things, the Brooks PureFlow-I LOVE these shoes! Ok, even if I wasn't sponsored, I'd still wear these 'pumped up kicks':

To close out, thanks again go out to Brooks Running for having me on board another year and to all my friends and supporters both locally and nationwide. Running has been a tremendous blessing and I will do my best to represent and enjoy it. When I think about it, it's hard to wrap my head around all the opportunities I have had so far in life; and a lot of them have come from one simple yet sublime thing-the run.

Stay the course.

CranioSacral Therapy

2011-12-04T10:57:00.001-06:00

The name sounds kinda cool, but what the heck is it? I had my first experience with this decades-old treatment modality by Jarrett Smilie of Body Mechanix (as if I'd go to anyone else?!) this past Thursday. I will attempt to describe it in this post.

To provide a little background into the technique, CranioSacral Therapy (CST) was developed by Dr. John Upedger, a professor of biomechanics a Michigan State University. Like ART and other massage techniques, CST is designed to relieve bodily pain and tension; allowing the body to relax and function more effectively. Where CST differs is that it is utilizes a light touch and focuses on the Central Nervous System, notably the cerebrospinal tract. Unlike relieving muscular knots and tension that traditional MT targets, CST relieves pressure on the brain and spinal cord (don't know about you, but I would want light touch on my brain and SC!!) and allowing for more natural function of the nervous system. This is important because, well, our CNS drives everything! The target area for intervention is the head/neck region down to the sacrum-which is an important area for a runner to take care of.

By resetting CNS rhythm and relieving pressure, CST is designed to address issues such as headaches, fatigue, stress, muscle tension, and other nervous system problems. The idea is to restore CNS function to better let the body work uninhibited and "do it's thing".

Thursday I laid down on the table and was taken aback with how light Jarrett worked, examining my feet and neck to read spinal fluid rhythms. I won't lie-I was waiting for him to "bring the pain" as he so often skillfully does-but this wasn't part of the day's protocol. Ironically enough (see above paragraph), I came into the studio feeling a considerable amount of stress, and halfway through the session, felt it begin to lessen. At one point, when having my neck ("reset") I actually teared up involuntarily-strange, I know. The light, steady touch was barely noticeable, but it did relieve the tightness in my chest and shoulders from the previous day's threshold run. All in all, this was a unique, relaxing, and helpful experience. The fact that Jarrett can both press firmly and lightly with such accuracy speaks volumes of his skill.

For those interested in learning more about CST, information can be found here, or local folks can go to the practitioner himself .

I guess I can do without "the pain" on the table sometimes!

Stay the course.

Source: Upledger Clinic; www.upledger.com
Contact: Jarrett@yourbodymechanix.com

Four Little Words

2011-11-27T10:24:00.001-06:00

..."Counselor, heal thyself..." Anonymous.

In a season of change for me both personally and athletically- also throw in some admitted lapses in confidence-I rediscovered four little words on yesterday's run that have helped me in the past. To provide a brief synopsis, my workout called for descending the pace to the mid-6:00's for the middle miles of a rolling 13-miler (actually one of my favorites in The Woodlands). This particular day I was out with the speedy group in the pouring rain on challenging Terramont Dr.

I'll admit, outside elements and running in faster groups have a tendency to get into my head, but yesterday I chose not to listen to what colleague Dr. Rob Bell calls "the voice" and focus on the task at hand. I was tired from the hills before starting the "hot miles" and soaking wet, but what made a difference was remembering and repeating and using the four words that always seem to work for me; so much that I now have it written down and kept in my Brooks spike bag:

Fuel for the body + fuel for the mind = solid training runs.

...in fact, that was pretty much all I thought about during the wet, incline-laden fartlek workout. The closest thing to having an 'empty head' I've had in a long time! :)

We are to draw on our positive experiences and the elements of in order to produce new ones. I find visual cues and reminders to be helpful, such as a simple post-it. It's also good to remember that not every run will be a good one,and every athlete experience occasional dips in confidence. However, we should always look for something positive to take away from each time we lace up and keep track of "what works".

Do you use 'power words'? What are some things that you find helpful on the run?

Stay the course.

"Running the Edge" Review

2011-11-20T15:54:00.003-06:00

ma~ven (noun)-an expert or connoisseur.

...Although I didn't plan on timing my completion of Olympian Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano's new and insightful book "Running the Edge" to occur in conjunction with today being Globally Organized Hug a Runner Day (G.O.H.A.R.D; as initiated by the aforementioned fastie duo); it fell into place quite nicely.

I first was familiarized with Goucher and Catalano's book prior to its release date and my initial impression was "sweet, another helpful running book to add to my list". As some may already know I'm a big fan of nonfiction, especially of the memoir-ish genres; therefore it went to the top my "to-read" list for the remainder of 2011. Then I researched the book and its content a little deeper; not only was it a book about running , but it was based on the principles of Humanistic Psychology. Additionally, I'm a big Goucher fan, not only his accomplishments as a competitor but his "never say die" attitude and introspective approach. I had to read this book, and I am glad that I did, for several reasons....

My background/orientation and as a psychotherapist and sport psychology consultant draws heavily on the humanistic perspective, which centers on the individual's capacity for personal growth and potential. Long story short, if we get beyond our interval splits, weekly mileage and race times- isn't running mostly about purely seeking YOUR own peak potential? Running the Edge encourages readers to do the work in becoming both the best runners we can be and simultaneously the best people we can be. In my practice, this is something I always try and drive home with athletes who work with me. In order to perform our best, we need to know and be comfortable with who we really are and our capabilities. Period. This is where Running the Edge excels and differs from other books on the subject of running. In my opinion these guys "get it" and I had several moments while reading where it felt as if my thoughts and beliefs were in perfect alignment with Goucher and Catalano's words written on the page. Silly as it sounds, these guys could have been reading my thoughts as they put this book together!

In a concise, entertaining, and very thought-provoking manner, the authors take the reader through a series of simple exercises using running as a metaphor (or more like a vehicle) for life neatly conceptualized across 5 "life stories": education, career, family, friends, and passions (note: those not involving the run). Additionally, Goucher and Catalano challenge us to become "distance mavens" -active participants in all areas of our lives superimposed across 6 "mirrors" or attributes guiding us to becoming both better athletes and better human beings (initiative, responsibility, determination, adaptability, integrity, and person-ability).For psych nerds such as myself, Abraham Maslow's theory of self actualization and Carl Roger's concept of conrguency are highlighted and give weight to Goucher and Catalano's tretise.

Most chapters in the book contain "checkpoints" where the reader is challenged to take a look at where they truly stand on each of the aforementioned attributes. I did all the exercises in the book and I recommend the reader do the same for maximum benefit. Throughout Running the Edge, the reader is challenged to reflect on how they can improve in each area in order to actively work towards achieving our "ideal selves". The reader is informed that this is not an easy task, but as distance runners, we are as capable of anyone of bridging this gap. According to the authors, this path to self-understanding is a big part of "the way of the maven".

One of the things I liked best about Running the Edge was that it contained a variety of different stories to illustrate the Goucher and Catalano's points. Throughout the book, we hear very personal and insightful narratives from the authors. Some are quite humorous, some are quite emotional. From a psychological perspective, often the precise use of self-disclosure and modeling can be a powerful thing in teaching others. These guys aren't perfect, nor do they attest to being so; in fact, they state in black and white the "perfection is impossible". Brilliant. I found reading about a fellow distance runner's struggles, triumphs, and goals to be both enlightening and motivating. Each narrative goes along with a different topic teaching us the way of the maven. Cameos from the likes of Galen Rupp, Kara Goucher, Alan Webb, Chris Solinsky, Paula Radcliffe and other top runners also add to the conversation. We may not all run at the same level, but we all run-we are all part of the culture, or as the authors call it-"a maven's guild".

It was clear that these gentleman are passionate not only about running, but never settling for anything but a life of progressing in the direction towards our own best selves. To quote the authors in the final chapter (and one of my personal favorite lines)-"we are to make a commitment to break free from the curse of normal and the chains of average as we work day after day, stride after stride, to close the gap between the runners and people we are, and the runners and people you want to be." Classic. Goucher and Catalano dare us to "run the edge" of what's possible each day we have here on earth.

In short, readers of this book will laugh, possibly cry, and it open to its message, gain a greater understanding of who they are and who they want to realistically be. As a runner and sport professional, I recommend this book without reservation. If nothing else, read the intro written by Adam Goucher-it just may stop your heart for a moment. You don't need a PhD or a long line of scholarly works to write a top quality running book, you just need the heart and soul of a distance runner-I believe these two men have it. Who wants to run the edge with me?

Want a second (or third) opinion? Check out here and here

Stay the Course. And go hug a runner today!

Thanks, Adam and Tim.

Confounding Variables

2011-11-13T19:50:00.004-06:00

Confound-to mingle so that the elements cannot be distinguished or separated. (courtesy of Dictionary.com)

Instead of a full-on race report, I thought I'd share some reflections from today's experience. And yes, this is a fairly emotional post-

Well, here's the good news: I finally completed the Rock N Roll San Antonio Half Marathon. Unfortunately, I ran it with a heavy heart. That being said, here's what I can tell you about my experience. For the record, I ran a three-minute personal worst time, however, I don't regret this race. It started out as a pilot test for how my new training plan is working out-but like the title says-there were some things that were beyond my control. A lot of them.

I consider myself a strong runner and mentally tough athlete, and these two qualities had to be summoned like never before on the humid, warm streets of the Alamo City. I knew going into this I was practically training through it but expected to go mid 1:20s, unfortunately, that did not come to be. Here's some other variables that I knew affected performance, but never fully realized how much:

Since Tuesday, I had been under considerable stress due to encountering situations that I have never dealt with-we'll leave it at that. Additionally, I get a call Wednesday afternoon that my grandmother (who has always been incredibly supportive of me) is in ICU (oddly enough in the city I was set to race in), and it didn't look good. Flash forward to Friday and I head down I-10 not thinking of the race practically at all, with the exception of do I pull out, or do I go for it? How could I when there are things so much more important than running? After a brief deliberation, I did decide to go ahead and make a go of it, but run it exclusively for my grandmother. Sure I had time goals, but this became a "big picture" race-using my gift of run to honor her.

Saturday brought more stress- so much so my left eye was noticeably bloodshot and slightly closed, and my chest had an odd tightness to it when I ran my 3-mile shake-out run in the morning. That was the first flash of somethings-not-rightness; I shook it off, though, because my legs felt decent.

by afternoon time I was feeling a little less drained and some optimism came back in. My aunt fixed an awesome pasta dinner and I was off to bed early.

After a decent night's sleep, I woke with minimal anxiety, gathered my things: gear, bagel, and Houston Blend Coffee (doesn't my San Antonio aunt have good taste?:)) then headed to meet coach and Mary at their hotel to ride together to the start. Once there, I took advantage of the VIP (thanks, Michael R.!) area where I used the non-portocan and warmed up in the convention center among the likes of Shalane Flanagan (the eventual winner), Brent Vaughn, and Desiree Ficker.

At the start, I glanced at my race bib, which had "For Nana" written across it with her initials written in Sharpie down both my arms. I never have had the opportunity to run as a tribute, so this was rather emotional for me. I thought about her a lot during the race. Especially at every mile with the exception of the first 3 when I wanted to bag it. Yep, physically I had some issues here. I know several runners who will save it for another day, but this was not one of those days I would do that.

I started out controlled, or so I thought through unusually humid conditions at 6:30 pace and held it for the first 3, but then experienced some breathing difficulties like I've never experienced before. Ever. Like my lungs just couldn't expand or I had a scarf on three knots too tight. Crap. After watching my pace slide and a little scared/dumbfounded, I chose to switch the garmin screen to total time and just ran. And never got comfortable. You see, you have to have good breathing to be comfortable. Man, I was tired-and I felt as if I was carrying things on me in this race that I have never carried before. It was ugly and beautiful at the same time. I knew I had to overcome me in order to get this done.

I had to remind myself to commit to this race and I talked myself through it's entirety. My breathing never really improved so I ran 10 miles feeling like I only had one lung. My legs, strangely enough were still okay. I had to gut it out with what breath I had, I had to manage my pace even if it felt glacial. I had to overcome this. I had to stay conscious. I had to finish. I am running for Nana. I was running to get the weight of the week and everything associated off my chest. It may have slowed me down, but it was not going to break me. While it sucked that I had to run dealing with this, I did the best I could-simply because that's all I could do in the situation.

The late miles actually came rather quickly, although I was running at a far slower pace than I usually race at, in all honesty- what I do for long runs at some spots. I had no energy, but still I pressed forward. My self talk went a little like this: "This has no bearing on you as a runner", "this has no bearing of you as an individual", "just commit to this", "it's not always going to be this hard", and "Run with Honor". Towards the end of the race I looked at the sky, I looked at my "tats" on my arms, and I gave it effort just short of needing medical attention and staying conscious (yeah, there were a couple times I got lightheaded). I don't think I truly bonked, it just wasn't my day, considering it all. There were things bigger than Adrienne against her this day. It could have happened on a long run; it just happened to be today.

Towards the finish: ok-that ramp thing at the end of the race is just evil! I basically trudged up it and tried to give it a 'kick' towards the finish, where for the second time, I fell over after crossing. I had been without full O2 for quite a while. I felt an odd sense of pride, even if the clock read 1:39 (for prides sake, It should have been 1:36-:37ish as I said "screw it" basically and made a pit stop-another first in an attempt to get comfortable) because I ran the edge today-I gave it all and did my genuine best with what I was given on this particular day in this particular situation. Perhaps the coolest moment was meeting my parents afterward and hearing from my dad how incredibly proud of me he was for my effort. I hope my grandmother is proud of me too.

I had a nice block of training, however, there are things that I could not overcome on the day. It was reconfirmed that I am not a quitter and I have it in me to stay the course, even when it hurts. Also, it is really cool to put yourself aside for a while and let basically a singular force pull you through-ok that and God may have intervened a bit. While I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't a little disappointed, but I just have to make adjustments and stay at it. I didn't let the disappointment take over like it has in the past either. Regarding the conditions, I met another 1:22 PR runner who ran a similar time to mine today, and she confirmed the toughness of the conditions.

These experiences really do help put things in perspective. Yes, I just ran a race, but it was all part of a bigger picture. For this race, special thanks goes out to my parents, Coach Bill, Mary C. my extended family who supported me running even in these circumstances, and of course Nana-thanks for always believing in me.

It wasn't fast or pretty, but I got it done.

Stay the course.

Work Hard, Play Hard

2011-11-06T19:04:00.000-06:00

....the title above is my manifesto for the month of November. I'm only 6 days in with no signs of slowing!

Training's remained strong and steady as I tap the mileage brakes this week to get a little rest in for my first half marathon in almost two years (really-two years!?). My how time flies.... Last month's mileage was well over the 250 mark-my highest in a looong time and I feel great, which is expected since it's mostly longish base running and 3 (yep just 3) track workouts. In all honesty, up until today I have probably been more ready for race day physically than mentally-but I got a nice dose of inspiration and impetus to focus by watching two different events this morning:live at the Oilman Texas Half Ironman Triathlon, then the New York Marathon via webcast on the vastly underrated Universal Sports' website. I guess I need to feed off that energy every once in a while.

Even though I've thought about the race plenty, but as the story goes-there's been plenty of work and life stuff going on simultaneously for this "reluctant adult", putting the race in the periphery for a while. Over the past couple weeks I have had to fill in for one of the staff members adding some extra work to my growing schedule that includes putting in some quality time with the university athletic department I am currently working with (which is a great project, by the way). This naturally means more travel and computer time that doesn't involve working on my book or this blog! So what to do when life pushes me a bit??? Easy-I push back!!

I'm not one to let work interfere too much with training and am fortunate to have a very flexible training schedule, so I have exercised a bit of creativity and ensured I got the miles in, but did not force them. For example, I once had to push my long run up from 6:30 AM last Saturday to Friday at just after 5 AM-which turned out to be a snappy little run and left me with an afterglow of feeling productive and efficient for the rest of the day. I like to be an athlete first before going in and working with them.

Another adjustment came yesterday morning as I ran a 12-miler feeling almost half-asleep. Going to an away swim meet and getting up four hours later to go meet the group did leave me thinking "what am I doing exactly??" for a moment, but I got it done-there wasn't enough coffee at Hubbell and Hudson that day to satisfy me afterward!

But in the end I completed my run, took a two and a half hour nap afterward-a new kind of personal record, and I'm now in mini-taper mode. I only have 6 miles on the schedule tomorrow morning and it feels kinda weird. I'm going to approach each run nice and easy and focus on form, a little mental prep and staying positive. I would like to run a time in the mid 1:20's. As I posted a few weeks ago, San Antonio is serving the purpose of a 'pilot experiment' for my new training approach and gathering some data for moving forward towards nailing a new PR. Also, truth be told, I have a bone to pick (no pun intended) with this event, as I have twice planned to run the event and had to pull out with injuries. Toeing the line that that morning will be a small victory in my corner. I'm also looking forward to running in a different city and just being a runner for the weekend.

As I write this out, my excitement grows. I don't know what all will unfold-but I'm ready to give it my current best. And that's whats most important. Just trying to work hard, run hard, and live life!

November, let's do this!

Run Happy!

Randomness

2011-10-30T07:15:00.002-06:00

Today I won't be talking about running too much. Leah over at Chasing Atalanta, who is quite the versatile blogger has kindly tagged me to share 7 random things about me for the Versatile Blogger Award. I will do my best to sound interesting, but can't make any guarantees....

1. My rather unusual last name supposedly originates in Quebec. I think this is cool be cause Montreal is one of those cities I'm fascinated with and have to visit. I think I have a decent chance of fitting in there!

2. I once saw Julia Roberts on a ski vacation in Taos, NM. True story. BTW if you've never been there, I highly recommend it. It's one of my favorite towns.

3. As a child, I was actually a very good pianist. I could belt out anything from Joplin to the Cheers theme like nobody's business at age 9. I promptly quit however, when my teacher chewed me out for not practicing one day. I guess I don't like being yelled at. and I was a sensitive kid. Sometimes I'm tempted to try and pick up the ivories again, but time will tell. I'm still a big fan of music-most types within reason.

4. In the spirit of Halloween, I once made my own robot costume and it did not go so well: everyone kept asking if I was a mailbox. At least I tried:)

5. I graduated college with a 4.0 (recall my nerdy last post), so I tried to leverage by applying to a Master's program at Harvard; getting the classiest rejection letter ever.I think I still have it somewhere. I guess there's a lot of people smarter and more accomplished than me, and that's the way it should be. Looks like I shoot for the stars in any situation possible, life's too short to do otherwise.

6. Speaking of college, I love my alma mater, Texas A&M! Whoop!!

7."Watch out says that bird!!" I came up with my personal mascot which became my nickname Honey Badger because it reminds me to be tough and to not let anything stand in my way,while not taking myself so dang seriously. Seems to be working so far:)

So there you have it. Hope you've enjoyed my astonishing versatility, or at least learned some useless Adrienne facts. I think most everyone has been tagged, so please feel free to tag yourself-I look forward to hearing about you.

Run randomly happy!

Working on my PhD

2011-10-24T20:50:00.003-05:00

A PhD in running, at least!

While I have so vaguely alluded to my goals and aspirations for the upcoming season(s) in previous posts, I confess that it is by design ;). Since I have made so many changes in my philosophy and approaches to training over the past year, I feel as if I am taking part in my own big experiment.

Being a psychology professional -and a bit of nerd at heart-I am viewing my upcoming running goals like a scientific process (with the emphasis on process) I am working on shifting my focus from output/outcome to minding the process and a more sound, technical approach to training and racing. I'll admit I am fascinated by the science of running.

Of course getting a PhD is a long and arduous process (those who have the real deal have my utmost respect and admiration), and there's a series of benchmarks to hit before the finished product, and I am just getting started. My "dissertation" includes a sub 1:20 half marathon (i.e my" thesis") , a sub-3:00 marathon, and hopefully a 2016 Olympic Trials qualifying time in the marathon. An overriding hypothesis is that my new training approach will keep me healthier and stronger overall and provide for more consistent progress over time.

In about three weeks, I will be running in the Rock 'N Roll San Antonio Half Marathon, which will be the first of my series of experiments- a prospectus perhaps- to assess what variables are working and what needs adjustment. Hypothesis: a mid 1:20's time (say, 1:25 or so) is possible on mostly base mileage (50-60 per week avg.) and on just over one month of pace/interval work beforehand.

Abstract: Testing a theory that asserts by emphasizing the inputs more (below), the outputs become easier to come by; which is a change from how I used to do things. Test subject will be the half marathon.

If I were to write up this experiment, I guess it would look something like this:

Materials: Brooks shoe lineup: Ravenna, Green Silence, PureFlow, Ghost4, Racer ST-5), RunningAhead Training Log (see sidebar if interested:)), Believe I Am mental training log, handwritten, paper training cycle from Bill D., various supplements, ice baths, compression socks and sleeves, Jarrett Smilie/Body Mechanix Therapy, gym membership/weights Timex Ironman running watch, Garmin 405 (used sparingly), foam roller, stretching and mobility exercises (I came across some great ones, email if interested), PowerBar gel, Ironman Perform/Ironman Recovery (love this product), more calories in general. Oh yeah, and a lot of patience!

Procedures: Patience (again!), gradual running form changes, sleeping a lot, listening to coach, ice baths after distances 10 miles or more, regular meals and recovery beverages, easy runs of 6-16 miles, progression runs, interval training, early mornings, mandatory foam rolling, core, and strength training, one rest day per week using some mental training work; especially affirmations, remaining positive, and visualizing, oatmeal making, long runs with friends, a race here and there:), and gradually building mileage and using the principles of peaking for key races. Perhaps most importantly just enjoying running.

Results: TBA!

Prospectus/Pilot Study: San Antonio will be a test of how things are going and what adjustments need to be made. This will be the first real test of what the 14 day cycle has really been doing for me. Nutritionally, I will also re-introduce caffeine on the run as I have been training w/o it. While I want to run in the mid-1:20's, most important is having a good experience and running strong; setting the stage for...

Defending my thesis: The Woodlands Half Marathon will be the race that I plan to peak for and run a time that is "special"; or at least give a special effort. If all goes to plan, this will be a good culmination of all the work I'm currently doing and be a good confidence builder for later getting back into the marathon game.

This is where I have not yet written the rest, but I know with a meticulous yet flexible approach and a positive attitude and belief system, who knows what is possible. You see that there is a lot of "inputs" that I am focusing on. As it gets closer to race time, I am looking forward to collecting some data! Hope you all have enjoyed my more academic approach to training and racing.

Run happy-and if you feel like it-run nerdy!

*For more brainy running stuff, check out Steve Magness' blog at

http://www.scienceofrunning.com/

Review: Brooks Pure Flow

2011-10-21T19:49:00.000-05:00

"We've contained magic...in a shoe!"-Drew Baylor (aka Orlando Bloom) in 2005's Elizabethtown.

Actually, in the aforementioned film, the shoe Mr. Bloom refers to turned out to be not so magic after all. Thankfully for Brooks, they actually come much closer to being a "magical" piece of footwear with the Pure Project line; particularly the Pure Flow-for this girl at least. I actually feel like I'm almost late to the party as almost everyone else sponsored by the ID program were zipping around in these before my cheap butt finally couldn't wait anymore. Hey, better late than never, right?

On to the review itself...

My first sampling actually came on the treadmill while wearing jeans at a cute running shop in Louisiana. How's that for random? When I first slipped them on, they felt kinda weird as I was not ready for the 4mm heel-toe drop. Almost felt like I had the 'post-high-heel-wearing-foot-sinking-into-floor' feeling (girls, you know what I'm talking about:)). Once I started running in them, however, the feeling immediately went away and felt just like a light, smooth running stride. Nice. I had to have them, but waited another week to actually purchase them-because I'm frugal like that.

This week I put just about 20 miles into them (I wore them for a 10-miler, a 6-miler, and a little recovery run), these feel like no other shoe I have run in. Weighing just a fast 7.5 oz, they are the weight of flats, yet I find them super-cush with substantial arch support a midsole fully infused with Brooks' DNA system. All that and I can still feel the road...pretty crazy!

While I have trained myself to mostly run on my forefoot, the funky heel-rock thing reinforces a proper foot placement even more; equaling even less work for me on the run. Another feature I find really cool is how these shoes seem to adapt to how I run, not the other way around...and I have weird feet; as I get told this all the time! To put it frankly, running in these feels like, well, running.

This unique shoe is nothing like anything else out there. The Flow is not fully minimalist; it's nothing like a traditional trainer yet the ride feels surprisingly stable to me. Initially, I was worried about lateral movement of the foot but the elastic Nav Band locks my skinny, high-arched feet in place. So far, my one minor complaint has to be traction-maybe its me-but on damp roads they seem a little slick.

Who would I recommend these to? I would pitch these to runners with some experience under their belts and have a fairly (but not totally) efficient stride as this shoe rewards decent biomechanics. Neutral runners and those who just need mild stability in their shoes (such as the Ravenna, which I also love) may also do well in the Pure Flow. So far the farthest distance I put in these is an easy 10 miles, but I have no qualms about taking them further. Also, the Flows left no odd next day soreness or even left a single blister.

So here are my first impressions of what I find to be an awesome shoe so far. Definitely a staple in my rotation now.

Magic, I tell ya. WTG Brooks!

Run Happy!

Another Week in The Pursuit

2011-10-15T15:33:00.000-05:00

"The Pursuit" has become my moniker for the current training cycle(s) this season and my long, steady mileage build. My re-entry to the half marathon game is now just about a month away and I'm feeling excited and strong. The fall has been all about method-doing the work while looking at the peak and smiling as I traverse the metaphorical foothills of the mountain range that is my cluster of big racing goals. I'm content to just seeing the reward ahead and the timing of things will work itself out.

Ok, Zenlike rambling aside... it's been a great week both in training and in the world of sports psychology. While for some of you this may not be much to write home about, but I will be hitting a solid 60 MPW tomorrow. Last year I put countless 60's in, however, I always felt somewhat tired and did not do all the "little things", at least not consistently to turn a physical grind into something satisfying and rewarding. It almost feels like this is my first "real" highish mileage week.

After an awesome and fairly emotional spectator trip to the Gulf Coast Half Marathon in Louisiana last weekend, I hit the ground Monday morning with an easy 11. Great way to start the week-the suburban sunrises over a very man-made lake are slightly underrated! I used this time to process out what laid ahead for me: lots of appointments, an out of town clinic at a university I'm now working with, of course my training, and everything else that passes through my head out on the trail.

The product so far:

M: Easy 11.5
T: Easy 7/Weights
W: Easy 13; then deck side at swim practice for 2 hours as recovery!
TH: Not much, but couldn't pass up great weather for a 10 mile bike ride
F: Easy 7
Sat: Long-Just over 16 (thanks Bill for the bike pacing:))
Sun./Planned Easy 5 on trails

Next week I resume with the faster/shorter part of my San Antonio mini-cycle. All part of the big picture, even though I'm not totally certain what it is-but it sure looks nice at this juncture.

Enjoy the pursuit and Run Happy!

Sharpening Up

2011-10-06T08:03:00.000-05:00

That old feeling is back.

The feeling where my legs are full of run and it seems like I can never get enough of it. Perhaps it's the recent cooler weather, but on the past couple week's runs I've felt this weird kind of energy-deep inside, like I can just accelerate at will...kind of hard to put my finger on, but I don't want it to go away.

It's been a while since I've felt, well, truly strong. Of course, I do not heed to this sensation since I am now an "older" and wiser runner! But it does feel kinda cool exercising restraint and saving the energy for when it really counts. I have RNR San Antonio coming up in about 5 weeks, and I began my pre-half marathon sharpening phase this week. I'm not doing any full-on speed work for this one, as it is merely a milestone to pass in preparation for early next year-don't get me wrong, though, I'm gonna bring what I have come race day :).

Trust the process....

After a steady diet of base, base, and more base-a building I enjoyed doing-Coach Bill and I designed last night's first official track workout of the season. This is the phase where I start rehearsing goal pace and getting some faster leg turnover going. So how did I do last night? I give myself decent marks-the workout was just enough to be a challenge but still was fun to execute.

For those curious, here's what we came up with:

2 mile warmup-making sure to keep it leisurely (feeling that funky energy again after the first mile:))
2 x 600/200 jog recovery in 2:15
2 x 1200/400 jog recovery in 4:35
another 2 x 600 in 2:15
2 mile cooldown

I sported the Ghost 4's for warmup and cooldown and did the workout in the now "old school" Green Silences. I gotta upgrade to the Pure Flows asap!

While I felt as if I was going faster than I likely actually was, I think I did well and found some decent turnover in these. I hit my splits almost totally spot-on, which is really encouraging for my first foray back on the oval. There's no way but up from here! Most importantly, I made it a point not to do anything crazy but run a controlled, even pace throughout.

Today I think I earned a rest day, but the weekend will surely bring some excitement as I head to the New Orleans area for a training/cheerleading/mini-vacay weekend to watch Rebecca work her magic, and cheer on my best running friends at the Gulf Coast Half Marathon.

Stay the course and Run Happy y'all!

Fueling the Fall Training

2011-09-29T07:39:00.003-05:00

Finding my nutritional sweet spot seems to be a consistent challenge for me. I am often playing with intake around longer workouts: how much to drink in the often oppressive Texas temps, what to eat before, during, and after long runs and workouts. While my nutrition sponsor Powerbar provides great general guidelines for endurance fueling, however, most endurance athletes have to find their own nutritional "sweet spot" for fueling their runs.

Finally,I think I have found a good base system to support my fall training; which has been mostly been mileage building in prep for Rock N Roll San Antonio. Those who regularly follow know I have been putting in more volume and miles during the week, for example, it's only Thursday and I have already gone in the double-digits twice before work (and loving it!). While this is a staple for many, it's new territory for me. Nutritionally, I have paid attention to making little changes to help me feel strong and recover quickly. Like the training cycle I'm currently working, I have found a simple approach to be best...I'm sensing a theme here....

Here's the 'bread and butter' of what seems to work best for me:

Note* this is simply what works for me for distances 10 miles or more or workouts lasting 80-90 minutes or more: take what you find useful for your own training and racing.

Daily:

Pharmaceutical-grade Iron tablet (an absolute must!), 2000-3000 mg fish oil, and PowerBar's High Intensity Beta Alanine supplement (that stuff is awesome, btw), 1-2 Tbsp. Flaxseed or Chia seed on breakfast cereal (rotate seed type monthly, put usually in oatmeal).

Pre-Run

The key for me is a balance of protein and carbs, as that keeps the blood sugars stable (and me happier) for longer.

Night before: Whole wheat pasta with red sauce-containing a small serving of lean meat and veggies. I find if I drink a serving or two of Ironman Perform with dinner/the night before, I tend to feel better overall on the run. It's mandatory for me to have good electrolyte levels going into workout.

Morning I'm actually able to take in food up to 30 minutes before running, which means more sleep:)...I have defected from my typical oatmeal on long run days to a bagel with reduced fat cream cheese and jam. It used to be peanut butter bagel, but found the high fat content of the nut butter made for an internal stationary object for the first half or the run-yuck! Step in a lighter spread, still with a little protein to slow the absorption of the carbohydrate. Oh yeah, gotta have that cup of coffee too!

During:

10 miles or under, it's just a scoop of Ironman Perform, mostly for the electrolytes. 10 miles or more, I take a gel, after the first 6 miles, then roughly after every 4 miles afterward. My latest flavor I train with is Kona Punch. At first I wasn't too crazy about it, but it's grown on me-definitely tastes summer-like. It also has no caffeine, a change I have made this season. I am experimenting training without caffeine on the run, then adding it back in on race day; hopefully boosting energy and focus. I take water every 10 minutes, I tend to sweat heavily so consistent hydration in training is key. I also have discovered that taking in enough calories and carbs on the run helps me recover for the next day.

After:

I immediately grab a pre-mixed bottle of Ironman Restore, stretch, and then take in something a little more substantial-often a banana and/or greek yogurt. And typically a Starbuck's coffee or my fave Hubbell and Hudson (mmm...)-depends on what coffee shop is near the route.

For the rest of the day, it's all about re-hydrating to flush all the 'junk' out from the previous session. I lose count of how many times I refill my bottle.

After long runs, of course I typically feel like chewing my arm off, so especially in the few hours afterward, I tend to try and give it what it wants, but keep it typically wholesome: fruit, protein powder, etc.

Anyhow, this is what has worked for my fall build. What works for you? I'm no nutritionist, but I advise everyone to play around before race day, log what works, and reproduce what makes you feel strongest.

For more info, here's PowerBar's endurance nutrition playbook: http://www.powerbar.com/playbooks/Running.aspx

Check Your Ego at the Door

2011-09-24T13:01:00.003-05:00

Warning: honest post ahead.

Below are some reflections from my past couple workouts this week, one being a progressive and the other my long run this morning. Actually as I prep for my upcoming races

I've known this about myself ever since I started running, but now it's time to accept the fact and move past it: I struggle with ego more than I'd like to admit, especially when it comes to running. While I absolutely love encouraging and supporting others out there, I'll admit I do ~~sometimes~~ like being the alpha dog. Historically, I was always "that one" in the training group who liked running in the front of the group, often pacing faster than I really should. It felt good to know I was #1; at least in my own head-and don't event think about passing me! Sure, it gave me some notoriety as I always hammered my workout and put emotion ahead of practicality and purpose. I ran fast at every chance I got simply because I could.

Fast forward to the here and now and that girl with her ego, while still present, is finally learning patience and how to apply the principles taught by my own and pretty much every other top coach out there today-Daniels, McMillan, Hudson, etc. Easy days easy, hard days hard, and most meaningful for me: know the purpose of every workout. Just because you can run X:XX pace on any given day doesn't mean that you should. Keep the fast for fast days, and even then-save a little something special for race day. Such an elegant and refreshingly simple revelation. I've known this for quite a while now, but am now becoming comfortable with myself and my abilities enough to practice that principle in my daily training.

There was a moment this morning where a couple group members caught up to me on my 14-miler. I likely was running in the high 7:00's and for their 10 miles and could feel the pace quicken substantially as I ran alongside them. I was Garmin-less, (just how I now like it) and was getting into rhythm when I inquired about the pacing- right at 7:00 or so. I responded with an "Um, no!, Y'all go right ahead!"- Actually it came out a little more crass, but that gets the point across. I was almost surprised at how my uber-competitive self was at total peace with staying with my own pace. Would it have benefited me in my current training cycle-absolutely not. I repeated that statement a couple times in my head and it made perfect sense. The schedule said comfortable 14, and so obeyed. Could I have locked step and kept up? Probably so. The old Adrienne would have likely ditched the plan in order to lead the group.

I listened to my inner sport psychologist today and didn't let ego get in the way. Wow, what I could have accomplished back then if I didn't get in my own way-but it's all part of the process of growing as a person/athlete.I'll admit though I couldn't help but feel a little proud of myself for staying well within and not letting a) being passed, and b) running a slower but more appropriate pace affect me. I finished this run a minute or so faster than last weekend and felt really strong throughout; averaging high 7:00's, my current comfort zone for medium-long runs.

Running the base mileage is starting to show its benefits as I ran with relative ease at half marathon goal pace and faster in a progression run Wednesday night. By running by feel I am feeling stronger when it counts. Whodathunk it? The coaches are on to something.:) It may be possible to run by feel and improve after all. And I'm finding it just may be the best way for me.

At least this week, I put in some solid training, minus the extra weight of ego. I will be turning 29 in just under two weeks, so perhaps I'm becoming a little older and wiser!

Trust your training. Enjoy the ride.

Treadmill Time Revisited

2011-09-19T13:32:00.001-05:00

10 miles. That's what I had on the schedule for this morning. Hail hitting the window (or something loud at least) and hard rain-that's what I heard as I was waking up. Hmmm...what to do? I'm not opposed to running in the rain, but was I feeling up to it this morning?....Enter option #2: treadmill surfing ( yes-surfing, because it sounds cooler than other terms for this device) for this 'longish' distance.

If I ran outdoors, it would be dark for the majority of the run, plus I don't always enjoy feeling as if my feet weigh at least 5lbs a piece. If I ran on the treadmill, I risk some relative boredom and have to witness some meatheadism, but at least I'd be dry (from rainwater at least!) and get the distance in with little fuss. Plus, I do enjoy a good playlist indoors-basically the only time I listen to music while running.

While this statement is the 100% opinion of yours truly but running for stretches on the treadmill may have some mental benefit along with helping maintain fitness and reduce impact. I find it helps me establish a good rhythm-on easy or progressive efforts that is-and really be able to zero in on form. For example, today my shoulders and rhomboids actually got fatigued as I focused on running upright.

I think it also helps us learn to deal with boredom and learn patience for when running "drags", like those unfortunate parts of races or long runs where we may find ourselves in "no man's land". We've been there before and can think to ourselves "well, I did get through that treadmill run that day...".

Who knows if this will be the reader's experience, but if nothing else, I started my week with a 10.2 miler of fair quality and look forward to hitting the Waterway in the morning. Did I wuss out this morning and am just rationalizing away? Perhaps, but I got the miles in regardless!

Run Happy, whether it be stationary or forward :)

First Run: Brooks Ghost 4

2011-09-16T15:44:00.002-05:00

Delivered from WA straight to my office!

Over the years me and my finicky legs and feet have approached trying new shoe models with a fair degree of skepticism. I've gone from exclusively neutral models to exclusively guidance and/or stability shoes ( post-injury shin splint nightmare) due to changing movement patterns.

At any rate, while I currently train in many of the current line Brooks Sports has put out; for some reason, I previously have refrained from running in any of the Ghost models. Until today....

I did not know just how much I would like the feel and ride of Brooks' latest edition of their neutral trainer. Not only is it a fairly attractive shoe, I found the fit immediately complimentary to my oddly-shaped feet. After successfully completing a solid mileage build over the summer, I feel like my legs and feet are strong enough to take the stability factor down a notch in the shoe rotation. The Ghost was a good choice since it still adds a slight element of stability for a neutral trainer-if nothing else, it provides some peace of mind.

Upon receiving them yesterday, I had to slip them on to see how they initially felt...wow, the perfect combo of cushion, via Brooks' unique DNA technology, arch support, and balanced feel. I was equally impressed with how the upper grabbed the foot and held it securely in place; as I'm the type who likes little to no give in a shoe. The also come in narrow, which is helpful since I have waterskis for feet!

This morning I laced them up for an easy 6-miler and my first impression of them was confirmed. Scary good. Super-comfortable and I felt no real difference in stability versus the Ravenna 2 I also run in. Usually sole features and tech are lost on me, but I could actually feel the unique flex grooves at work, making the shoe feel fast and responsive underfoot.At 9.3 oz, it's not the lightest neutral trainer on the market, but still feels relatively fast and is really flexible while in motion. Even the blister on last year's fracture site I've had for the past two weeks was virtually unnoticeable! I can't wait to take them out for my 14-miler tomorrow.

The Ghost 4 was definitely a nice surprise as far as a daily trainer goes. I did not expect to initially like them as much as I do. These will likely get the bulk of use in my current rotation (along with the Ravenna, Green Silence, Racer ST-5 and soon to be Pure Flow). For those looking for a cushy and stable neutral shoe with lots of protection for pounding out the daily miles, I rate these highly.

Rising Above

2011-09-09T09:48:00.005-05:00

"And you said rise above, open your eyes up..." Reeve Carney & Bono lyrics

This morning I ran an easy 7 miles, just as I do most mornings and this time I went along on one of my favorite routes-an out and back where I run along the South Shore of Lake Woodlands twice. There is something I find really calming about watching the sun rise over the smooth water. I also was thankful for the relative safety from the local wildfires for the moment and thought about those less fortunate.

September 9th. Just like any other day, but it's not for me. One year ago today, I went out on an easy out and back, made it halfway through made a painful turn for home, and then SNAP! Broken foot, bruised spirit, and lingering doubts that I would be able to continue doing the sport I love. While I feel I managed the hardship fairly well, there were definite struggles and setbacks along the way. Today marks year since that happened, and today's run became a celebration of progress, of God's gift to me, of the will to overcome and grow and of rising above.

Slowly my spirit and foot healed-basically in that order. This time last year I could barely move-now I just completed a race and am in the process of a mileage build. Although I have done a great deal of the work already, I am putting this behind me and moving forward-this is all the process of being an athlete and balancing your health and life.

Running aside, rising above has been the theme of this whole week for me. Shortly after my race and lecture on Saturday, things got challenging. I received a call that my mother was ill and spent several days in the hospital this week. For somebody who's known for "having it together"-at least a lot of the time-I was left confused and felt like there was nothing I could do to help the situation. Sometimes things happen that are just out of our control and we are to simply accept them as they are and do the best we can while minding our own well-being. I do want to thank who offered thoughts and prayers through this-I am confident she will rise above as well.

It's not about getting 'over' challenging as much as simply working through or living with them; better yet, transcending them all together. Last weekend I found myself searching for the mental 'X' factor to carry me through my key races this upcoming season. I felt as if I needed something more to get me through those moments where I have to make the choice to press on or slow down; to rise above or to settle. I know I am the type who gains motivation by adversity. I know I love to honor and help others.

So, this season is dedicated to you, Mom. It's the least I can do.

This is the view of what greets me most mornings, the McMansions didn't make it in this pic!

New Spring Race Addition

2011-09-08T12:23:00.000-05:00

More evidence of just how blessed I am as an athlete....

I received an email today from my agent notifying me that I have been invited to run the Charlottesville Half Marathon this upcoming April. Of course I accepted and am thrilled to have the opportunity for several reasons-here's the short list:

This course is consistently ranked as one of the most scenic nicest race courses in the nation. Rumor has it I will be running past Monticello- yeah, Thomas Jefferson's house....
I love history-and to say there's lots of it in that region is an understatement.
Former training partner/current badass USAF RN Melissa P. (aka 'Sharkey') is now a VA local.
I'm always looking for the opportunity to race in climates that are, um, un-Houston-like!
I already love the vibe I get from the race director and may get the chance to ~~annoy~~ hang out with multiple Olympic Trialists who also run for Brooks.

A stretch of scenery that awaits me...

I will be just a month off of running The Woodlands, and my fitness may actually be right where it needs to be. Thank you in advance to Dr. Francesca Conte and the race committee and I look forward to racing and visiting Virginia.

Purple Monkey x 3

2011-09-04T06:43:00.002-05:00

There's a little race in Alvin, TX, just south of Houston, that I like to do as kind of a fall tune up of sorts. The RD and volunteers are always very nice and the race is well-organized. Historically I have done pretty well in this race, winning Overall Female twice before. Actually, this was my first 10k race ever and I snagged the course record in '09. After this year's foray I walk away feeling more like a 'seasoned runner'.

I missed last year's race due to injury, but yesterday I got my third win on Alvin's flat streets this weekend. This time around, my experience was a bit different than before...

First, I learned a bit about physiology and training cycles on this one. I had not raced since June's triathlon, and let's face it, running 3 miles off the bike is not a real good gauge of where I'm at speed-wise. Is I have regularly discussed in my blog, I am currently working on endurance and strength, increasing my weekly miles and doing a lot of easy runs. In fact, my training plan currently calls for just one progression run every other week (swapped out with a 10 miler on the flipside).

Got sharpness?...Sometimes, the cliche/excuse of "I haven't done any speedwork" does hold some water. With the exception of a handful of 1200's on the track at the beginning of the summer and some fartleks, I haven't done any really hard workouts since, well, last September. There really is some merit to the notion of training stimulus-not doing much with the fast-twitch fibers = not much fast twitch response! :)

Ok, long-winded introduction to the race today. Given that my core focus are my spring half marathons, this race was more for fun and to do a clinic afterward. Of course, me being me, I wanted to do well, running my usual sub-40 on the course. Here's the quick and dirty of the event:

Mile 1: Off to a quick start, but nothing crazy, go through first mile in about 6:10ish-goal of 6:20's. Weather is not too hot, and there is a slight wind.

Mile 2: On pace and trying to settle in. This is my first 10k in about 2 years, after all. I'm not sure where I am in the race, as the RRCA State 5k Championship was also in the mix. I realize that while it's not in the 90s, its still pretty hot out-eew.

Mile 3: Look at Garmin, and don't like what I'm seeing, pace is all over the place, from 6:22-6:50. Um, may need to re-evaluate plan....thinking, should I peel off for the 5k?? Of course not, I'm still going for the win! The other voice in my head said "Take your Garmin off, just run". This voice was stronger.

1st 5k: Starting to slip into a funk for not meeting my expectations, that's where inner sport psychologist intervened with a little help from Coach Bill telling me I've got this race. Thanks Bill! I saw Lenny Garcia, the race director at the turnaround as I approached, unlatched my "digital pace micromanagement device", handed it to Coach Garcia and kept on going. It was all about feel and doing the best effort I could after that. I immeditately felt more relaxed after doing so.

Mile 4: Starting to relax and run a guy down. I didn't know at the time, but I went from 3rd to 2nd overall. I'm trying to balance relaxing and pressing combined with a desire to just get this race over with. I was still shaking my head at my random yet momentum-changing decision to strip my wrist mid race, but glad I did, as the second loop proved more positive.

Mile 5: Self talk went something like this: "Accept where you're at, but win this thing!" I knew this was a considerably slow 10k effort for me, as I felt flat, not tired per se, but lacking in extra gears, but I could still get a 'W'. I hear the drumline for the second time and cruise in.

Mile 6-6.2: Tired and hot, I give it a final kick after dodging some walkers and getting water, see the clock and press to a 41:50 something. Still a respectable time,even reflective of no interval training for a loooong time. Find out I was 2nd OA. Nice, worth the up and down effort! All in all I'm pleased with the effort and win. If this is where I'm at from a base standpoint I just may be primed for a good 2012.

Bill found me shortly after finishing, and he discussed with me that I am where I should be, as we are carefully managing when I peak-i.e. The Woodlands Half. Upon reflection, I agree with him. I want to get strong, then get fast, when my body can better handle it. I guess this was one of my first true "workout races". First time for everything! I'm still a 10k fan, as it is probably my second-favorite distance to the half. I do feel as if I'm maturing as an athlete and gaining a better understanding of how peaking works, and how training for specific distances really has merit.

Plus the obvious-I'm healthy right now!

A great group came out to listen to me, of all people!

Now for the good stuff: I conducted a running clinic after the awards ceremony and was met by several rows of attendees; all asking great questions about training and "little things" to get an edge. There was a mix of young triathletes, adult runners, and the Alvin High School Cross and Track teams.Some were training for their first marathon or half marathon, and I love working with new runners! I was impressed especially with the track team's questions and they were very attentive for sitting in the sun on a Saturday morning. Hopefully my enthusiasm and passion for helping other athletes came through with this one. I expected to speak for just about 20-30 minutes in the Texas sun, and we went almost an hour.

One "first" moment was this: I was advertised as a Brooks and Powerbar-sponsored runner in the race flyer and as a result, one woman came up and asked to have her picture taken with me! This was kind of flattering and made me smile. In a weird way, it helped me put things in perpective that my worst days are still pretty good, and I am blessed with this talent and platform for a reason. I really enjoyed donating my time for this clinic and just hope at least a couple people found some "nuggets" to take home with them.

Thanks again are due to Coach Leonard Garcia and Brandi Orosco for having me for both the race and trusting me with your athletes afterward!

Run Happy

From the Archives

2011-09-01T16:36:00.002-05:00

Speedy and witty Brooks teammate Leah nominated me for a 7 Links post. In all honesty, I had to read the instructions more than once for this thing, but below is my understanding of it! Basically, I dug into my blog archives in certain categories and reposted to either be re-hashed or ignored (up to you guys!). But anyways, here is my version:

MOST FUN: One of the most random things I've ever done and just the look on Rebecca's face was worth it! Blueberry Chase 5k: Not Your Ordinary Weekend 5k.

MOST POPULAR: Based on 1000 (really?) pageviews, Recovery Reflections had the most traffic. Who knew marathon recovery was so interesting?!

MOST PAINFUL: Ummm... Yeah, difficult experience but proud of how I managed it.

MOST HELPFUL: Definitely one I didn't write: Interview with Jarrett Smilie.

SURPRISE SUCCESS: This racing experience was definitely unprecedented and surprising. Although nowhere close to PR land, I call this one a good experience. What the difference 10 hours makes. Race Day Saturday: A Double Race Race Report.

NOT ENOUGH ATTENTION: Even though it got plenty, The Little Event that Could, simply because these athletes deserve so much more.

MOST PROUD: 2010 Aramco Houston Half Marathon. A picture is worth a thousand words. To the R of Shalane Flanagan, is somebody familiar. Ran my Half Marathon PR amongst the best at the USATF Championships. Cracked the Top 30. Good day.

So there we have it, or at least my best attempt. Hope y'all enjoyed it.

Run Happy!

The Challenges of a "Professional" Athlete

2011-08-28T07:20:00.005-05:00

"Live life with the passion of an artist". -Jeremy Bloom

By "professional", of course I mean I make my livelihood doing something other than running. At this stage I have the resources to see where my running takes me, but here and now I am so blessed to have found a career in the helping field that I love almost as much, and on some occasions, perhaps a bit more. And I really love to run.

There are the more magical days than not where I walk away from training or working with an individual where I have a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction that I can't accurately describe. On most days, I find that running compliments my practice and vice versa. I guess in both I get to put myself on the line and try to transcend the intangible; operating outside my comfort zone. It is like a fine art I will never perfect, and it's the pursuit that keeps me intrigued and working harder.

Then there are days that cause amounts of strain or at least difficulty with managing my time and energy. There are days when my attitude and outlook suffers. Days I just want to stay in bed, days I just can't take any more soreness, stretching, or foam rolling. Days when being a "professional" athlete is just hard. Days where I have to work a little harder to motivate myself and keep everything in perspective. Luckily, this isn't always the case.

Accepting that there will be the occasional out-of-town Saturday session after a long run, when I really want to nap and relax, or the high-priority, late notice meeting that I have to (sigh) arrange my training around is something I have to do. I may not have the luxury of having the time to nap, get daily treatments, or to rest properly as I ramp up my mileage, but I can do what I can-and I feel I have a lot to work with. I can listen to my body, I can eat correctly, and I can progress at a rate that is optimal for me.

This September there are lots of exciting things on the calendar: a race Labor Day weekend, followed by a post-race clinic for the athletes, speaking to college freshmen on goal setting the following week, then another Team In Training appearance for PowerBar. Busy? Sure, but I think this is how things should be right now as I am enjoying myself and my training.

My spring calendar looks even brighter with Elite entries to The Woodlands and Charlottesville.

Not everybody is fortunate enough to work their "dream jobs" in their lifetime. With blessings in life such as these, responsibility is part of it. And this is the way it should be. Being a "pro" runner is challenging, but I think that's why I do it in the first place.

A Little Self-Assessment

2011-08-21T11:38:00.000-05:00

I am enjoying my training right now-really enjoying it! Yes, it's so hot people on TV are doing cooking experiments in their cars (true story) and I feel hard boiled when I finish most of my runs, but that's not the point. My miles are increasing, my legs seem to be responding (fingers crossed), and I'm working this new training plan like I've always done it this way.

I capped 47ish miles this week after my recovery run this morning, not much to brag about yet, but steps in the right direction as I work to increase my volume in the safest manner possible. Speaking of safety, I changed it up today and headed to the "semi-hallowed" ground of The Woodlands High School (see the Oct. issue of Running Times and you'll know what I'm talking about) and hit their fields for some soft surface jogging. That's right-jogging! ....Don't worry Conroe ISD-I didn't do any damage to your facility, with the exception of leaving some cool footprint designs on the wet grass-who knows, this could become a new art form!

Yesterday I reversed my 12-mile hilly route and found the new stimulus refreshing. I'm still going Garmin-less on these but do the math afterward and sat slightly below 8:00 average just running by feel. I've become a bit of an antisocial long runner over the past few weeks, going alone on my training runs but convene with the others for coffee afterwards. I find it nice to just stay in my own head-and conserve oxygen on Saturday mornings; it also helps me run what feels natural for the day. Maybe it's the sport psychologist in me. And of course these runs are followed up by ice baths. Gotta mind the details and be consistent.

This week is the "faster week" with some higher mileage easy runs and some progression work on Wednesday-leading up to Labor Day weekend's 10k bookending a cut-back week. Yay for knocking some rust off with a little racing!

So far, I grade my progress satisfactory, and as in my personal and professional life-consistency really is key.

Run Happy!

Upcoming Race and Speaking Gig

2011-08-13T17:56:00.000-05:00

For starters, I'm loving the new low-stress training plan! I checked off a 12-miler this morning and have distances of 8-10 coming up this week (all easy, at this juncture). Each week, the daily volume seems to slowly build! Tomorrow though is just for recovery as I will run a relatively brief one before entertaining my parents for church and lunch tomorrow. I love it when they come up to visit The Woods!

Also this week, I had a kind of a small a full-circle experience:

I got a nice email from Coach Leonard Garcia, race director for a fun little race Labor Day Weekend in Alvin, TX. The son is a charity race in honor of Garcia's late son and I have run this race twice prior, setting my original 10k PR there on a hot September day in 2009. Also on this day, a Chris Layman, an Elite Brooks Runner (like 14:00-15:00 range 5k speed or faster) ran the same 10k as a training run and did a little featured clinic for the runners afterward. I managed to catch the tail end of the talk, mainly because I wanted to pick his brain a little bit.

Back in '09 I was on both a PR tear and beginning to feel out the sponsorship thing. My main question was how he got started and managed to hook up with Brooks Running, one of my favorite shoe companies. For the record, I was sporting my T5 Racers (remember those?) that day!

Crossing the line to my then-10k PR on Alvin's flat course.

Flash forward to present day, and now I'm very fortunate to now run for Brooks amongst other companies, have a great agent in my corner, and am now the athlete talking after the race. Wow, how things change with a little gumption and determination. I don't know what kind of time I'll run since I haven't run a 10k in ages, but that's not important this time around. I am quite excited about being able to share my knowledge and passion, especially with the young high school cross country runners.

I love reaching out to other athletes, even if just in a small way, as much if not more that I love running itself.

This little notion was a nice reminder of how blessed I am and how I get to share it with others.

Run Happy!

Changing the Rules

2011-08-07T14:05:00.000-05:00

Unless you have crazy good vision or some sort of magnification glass, you likely cannot make out what is featured left-but that's ok because it's not exactly a compelling read for most anyhow.... For yours truly, though, it is quite the contrary.

This week starts a several-months long experiment with a 14-day training cycle. I have several reasons for trying this out, and after reviewing the simple sheet that Bill provided me with yesterday, I am pretty optimistic about it.

Some may recall a post from some months regarding my case of "mileage envy". After researching and reviewing a 14-day training plan, it looks like increasing my weekly mileage to a healthy volume is not only possible for me but safer. After a few seasons that were cut too short due to injury, too many days where I am sitting there scratching my head wondering what I was doing wrong, dealing with dumb little aches and pains, I got the nerve to ask the coach for his blessing on changing things up. Over the typical post-track workout Guinness-and admittedly nursing a sore posterior tibialis muscle at the time-I openly theorized that perhaps its not that I'm deliberately running too fast on easy days, or not warming up/cooling down properly, or stretching/foam rolling enough (I'm an admitted stretch-a-holic), but my hard days were spaced too close together. I finally asked to shuffle the deck and try something new. Should I have come to that realization sooner? Sure-but sometimes even relatively smart girls like me can be a bit dense at times!

Probably why I didn't try and change things earlier was the denial that my body needed something different than all the others. I simply just kept waiting to adapt. I also thought that longer training cycles were "softer" and only running hard once every 7 days of so wouldn't get the job done. Upon further investigation, I get to do the runs I enjoy more often: relaxed, such as evenly paced 8-10 milers during the week, progression runs on Wednesdays, and lots of recovery in between hard efforts While dropping the hammer is a lot of fun, I also have recently embraced running easy-its a good time to process the day's events and get a good endorphin fix without feeling like you've been beaten by a stick a hundred times over when you're done. It always seems that the longer I go on an easy run, the better everything feels.

As Jack Daniels asserts, you have to know the purpose of every run and more importantly understand your body, environment, and what works best. My line of work isn't always the most predictable or stress-free, so my training should fill that void and not be an additional stressor.

An old cycle looked something like this: Monday: progression run, Tuesday: easy 5-7, Wednesday: track intervals or fartleks-6-8 miles, Thursday: rest, Friday: easy 5-6, Saturday-long, Sunday-recover quickly for next session...ouch! Some athletes may do fine with this routine, myself, however, seem to struggle with the hard-easy-hard-easy-hard scheme.

Here's an example of what I'll likely be doing, give or take for the next cycle as I start to ramp up for San Antonio:

Week 1:
M: Easy 6-7 on treadmill and weights.
Tu.: Easy 4-6 and core routine
W: Progressive 6-dropping down to low 6:00's (depending on weather conditions); 1 mile cooldown
Th: R-E-S-T!
F: Easy 4-6
S: Long-ish 10-12
Su: Recovery run of 25-30 min or cycling

Week 2:
M: Easy 6-8
Tu: Easy 4-6
W: Easy 10
Th: R-E-S-T!
F: Easy 4-6
Sat. Easy 10-13
Su: Recovery 3-4 miles or cycling

...and hopefully it progresses from there. I'm curious to see how it affects my speed for an upcoming 10k I plan on running, but in the grand scheme I'm more focused on being a good half-marathoner for the time being. If nothing else, I like the idea of trying a fresh new approach. Simple, methodical, running. I like it.

So here goes....

Interview With Jarrett Smilie of Body Mechanix Therapy

2011-08-04T07:08:00.000-05:00

I'm please to announce my first guest poster and my personal massage therapist, Jarrett Smilie, L.M.T., M.M.T., NASM-C.P.T./C.E.S. of Body Mechanix Therapy in The Woodlands, TX. I have been working with Jarrett for well over a year now, and his treatments have been integral to my running and quality of life. I seriously doubt I could run at the level I do without his help. Below is a bit of an introduction to some of the essentials of massage therapy for athletes and active individuals; plus a little background on what makes his practice unique.

Q: Besides being a “regular” Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Personal Trainer, what other specializations and credentials do you currently carry?

J.S.: In my first year of training I had great success with my client Leelo Moore, who I had helped learn to walk again among many other things, as well as, had him almost completely symmetrical from the right to the left side of his body. Meaning, the right side of his body which had become very de-conditioned from the left side brain injury 20 years prior, had caught up with his left side in just eight months. He was a happy man when he could finally flex his arms up and see big matching biceps. Not to mention that he also became the 1st annual MOST IMPROVED GOLDS GYM MEMBER IN THE WORLD! But to hear more about Leelo’s story keep reading the weekly blogs because it’s coming soon.

Q: Besides being a “regular” Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Personal Trainer, what other specializations and credentials do you currently carry?

J.S.:Now I need to add that I was in physical therapy assistant’s school at the time, but I didn’t start training already having the knowledge. I do or learn to do what my client needs to excel, and that philosophy has help me grow quickly in the therapy field. Soon after that I became a Corrective Exercise Specialist, which taught me a systematic approach to therapeutic exercise in personal training. Half a year later I met Trigger Point Specialist Julie Donnelly, the author of a book titled "The Pain Free Triathlete" that I had bought about nine months earlier and had taken a great interest too. I learned how to apply the self treatment techniques in the book to my clients effectively, and when Julie saw this skill and what she calls "natural ability", she immediately took me under her wing and began teaching me her own style of Julstro Muscular Therapy Trigger Point techniques.

From there I began massage therapy school which upon completion immediately begin advanced studies in several disciplines of massage therapy including medical massage, sports massage, myofascial release, and of course trigger point therapy.

Q: You work with both the regular population and with athletes. What are some of the similarities and differences between working with the two populations?

J.S.: Most bodily pain comes from overuse activities. But unfortunately everybody engages in overuse activities at some point in their daily lives. Overuse activities cause knots to form in the muscles, knots cause shortness in the muscle, shortness in the muscle causes compression of the joints that the muscle crosses, and the result is joint and/or body pain. For athletes, you may be working out a little bit too hard during the training session or pushed yourself to the limit during the game or race. But for a non athletic individual, and overuse activity could occur simply from climbing a flight of stairs or even walking from the couch to the fridge more than usual in a particular day.

Many times the athletic population has the healing advantage, due to their constant muscle stimulating routines. But this can also cause problems. When athletes try to train through their postural distortions, they often reinforce the knots and tightness, leading way to much larger issues.

Q: What are some benefits athletes reap from receiving massage/muscular therapy versus simply stretching, resting, and using the foam roller?

J.S.: The main problem with stretching a tight muscle is that you can't stretch at knot out of a muscle. As I stated earlier, it's the knot(s) that has shorten the muscle. So it is the knot that needs the focus, not the surrounding healthy muscle fibers.

As the overactive knotted muscle fibers are relaxed, we can now productively stretch the appropriate areas. Resting is great for preventing the further agitation of the issue, but unfortunately knots don't just go away from decreased activity. Knots must be released; otherwise they simply become dormant until re-agitated and reactivated with the future increase in activity.

Foam rolling is a great method of self treatment. When done properly foam rolling can help to relax and inhibit those overactive muscle fibers that formed knocks in the muscles. But foam rollers are more affective for bigger muscle groups than smaller, more precise issues. For most muscle and joint issues an educated therapist is going to be your fastest path to recovery. When I see an injury, I follow it all the way to its root cause. Stopping the painful symptoms by eliminating the true issue.

Q: What are some of the most complaints runners come in with?

J.S.: The most common issue that runners come see me with is hip imbalances. The problem is usually either that the hip flexors and or adductors are tightened and overactive; glutes in the rear are weak and not activating properly which can cause a multitude of problems. Tip: Strengthen your gluts to balance your stride.

Q: Do you have any unique “success” stories to date in your practice?

J.S.: Yes, I have helped people recover from toe and ankle sprains to facial numbness and chronic migraine headaches and many other issues between. To read some of my testimonials, go to my website at www.yourbodymechanix.com/Testimonials

Q: You are currently working on a new studio. What do you look forward to most with the upgrade?

J.S.: With the 2 new therapy rooms my clients don’t need to sacrifice comfort for great body work anymore. Our goal was to make these rooms as nice as any massage rooms around, and I think you’ll agree when you see them that we hit our mark.

Q: Lastly, in massage therapy, quality and levels of symptom relief often vary. In your opinion, what are some important variables to consider in choosing a therapist to work with?

J.S.: This is a great question! One that I dive into deeply in my FREE REPORT, “4 Key Reasons Your Massage Fails and You Still Hurt!” It will be released soon- if you haven’t already, go to www.yourbodymechanix.com.

Look out for future posts about the subject of massage and performance, and thanks goes out to the talented Mr. Smilie for sharing his expertise and insight. And constantly putting me back together:)!

Jarrett can be reached at jarrett@yourbodymechanix.com.

Saturday Morning Nostalgia

2011-07-31T14:06:00.000-05:00

I write this post with an odd mix of nostalgia, fresh-eyed excitement, and let's throw in some good old fashioned bummed out. Yeah, that is one big jumble of feelings all right-all at once! Yesterday morning's long run was just like the other ones, with a couple exceptions....

Last season, Bill would almost always serve as "run sherpa" and tag along with Melissa (my training partner for the past two years) and I as we pounded the pavement and bike paths. Every run we'd talk about everything and nothing, and we learned a lot about each other as the miles clicked by. Whether one of us had a good week, a bad week, or just wanted to get a good workout in, the Saturday morning long run often is just the right dose of therapy for us all. Over the past few months, however, Bill had been tending to increasing numbers in the morning group and has had to hang back (and rumor has it train a bit himself;)).

Yesterday, however, it was just like old times. We had our Sherpa for the day, and I think I know why he tagged along with us: it was likely Melissa's last long run with us for a while. In a few days, she will be moving forward with her career, likely saving and changing lives and serving our country for the United States Air Force. While I am pumped for the recent nursing school grad and newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, the selfish side of me will miss my friend and stable running buddy. :(

Anyhow, the run itself was awesome! Just as we started our watches and slowly took off, the skies opened up on us. Wow, it felt good not running through 90 degree temps! Knowing my Garmin is extra-flaky, I made a bee line for the car and left it there. No time to find my other watch-I had to call it an impromptu "unplugged run". I swear-everything felt lighter, even in the rain without it!

4 miles or so of puddle jumping, the rain let up and the joking around commenced. It was nice just feeling out the 10 miles without having to stop the watch at each light (God forbid the pace gets misrecorded!) and worry about going too fast/slow, and so on. It almost felt like we were little kids again out there. Little kids who like running 10 miles in the rain. May we have many more runs like that.

Thank you Melissa for your service.

Run Happy!

More Exciting Changes

2011-07-28T16:07:00.000-05:00

I am humbled and thrilled to announce that this mild-mannered (to put it loosely!) counselor/runner gal from Texas has recently partnered up with with representation of my athletic endeavours by Threshold Talent. Threshold is the brainchild of fellow Brooks ID'er Michael Robertson and specializes in sports management and representation services for track and field and road racing athletes.

I feel that in order to take my running and other athletic-related ventures to the next level, working with someone like Michael is what I likely need to get there. Like many other sports and other aspects of life, it sometimes takes a village to turn a vision into reality. I am SO blessed to have another welcome addition to my already stout support system and am ready to give 110%.

At the present time, I am about to begin a block of half marathon training leading up to November's Rock N Roll San Antonio Half Marathon. It still feels somewhat surreal to have the opportunity to advance my sports career like this. I don't know what the future holds, but I can't wait to see what unfolds!

Thank you Threshold!

Run Happy

Looking Ahead

2011-07-24T17:20:00.000-05:00

I know this post is a bit preliminary, but I'm already excited about this race.

After a string of recent struggles and a relative "dry period" in my running, I received confirmation the other day that I will be running in the My Fit Foods The Woodlands Half Marathon on 3.3.12 under Elite status! This announcement was especially gratifying given this will be my first elite gig in almost two years. I am hoping for this race to be a bit of a re-launch of where I left off in early 2010 and back on track to continuing to chase my potential. I have historically done well in hometown events, especially of the 13.1 variety and I will train my hardest and smartest to continue that trend and represent The Woodlands running well.

For those looking for a good spring marathon or half marathon, I recommend checking this one out! 'The Woods really is an endurance community like none other here. Just to add to the allure, the principle charity involved is none other than the Hall Steps Foundation. Pretty sweet if you ask me!

Obviously, I have 8 months and lots of training and racing in between, but it's nice to be this excited about racing again:) Thanks again to the race committee for the opportunity to run my heart out in front of all my peers here soon!

Now That You're On The Edge of Your Seats....

2011-07-22T20:35:00.000-05:00

Time to address some of your thoughtful and somewhat colorful questions. Some of y'all actually made me think a bit! Now it's my turn to do my best to answer the 'panel's questions. Here's the skinny:

1. Flo over at www.girlinmotion.com came out swinging asking what my ultimate running goal was.

A: Well, since you asked, I would have to say I'm swinging for the fence-this particular fence being the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials. I've got lots of work ahead of me yet but it would be a shame not to try.

Secondary to that, but not 'ultimate' per se is a sub 3 hour marathon. I guess you have to pop one of those to get to the big show! Btw if you haven't been to Flo's blog, it's funny, informative, and for the girls, she has some really cute headbands available. :)

2. Holden, a local running buddy of mine in The Woodlands asked a double-barreled one:

A). How did you get into running and why?

A: Well, I always enjoyed it and it seemed to come fairly natural. I did it for exercise for most of my teenage years (was a soccer player in HS) and finally got the nerve to start racing in grad school at Sam Houston State U. I nervously entered the local half marathon there, "trained" for it, and ended up First Female in 1:36. I was in shock, but I haven't looked back since.

B.) How many sleep hours do you get and do you feel like you get optimal sleep hours?

A: Hmmm...if I'm having a relatively low-key week at the office, I typically get about 7 hours per night. Is it optimal, I would have to say no, because I do feel a difference just getting a couple 8-hour nights in in a week. If only I could string more together.

3. Leah @ Chasing Atalanta asked

"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

A: Well, Ms. Leah, I hate to disappoint, but I would have to say that's a negative! Your question made me laugh though.

4. Chris K. asked another good one:

When he was asked how to be a good runner, Dean Karnazes said, "Choose your parents well". How much do you believe that is true? For an Elite or consistent a.g. winner, how much is God-given and how much is training?

A: Wow. That is not an easy question. Based solely on my own experiences, the genetic component appears to hold some water. Even as a kid, while I was not otherworldly fast, I was always ahead of the majority of my peers at recess and in P.E. class. I broke 7 minutes in the mile for the first time in the 5th grade. My father when he was younger was a decent athlete and my mom seems to be a decent runner. Training, however is the critical part, and I do believe in the fact that if one has the work ethic, does it right and is patient, and most importantly believes in their own ability, magic can slowly happen. All these factors seem to work together. Bottom line, I agree with Karno that some runners are better equipped to, well run. Never underestimate the workhorse, however.

5. Speaking of talent, my girl Rebecca at Run Like a Girl and Mean It asked a situational one: "

Q: As someone who is about to begin running with a group on a regular basis, how much do you allow the group to dictate the pace? Like, the recovery run that's too fast, or the long run that's too slow. How do you handle these situations?

A: Either tell 'em to quit slacking or start grabbing singlets to slow them down! Haha...

Personally, I make sure I know the route and speak up regarding what pace you're doing. My group typically consists of all kinds of paces, so we end up strung along but we all start, finish, and have coffee (or other adult bevs in the PM) at the same place. When doing recovery runs, it helps to find others who are doing the same (or run at a generally slower pace). Some of us "compare notes" and partner up regarding pace when we do our long runs, then keep each other in check regarding if too fast or slow. That seems to work well.

6. Tommy over at Run The Race asked "When are you going to run an ultra?"

A: Well, honestly when is not on my radar currently, however, where and what ultra I HAVE to do is Comrades. I have this cheesy fantasy about running it around my 40th birthday or some other significant milestone. This gives me 11 years to train and save up! Before then, I'm sure I'll take a stab at a 50k at some point, but no timeline.

6. My sister K at Running Towards Him concisely asked "mayo or mustard?"

Mustard. Hands down. Preferably organic honey mustard or whole grain.

7. Bill D. asked "What is your favorite kind of french fry?"

A: Silly Bill! You see, I haven't had an actual french fry in over two years, but I do make a mean baked sweet potato fry at home in the oven. So homemade sweet potato fries are it! Yes- I am a health freak, and no, I don't offer any apologies for it!

8. Kovas at Midwest Multisport Life asked "Who's more annoying, Chris K. or Kovas?"

A: Depends on the day, my friend!! ;) I enjoy both of your blogs overall and am constantly amused by your rivalry/bromance you two have.

That's all I got. Hope these were helpful or at least worth scanning my post for. Thanks for playing!

Ask Adrienne

2011-07-15T13:02:00.000-05:00

Manly Runner Chris K. in sunny San Diego has approached me to do the blogger Q & A thing. Little does he know how un-interesting I really am!! I won't lie, every now and again I will talk about myself, so if you wanna know something....

So, let's do this thing. Ask me anything. No holds barred. No subject too serious or frivolous (yikes!). I can't promise an answer to every question, but I will try! Just leave it in the comment box or those who are more shy can email me at adrienne.langelier@gmail.com.

Questions can range but not limited to:
1. My running and training
2. What I do when not running
3. My background-eek
4. Random facts
5. Sport Psychology :)
6. Your own creativity (bear in mind this blog is fairly family-friendly ;))

I look forward to your questions and will answer them in a future post. Til then, Run Happy!

Confession

2011-07-14T20:33:00.000-05:00

It's been quite a day-traveling earlier for business; then returning to The Woodlands to field emails, plan tomorrow's outing to the Astros game (gotta love em even if they stink this year) and most importantly- try to do some good and make things happen for my clients. What I lack in experience as a therapist I try to make up in heart and tenacity.

But anyhow, I digress...

Needless to say I was craving some run time! Too bad it was oppressively hot as I headed out at 6:30 this evening. For some reason, the legs were feeling the track again, so I just hopped the fence (ok, I walked through a hole in the fence!) at the track behind my apartment complex and did my easy 6. No watch, just out to clear any lactic acid from last night and my head.

I was baked after 5 miles and needed to change it up. Hot, thirsty, and wearing Brooks weighing in at about 15 oz a piece from sweat, I heeded a whim I have secretly had for a while: off with the shoes! Those who run with me know I'm pretty regimented and predictable.

Granted it was not far or fast, just 3 laps around a soccer field totaling about 5 minutes, I have to say it was a really neat feeling. I have been afraid to run barefoot for a long time given my long history of injuries but I will likely do it again. Perhaps I will incorporate this as a part of a cooldown once a week or so-I respect the barefooters of the world, but I will likely not be purchasing Vibrams any time soon. I have to say though, it is a cool feeling really connecting with your gait.

I walked away after stretching and smiled a little bit. Below is the aftermath of the field (and yes that's grass; also check out my faux wood flooring LOL)! Here's to running like a little kid-and maybe just improving your form while you're at it:)

Run Happy!

Trail Running in the TX Hill Country

2011-07-10T19:44:00.000-05:00

It's hard sometimes to put into words how much I love spending time in the Texas Hill Country, especially my grandfather's ranch where I have eagerly gone ever since I was a little girl. It takes between 4 and 5 hours to drive there from Houston, there are no Starbuck's around for miles, and even my cell phone has no service. There are few situations in the world where the lack of luxury actually becomes a luxury and for me Medina, TX is one of those.

This weekend marked my grandfather's 80th birthday and his party was held at the ranch on Saturday. Being a newly more- flexible runner, I modified my training schedule a little bit to maximize time with the family yet get some time in on some trail time. Friday I put in my long run, actually one of the longest of the year so far of 13-plus miles before all the time in the car and festivities and such. Saturday morning I just did a little recovery run around some soccer fields ( Kenyan-like, huh?!) before the trek up to the pretty place.

After some quality time with the family yesterday and falling asleep watching the stars outside an oversize window (The Woodlands suburban skies have nothing on this), I got up before everyone else and headed out for a 5ish mile trail run on the property. I was not sure exactly how far or how fast I ran, but that wasn't important-the bulk of my work was already done before I got there. I enjoyed the drier air and the views, where I used to always ride ATV's and chase things when I was a kid. It may be no Rocky Mountain altitude, but such a cool change of scenery. I wasn't alone, though. There were dozens of deer-real deer, not statues like home-and wild turkeys. Talk about out there! Actually, I got some looks like I was 'out there' at breakfast:

The pics below were taken using my near-useless phone and don't do the scenery justice:

Running on gravel-feels kinda weird.

Water where you can see both your reflection and the bottom

...you know you're in the country when there's a deer feeder in every corner!

Embracing the Treadmill!

2011-07-03T15:12:00.000-05:00

Yup. I am a once-repulsed, now converted weekly treadmill runner. Over the past few weeks, I have found that it really doesn't have to suck-you just need the right speed, incline set, a decent playlist and it helps to have some of the day's events to 'process' while on the belt. Perhaps it was the solitary nature of the 'mill at my old apartment complex that originally turned me off to running in place, or the crazy hill workouts I did last season prepping for RNR Seattle, at any rate, it has taken me months to convince myself to use the thing again. The one I often used in Spring left me literally staring at a wall the whole time-ugh. This was enough to turn me off for a long while!

One easy 5-miler the day after a hard session, stepping off feeling better than I did stepping convinced me-the lower legs loved it. The A/C was a nice addition versus the wearable air of Southeast TX and I wasn't even that bored! Given my history, anything that leaves the lower legs feeling refreshed should be a keeper. While I love doing runs around the paths in The Woodlands, I find I recover faster if I take a run or two a week inside-just me, my music, and my stride. Several elites also do a fair amount of treadmill running in their training, including Heidi Westover, Magda Lewy-Boulet, Ironman triathlete Julie Dibbens (I'd like to see how long she stays on there!), and 2008 Trials Qualifier Wendi Ray (the bulk of her training was on the 'mill).

I typically hop on the belt on days following hard efforts of if I'm not really feeling much snap after moving around a bit in the morning. I've actually put in some decent distance over the past couple weeks, consisting of 7-10 miles-while my record is still about 22k, done while on vacation in Mexico a couple years ago while watching The OC reruns in Spanish-what can I say, I'm dedicated like that!:)

A typical week nowadays looks kind of like this...from a couple weeks back:

Sunday after Blueberry Chase 5k/long car trip/race previous day: Treadmill 10 miles easy @ 8MPM GO EAGLES!!
Monday: Brick workout (still in tri training) 50-min moderate ride, 4 mile run on roads
Tuesday: 7 miles treadmill 8MPM
Wednesday: Track race set-up 1 mile in 5:55, 2 x 400 in 84 seconds a piece
Thursday: Easy 4, Bike :40 (easy reverse brick-bike systems check)
Friday: Easy 6 in Austin after work training-Town Lake Loop = awesomeness!
Sat.: Nothin'
Sun.: Event day at Sugar Land Triathlon-ready for action

...ok, maybe not that typical of a week bookended by races, but you get the idea...

Now that you all are good and bored, here's some of my fave songs to get me happily through cruising in place-enjoy:

One Republic-Good Life
Kanye West-Power
Muse: Supermassive Black Hole
Muse: Uprising
Far East Movement: Rocketeer
Usher: More
Lady Gaga: Poker Face
Lady Gaga: Edge of Glory
Steve Miller Band-Jet Airliner
Eminem: Till I Collapse
The Heavy-How do you like me now
Florence + the Machine-Dog Days are Over
Death Cab for Cutie: I Will Possess Your Heart
Foo Fighters: Rope
The Black Keys: Tighten Up
Adele: Rumor Has It
Maroon 5: Moves Like Jagger
Vallejo: Just Another Day

How's that for random? Anyone have other suggestions? Here's to running in place:)

The Tri Experiment

2011-06-26T19:38:00.000-05:00

Race Location: Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Tri Sugar Land, TX
Objective: See what racing a triathlon is all about. That, and place at the top of AG; do the runner folk proud:)
Distance: Sprint-300m swim, 10-mile bike, 3 mile run (mmm...speed!)

Wow, what a morning, what an experience. Today I flexed my tri muscles for the first time at Andy Stewart's race down in Sugar Land. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect both from the event of myself. This event was actually the first on my calendar post injury (which seems like so long ago now:)) and was a bit of the materialization of all my recent cross-training efforts. I did know that I'm a pretty strong runner, a decent cyclist, and a marginal swimmer-hey, we all have our weaknesses!The rest I just let unfold as it would.

The morning actually started 'comically rocky' as the alarm went off at 4 AM and I stumbled into the kitchen to get my necessary cup of coffee and check everything over. Luckily, I had checked and double-checked my equipment the night before...wow there is much more to keep track of vs. a pair of shoes, singlet, and watch.
I stayed with my parents overnight as they live just 15 minutes from the start, versus my hour from The Woodlands. Even though they have lived in that house a couple years now, I still struggle with the placement of things, this brings blunder #1: every morning I fix cinnamon oatmeal, and this one was no exception, not withstanding that I accidentally grabbed cumin instead of cinnamon! Eww...so much for that! It was all good, though as I was able to sift it out and cover most of it with honey and more cinnamon. It actually tasted more like cinnamon than taco, thank goodness.

Blunder #2 came from being overconfident with the directions to the First Colony Aquatic center. Yeah, I got all turned around in the darkness of the morning-transition opened at 5:15. I felt the squeeze as I had to rush around to find a place I thought would be easy to find, luckily, I google mapped the directions on my phone and eventually pulled in at 5:35. Plenty of time to set up transition. Sweet. Too bad I wasted some adrenaline already!

6:30 or so rolled around and I had comfortably hung up my bike, lined up all my gear in a systematic fashion, and mentally rehearsed how the transitions would go. Self talk went like this: "top down, Adrienne, top down"; as I would gear up and down according to that system. As you will see, this was actually a good system, even though I was iffy on the whole transition thing.

I proceeded to warmup by jogging in the grass, of course sporting some unfamiliar and self-consciousness raising spandex (thanks goes out to PowerBar for providing the race kit!) versus my baggies I like to race in, and swimming a couple laps. My stroke (if you wanna call it that) already felt kind of wonky so I knew just to do the best I could. I ran into my mom, Bill, and the hilarious Marck and Lisa Henthorn before the start. Even though I was feeling a tad unsure of myself at that time, Marck had the perfect shout out to relax me in "Remember, Honey Badger doesn't give a s#!$!" With my slightly wild racing style, the Honey Badger has become my new nickname and personal mascot...gotta go with what sticks, even if its a crazy ravenous animal (that probably smells)!!

Swim start goes off in the pool and before I know it I'm off-I'm just 50 m in when I get tapped to pass-awesome. Keeping the ego in check, I keep chopping along. This was definitely my most shaky event. I have only been swimming once maybe twice a week for 1200m or so. While I work with a bunch of swimmers and triathletes, swimming has historically gotten the shaft in my training. Fending off a pang of panic I steadied myself to climb out of the water in 6:06. Not bad, but not great. Off to T1...

T1: 1:15, not bad at all, off on the bike I go. This is where I started to get in rhythm and feel comfortable. Actually, I felt as if I was in total control of the bike split, as I was more often the passer than passee. I did not take my Garmin along on this race, so I was unaware of speed, but at least I felt fast. I had a fun zipping along Palm Royale and Commonwealth Dr., telling myself "go for it, you're killing it!" I had pretty much forgotten about the swim at that point. Me and "Tessa", my bike, were in sync-sans aerobars and a fancy helmet, I might add-doing it like a runner;)! It was hot,so I made sure to sip plenty of Ironman Perform on the bike along with mentally prepping for the run, knowing it would feel weird at first, but ready to let it rip. Aiming for a bike split under 28:00, I came into T2 in 27:29; good for just under 22 MPH.

I hit T2 in a fury ready to run. I changed out of my bike shoes, replaced the helmet with my Brooks visor (keepin' it real!), slid on the Green Silences and was off. T2 time 1:50-a bit slow, but who cares-time to RUN! I went out of the transition area and immediately started passing people-pretty sweet feeling. I felt comfortable but like I was working it, basically on the edge of blowing up and held it. The odd heavy feeling was there but not burdensome for the first half mile or so. I went through the first mile in 6:33 and kept trucking from there. The two loop course went by super-quick as I saw the finish line ahead. "Wow, I guess this technically makes me a triathlete now" I thought to myself, and kicked it in-at this point I was a bit gassed and ready to finish. I crossed the line in 56:21; run split 19:27 (6:29/mi.). I was happy with the run pace, especially after hammering the bike beforehand.

When I finished I knew I had done relatively well, but not sure about placement. This is one of the big differences between triathlon and running-you often don't really have a reference point. Eventually enough, I found out that I pulled off 1st in my age group-for the first time, I'll take it!! All in all, I was happy with how I performed and enjoyed the experience. I think I really succeeded mentally on this one, always staying positive and just trying to have fun out there.

In closing, I'm glad I found tris to cycle in during the summer months when my running mileage needs to come down a touch. Several people have already asked me if I'm making the 'switch' from mostly running to mostly tris...let's just say that I have a good deal of 'unfinished business' with running for now. This unfinished business will likely become a more common subject on the blog for the upcoming months. It's already been and is going to be a fun ride ahead! For now, the "honey badger" is tired!

Run Happy!

Blueberry Chase 2011: NOT Your Ordinary Weekend 5k

2011-06-19T12:51:00.000-05:00

Why not, you ask? There are SO many reasons.

I'll start by flashing back to last weekend as I get my gear out for my ordinary weekend long run, when Coach Bill asked what I was doing the next weekend. I answered that I was scheduled to put on a clinic for a Team in Training group for my nutrition sponsor PowerBar.I knew something was up and I tried to brace myself for the next part of his answer, and this one for sure as he responded: "We're going to Alabama." For those who regularly follow, you are probably aware that me and my running club put on a fundraiser for the W.S. Neal Eagles track team over there a few weeks ago.

This weekend it was my good friend Coach Rebecca Massie's turn to host her Neal fundraiser event, the Blueberry Chase 5k back in her hometown of Brewton, AL-obviously not your neighborhood 5k, at least not for me. Of course, I couldn't miss the opportunity to double-dip for the team, regardless of the length of hours driving there and back. I was in-I rescheduled my clinic, apologized to the coordinator and the rest is history! Looks like "Mt. Carbohydrate" will have to exist in my apartment a little longer:)!

Here's the best part: Rebecca had NO idea we were coming!!....So Friday afternoon rolls around, my appointments come and go, and we're on I-10 headed that direction. Obviously, I have never traveled that far via car to run a race before, but the race itself was just a small part of it. For the first time in a long time, I went into a race not in it for blood, but to just be there. Another atypicality for me.

Saturday morning brought a successful surprise. I will never forget Becca's face and response as I walked up! Absolutely priceless! Everyone had succeeded in not slipping up via Facebook or anything like that. The race went along a shady residential area with some neat, well-manicured and classic homes. Far from the pre-fab postmodern I have here in The Woodlands. This town actually has history.

Rebecca and her volunteers did a great job with the course, set-up, and everything else involved. Even with little sleep and some serious "car legs" I managed to put down a respectable 19:20 and got 1st Female/2nd OA. My award was an adorable picture frame that was made by Rebecca's students. This was such a neat experience to actually be present where it will soon all happen-that's right, the track is getting fixed at W.S. Neal High sometime soon this summer! I also found it rewarding to meet one of her athletes who was handing out water at the finish-impressive that a HS student gets up at 7:00 am to help out!

The only thing that I wish would have been different is that we could have stayed longer. The people there were great, especially letting strange outsiders who drive 9 hours to run a race come hang out with them! I guess I will just have to FLY over there soon.

Before I write a total scrollbar workout, here are some of many things I took away from yesterday's experience:

1. While I have undoubtedly had some racing success and hope to have much more, this is really what running is about-overcoming obstacles that sometimes seem too big to move through.

2. It was confirmed that Rebecca may have the biggest heart in the South, both in a metaphorical and literal sense-she cares deeply about the kids she works with and never gave up on getting them what they deserve. She also runs a mean marathon, has completed and WON an ultramarathon, and regularly puts in some monster weekly mileage in addition to all she does for her team and students. Her perseverance is inspiring. Maybe one day I can be like her...

3. The trip down there was way worth it. I want to thank everyone involved for putting on a great event and being so welcoming.

4. Running Bill in as he finished his first event in a long time was really neat to do.

4. Although something I already knew-Bill and Jon are awesome.

5. After several failed attempts in the past-I found out that I can actually pull off a surprise!

Now I'm looking forward to attending a home track meet next year:)

Brain-Body Running: Long Run Edition

2011-06-11T12:52:00.000-05:00

Because the mind is always working with the body during running, the mind (which is to say, the brain) is also always being trained along with the body during running. It is while you run that you develop and refine the sense of feel you use to find your maximal sustainable pace. The brain changes physically in response to training every bit as much as the muscles do.

I don't always agree with what Matt Fitzgerald at competitor puts out, but as a sports psychology practitioner, I do see some merit in an article he wrote a month or so ago. According to Fizgerald, the mind is always a step ahead of your body-i.e. we feel positive or negative before our performance actually registers either way. Interesting. I do prescribe and practice regular visualization and other methods outside the act of training, but coupling them together may give you the most bang for your mental buck.

Today's long run ended up being a great set-up for a mental training-distance training duo. While I'm always performing self-talk to guide me through the miles (and occasional frustrations), today I tended to talk less and "listen" more to what was going on as I traversed down Branch Crossing and Terramont Dr. The route assigned by Bill today was not easy and not difficult, with a few hills thrown in my path. It does take some effort to maintain a steady and smooth pace and form here, however. Taking it all in and controlling the output on the run today made for one of the most satisfactory and comfortable long runs in a long time.

Having Travis, a new speedster in our group start out with me was perfect-I had to keep myself from wanting to press early to stay ahead. Staying relaxed at all times is something I'm working on and excelled here-it's amazing what kind of pace you can comfortably hold if you're not binding up anywhere. I kept reminding the legs to just glide through and as a result was comfortably registered at 7:47 pace-odd as it sounds, this is where muscle memory registers from seasons past on the LSD work. Good to see that it's that easy again!

Happy with pace, and navigating the hills, this is where the focus shifted to the stride, as I consciously paid attention to the knee drive-forward and not up and down, with a midfoot landing; arms driving slightly back and relaxed. I can go forever with this type of stride; and this was a mantra I kept repeating. I have to say, it felt pretty cool, just feeling the run out there, as fatigue started to set in, I simply re-dialed in and felt the pace as it carried me forward. Simple, clean running. Learning how to run efficiently, run relaxed and training the stubborn brain on how its done without fuss. No room for negativity on this Saturday morning ritual, I just didn't feel like complaining-"just stay midfoot". I also didn't feel like quitting at the end, as I usually do. It doesn't always happen like this, but today the mind stayed a step ahead of the body.

Please forgive the rambling nature of this post about just a simple experience-I believe its the little things we pay mind to that eventually pay big dividends. Hopefully some of you may find this aspect of mental training useful. Anyone who works with me in office knows that I take seriously the principles I teach by practicing them myself. Mr. Fitzgerald, you have my agreement on this principle!

As for the concrete stuff, covered today was about 11.5 miles in just under 1:30, and per tradition finished off with Ironman Restore and a thorough stretch session.

Run Happy!

The Little Event That Could: Run For the Eagles 2011

2011-06-05T18:23:00.000-05:00

It began as the tale of a track team who had no track-or at least one they could compete on. Several months ago I read something written about this team by good friend and fellow Brooks runner about the depth of need....you see, not only has the track been unusable for several years, but the team had no matching uniforms, minimal travel costs, and dealt with a gamut of other issues that teens shouldn't have to deal with at such a young age.

Several months ago I looked around my small, but affluent community of The Woodlands, TX, noticed how blessed myself and fellow runners here are and decided to heed to gumption and host a benefit for this team, the W.S. Neal Eagles. This community, with multi-state title winning track teams, is loaded with resources that most runners only dream of. Throughout this weekend, I was constantly humbled and reminded of how fortunate I really am; the quality and selflessness of my amazing friends, and the transcendent power of running.

Yesterday from 7 AM to 7 PM we worked together, ran together, sweated the Texas sun and heat together, and ended up raising just over $2000 dollars together in a grassroots effort for Coach Rebecca Massie (who also was dubiously dubbed an honorary Texan over the weekend ;)) to take back with her to East Brewton, AL.

I have now had a few hours after dropping Rebecca off at the airport to process everything. We did it. Together. And it was fun! This track meet/12-hour run contest was not a very big event, but it was definitely grassroots and everyone who showed up helped more than they know in supporting the talented, well-coached, but unprivileged Eagle Track team. Instead of writing up my usual lengthy, wordy race report posts, I thought I would share some photos from the event, my first stab at "race directing" and thank some very important individuals and sponsors of which I could not have done this event without.

The set-up next to the track, everyone did a great job donating their time and resources.

3 awesome Brooks chicks: Stacy (our biggest donor of the day), yours truly, and Rebecca.

Our Ultra winner, John Slate, in progress of running 42 miles with his pacer.

Having fun running in club member Joe Martinez who spun 27 miles on the track! WTG!

One of my favorite pics of the day, me and the coach swapped shirts.

Both Rebecca and I ran some, and practically in costume-her in TX swag, me in a vintage singlet. When in Rome, right?!

In closing, I would like to thank everyone who came and ran or donated either at the event or online. Special thanks go out, in no particular order to:

PowerBar-You came through in a BIG way with an ample shipment of needs for the runners and volunteers.
Brooks Running-Thanks for providing the bibs and other logistics for the race.
Dr. Stacy Bacon-Thanks for the magnanimous donation you gave yesterday! This will go very far for the team and not be overlooked.
Rebecca-thanks for your friendship, passion and enthusiasm for running and your team, plus taking time fresh off your own ultramarathon to come spend the weekend in The Woods with us. We miss you already :)!
Bill D.-Never having put an event on before, you steadied the ship. Thanks for your work and support now and always.
Jarrett Smilie-Thanks for donating your talent, time, and proceeds to the team.
Joe M. and Spectrum Catering-Thanks for showing us how it's done on the track and helping with the ice and table needs!
My awesome family and boyfriend-thanks for coming out, braving the heat and working this event!
John L.-Representing the Goose's Acre Running club well!
The Woodlands Running Club.-Thanks for the tent provisions!
Mary C.-Wow, that watermelon was tasty!!

Ok, this may sound like an Oscars speech-and I know I'm forgetting people, everyone helped make a small event fruitful, even if just in a little way. Recently it was announced that the track is getting fixed, and I hope to go attend one of their first meets on it! Go Eagles!

June 1, 2011: National Running Day

2011-06-01T10:31:00.000-05:00

I love that my favorite sport gets it's own day, and especially this year because it falls on a Wednesday. Why Wednesday? Because that is the day I get to go fast-tonight is my traditional Wednesday night workout with my peeps; today I feel that there are a handful some hot, nasty little repeats in store come 7 PM... I love living right next door to a track!

Why do I run? Because I feel empowered and closer to my best all-around self. I run for the discipline and lifestyle of it all. I run because I was born to run. Why do you run?

Here's one of my happiest racing pics, circa 2009.

Just for run, we're extending this day into the weekend: Saturday-Run For the Eagles Benefit! The Woodlands, TX. Can't make it? Check out http://www.active.com/donate/WSNeal. Here's a newspaper article here about the event.

(Run) Happy National Running Day!

The Art of the Recovery Week

2011-05-27T09:34:00.000-05:00

I just finished entering another easy 5-miler into my Running Ahead Log with a slight sense of self-satisfaction that my miles are down this week and I'm not disappointed, hurting, or itching to increase the numbers. Why? Because it 's a recovery or "down" week in my training cycle. Ask any respectable coach (like the linked Pfitz) out there, and they will tell you that for optimal progress, one needs to build mileage and accumulate hard efforts for 3 or more weeks (depending on experience, fitness level, injury history, etc.) then drop your mileage and number of hard efforts by about 20-30 % after a peak training week. As I have learned in the not- so- distant past that you need time to actually absorb your efforts and recharge the batteries a bit to take it to the next level and keep building.

Of course for the overzealous bunch that I tend to lean towards, this principle is easier said than done...it takes some discipline and trust in your fitness and physiology. After running my highest mileage week since last September, I took the sage advice to chill a little bit this week. So far, I like it:) I just may do this every month or so!

Here's snapshot for those interested in how I'm beginning to approach the periodized method of training:
Note there's a little triathlon stuff mixed in as I prep for next month:

Previous week's mileage: 41

Mon: Easy 4, 1400m easy swim
Tues: Brick :45 min cycling, 3 mile run on grass
Wed.: 6 mile easy on track with 6 x 30 sec. strides, core routine
Th: 5 miles easy, weights
Fri: 5 miles easy
Sat: 10 miles easy
Sun: Easy swim or Nothin' at all!

Total miles: 33

Those physiologists are smart people, as it's hard to imagine that the human body can just keep improving without a little respite! Note, each athlete is different, so we all have to play with what works. So, out with the Type-A, longer and faster all the time at all costs, in with the smart, systematic approach for me. And I think I like it.

Go hard when the goin's hard, easy when it's easy!

Run Happy!

Ironman Texas: A Bystander's Perspective

2011-05-22T19:17:00.000-05:00

Note: This post likely does not do this weekend justice....

I know I have blogged about this many times before, but love it here in The Woodlands, TX. I really do. While Austin and Dallas have very respectable endurance communities and cultures, there is something special about the one we have here. Perhaps my social circle is smallish, however, obviously the IM corporation backs me up that running and triathlon are king here. Yesterday this relatively small community hosted about 2600 athletes and I was able to play a small role in this BIG (and super-lengthy) event.

I will frame this as a semi-race report based on my experience, beginning with Friday's expo. After a quick 5-mile run, I headed to work at my nutrition sponsor's booth for a bit. Given Ironman Perform is the official on-course beverage (and what I use for shorter training in these humid conditions), PowerBar's presence was alive and well all weekend. While there I met a ton of cool people and ran into a ton more that I already knew/work out with, and had a nice drop-by a-la Chris Lieto, a multiple IM champ, also PB sponsored but light years beyond my level LOL. I also observed that I am not the only one who finds GelBlasts to be a bit like fruit snacks for grown-ups. The athletes could not get enough of them!

Driving away from the expo later that day, I noticed the usual energy of the athletic community here magnified as there were fit people everywhere. It's not everyday I feel like a slug, but some of these individuals made me almost feel lazy! Saturday morning came quickly as I was up at 4:00 AM to go volunteer at the swim start. Working the VIP area was neat as I was just feet away from the water and could see the intensity and emotion on the athlete's faces as they embarked on their 140.6 mile journey. After the throng of swim caps was off and swimming I went home and rested for a bit, even rode a little motocross with my BF before heading back to watch the run course that afternoon.

I was a little unprepared for where to park and how to navigate the traffic. In hindsight, I should have taken my bike as I only live about 3 miles away from where the event was held. Live and learn. I managed to park about .8 miles from where some friends were tailgating the run course (thanks for dinner Lisa, Marck, and Dana-Sue!!). Taking refuge under the tent, it registered how hot and humid it was. Like standing still was uncomfortable and my drink didn't stay cold for long. Needless to say, there were some athletes who appeared to not be liking the conditions much. Many kept going. And going. And did not quit. It was a unique experience watching others battle it out tooth and nail with the elements and the sheer length of the race. Honestly, I still have trouble wrapping my head around running a marathon after a 112 mile bike and 2.4 mile swim. Amazing!

I saw several friends, was able to give out some high fives and shout even more encouraging words as they journeyed towards being called Ironman. All these individuals set a goal, trained, and made it happen. And dug deep- really, really deep. I definitely had motivation and something to process as I ran my 11 miles this morning. There will be a time I will have to dig really deep in a race, and this is something I can reflect back upon. In my quest for the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials, the lessons I learned as an observer will likely be valuable.

To all my friends and colleagues who finished yesterday, congratulation-you can now all be called Ironman.

After a likely rambling post, here are some cameral phone (I know, kinda lame) shots I took from yesterday's race:

The swim start-this is at a park I sometimes have lunch at.

My apologies to the poor woman who got caught in this shot. Market Street finish line view.

Here's a finisher from Mexico in just over 10:28.

All in all, quite a spectacle to behold.

Run (& Recover) Happy!

Just Launched: The Run For the Eagles Blog!

2011-05-18T06:26:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my awesome boyfriend for putting this together. We will update it with important info. leading up to the event in the days prior. Of course, donations can be made to the link on my blog sidebar.

Be sure and check out here.

Run Happy and fly like an Eagle!!

Hitting the Trails

2011-05-14T13:25:00.000-05:00

This week I threw in some trail running into the mix, culminating in today's YMCA Trail Run 5k. Along the way, I made a couple observations: 1.) it's easier to "zone out" when surrounded by nature versus concrete and cars, 2.) I really seem to like running 19:12 5k's. I just ran that time a few weeks ago on my home turf in The Woodlands. Just call me the "Queen of Nineteen" LOL.

It's been a good week of training, as Ev and I decided to forego the fun but concrete-laiden waterway Monday run for the Mitchell Nature Trail. During the middle of that run, I threw in some Flintridge hills, running fartleks over them just for some extra spice. I also figured out you don't want to immediately start running a 5:35 pace going up a steepish incline. Nice. After that the trails felt really forgiving. With that set of substantial running in the bag, the rest of the week was just base building and some tri stuff-nothing fancy.

This morning brought more refreshing temps and fresh feeling legs as I did the YMCA Trail Run in Conroe. I haven't done a trail race in ages so this was a nice change. PowerBar bites in hand, I warmed up and headed to the start on a new course but with a lot of familiar faces. The charity for this one was kind of cool-proceeds went to a therapeutic horseback riding program. Being a therapist, and also at one time an equestrian, I am interested in finding out more about the programs there. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the contact person after the race!

The race got off to a fast start and I comfortably settled in behind some gentleman in the first female spot. Calming down some, we headed into the trees and the trail narrowed. Minus a few tree roots, the terrain was nicely shaded and felt good on the legs. As usual nowadays, I just wore a regular running watch, and I think I went through the first mile in about 6:15. Following the first, I surged a little, passing a couple guys and got comfortable once more. Like last race, I felt even and comfortable for the most part-I may have put it into cruise control a bit on this one, but that's ok.

Making the final turn, I took it up a bit, saw the clock, and headed in. Once again, I clocked a 19:12!!! If nothing else, I am a consistent 5000 runner! Maybe it's the no Garmin thing, maybe it's what I'm now programmed to run, who knows. I did manage to finish 7th Overall and take home a nice plaque for 1st Female Overall. Not a bad showing at all. According to my coach, the course is about 30 seconds slower; if that is the case, then there should be a sub-19 again right around the corner (fingers crossed)!

Nonetheless, I had a great time and may have found some more good trails to go run on occasion.

Oh, and 3 weeks til Run for the Eagles-get Excited!

Run Happy!

Training Tidbits and Giveaway Winner

2011-05-08T21:12:00.000-05:00

Drumroll please....a bottle of High Intensity is on the way to the fabulous Jill of Run With Jill. Congrats, Jill and let's see if this stuff does indeed have healing powers!! All I need's a shipping address and it's yours.

So a lot has been occupying my plate lately: race planning, running, riding my bike and swimming a little, dirt biking, and ahem-work! I have been given the go ahead to work my mileage up this month to 40 per week (slightly less mileage envy;)) and I see my weekly XT as being a Godsend. It makes me feel strong. It's kind of cool how when I begin to feel stiff and sore in areas I hop on the bike trainer and it seems to loosen and rebalance everything up again. This may be all in my head, but hey if it works...besides, I still have a triathlon diversion going down on 6/26! I still struggle with finding the enjoyment of swimming, but that too really helps speed up recovery from running. Its become customary to swim on Thursday mornings following Wednesday track workouts.

Following the 10% rule to a 'T, I put in a solid 38 miles this week, two bike rides-both with short runs immediately afterward, and went to the pool twice as well. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed doing the brick workouts and didn't find running off the bike as tough as I originally anticipated. My BF was in a local sprint triathlon yesterday and this provided for a very entertaining long run as I run-spectated the course-cheering the athletes on as I cruised up and down Grogan's Mill and Lake Woodlands Drive.

Earlier in the week I find out that our adopted team, the W.S. Neal Eagles qualified for the 3A State Meet in Alabama. Way to go team!!

The pic above was taken as I served as a pacer Wednesday night. Pretty much sums up how I feel about things right about now....

Run Happy!

One Month Countdown: Run For the Eagles

2011-05-05T11:56:00.000-05:00

So here we are, just shy of a month out from some good old-fashioned, grassroots fund raising with lots of running in between. Here's a challenge for my blog friends who can't make the event: donate a few bucks to the website listed below, or click on the track logo on the sidebar. Proceeds go to supporting a well-deserving but underpriviliged (and now STATE-BOUND) track team. My friend and fellow Brooks ID member Coach Rebecca Massie has done a terrific job leading these athletes. What they lack in resources, they seem to make up with talent:). With proper support, this just may be what moves these individuals forward not just in running, but in life.

Heat times coming soon! Let's get excited! Thanks in advance to all the participants, sponsors, and volunteers.

Run For The Eagles Benefit

6.4.2011 Gates open at 7:00 AM, close at 7:00 PM

Mile Races (age-grouped) and 10-Hour Run Contest!

J.L. Mc Cullough Junior High School Track 3800 South Panther Creek Drive

The Woodlands, Texas 77381

Just $10 at the gate & pledges per mile encouraged. Come for a challenge or just come for a workout!

Proceeds go towards track repair and equipment for the adversely impacted W.S. Neal Eagle HS Track team in E. Brewton, AL. Come make a difference in a young athlete’s life!

FMI: Adrienne Langelier: Adrienne.langelier@gmail.com or Bill Dwyer: bdwyer2@gmail.com. Online donations can be made at http://www.active.com/donate/WSNeal

Mile race times TBA

'Endurance in a Bottle' Giveaway!

2011-04-29T12:45:00.000-05:00

...close enough, anyway!

I've been taking PowerBar's new sports supplement, High Intensity for just over eight weeks now and personally recommend it to anyone serious about training and performance.

It contains Beta Alanine, which is a NSF Certified as safe and legal compound that appears to increase muscle carnosine levels-an agent that buffers lactic and other acid buildup in the muscles-i.e less burn for the effort and subsequently more wind over the length of workout or competition. In short, it helps the body use oxygen more efficiently. One effect I noticed is actually a shorter recovery time from my longer runs and bike rides-I'm usually smashed for the rest of the day, but the effect now seems to be lessened-which is nice.

I will select at random a lucky individual who both follows the blog and 'likes' PowerBar on Facebook. For those who are already followers, shoot me a quick email at adrienne.langelier@gmail.com to let me know you're putting your name in. I'll announce the winner next week sometime.

Good luck and train hard!!

Overcoming "Mileage Envy"

2011-04-24T07:12:00.000-05:00

"Be where you are".

Yes, yes it's true, one of my biggest issues when it comes to training is that I always seem to want to do a little (or a lot) more. I want to be a high-mileage runner. Many times I have peeked at others' training logs and see some monster miles and thought "wow, this is how its done". This is actually kind of silly now to look at now that it's in writing, but these were my sentiments. My coach was always wanting to dial me back, and I was always trying to sneak in a little more. If you've been a reader within the past year, you know why this logic was a faulty one; as I was always wanting to push the envelope before my legs were ripe to go there.

Flash forward to present day, and I am starting to grow up a little bit. I honestly didn't expect my 30-mile weeks to produce much, but I was proven wrong, at least for one event, last weekend when I ran an identical 5k time on currently 30 MPW that I ran on 60 MPW. My marathon PR was on a base of 50 miles. I am learning that it may be possible for me to perform on a training load I would have previously seen as pitzy. Maybe less can be more? Maybe I don't need to mercilessly beat myself into the ground all the time? I guess each individual really does their different optimal range. It really is all about staying in your current window and progressing...wait for it.... slowly. Who knows how high I can go if I do it at an optimal rate.

It turns out, there are several runners out there who can have much success on low miles (and XT), here's the short list:

1. Lauren Fleshman-one of my heroes with an awesome blog.
2. Amy Begley
3. Andrew Wheating
4. Linda Somers-Smith, top Master's marathoner never goes over 70 MPW
5. Ryan Hall (relatively speaking nowadays)

I'm sure there's a lot more..

Funny how there really is no right way to do things, but there is a right way for each of us. If I can stay healthy and perform, maybe I can live on peaking on moderate mileage. Anyone else know of some low-mileage aces? Are you one?

Happy Easter and Run Happy!

Run For Hope 5k

2011-04-16T14:00:00.001-05:00

Nothing like a friendly hometown 5k supporting a great cause to help break down a mental barrier or two (yes, us sports psych people aren't immune)! I participated yesterday in the 1st Annual Run For Hope benefiting TRAClife, an organization supporting teens in the foster care system. The race crew did a great job putting on the race and it started and ended in one of my favorite areas in The Woodlands, Market Street. A jazz band at the finish really classed the event up as well. To top it off, we were blessed with some AWESOME weather conditions as it was just under 60 degrees at the start, not a cloud in the sky with little to no wind. I woke up in a positive state and it continued as I warmed up, greeted friends, strapped on my Green Silences (my current go-to racer) and finally made my way to the start.

What a difference 3 weeks makes...

Besides some minor costumed animal confusion at the start-dogs and chipmunks are cute- but difficult to maneuver around- I got off to a clean start and achieved a position up front before an immediate right turn. I knew right away this one was going to go better than the last 5k I ran. I often tell my clients to use a "power word" during competition, and I found "rejuvinate" to resonate well. I had a lot of positive energy from a lot of sources going into this one and my legs had some decent snap in them.

Making our way out onto a very familiar race course on Lake Woodlands Dr. I steadied my pace in the first mile and encountered a somewhat unfamiliar feeling in 5k racing: I was relatively comfortable and locked into my stride. It was kind of a cool experience and one to savor. I went through the first mile feeling strong in 6:07 and knew I had plenty of gas to keep on keeping on-SO unlike how I felt at the BMI race a few short weeks ago. I decided to just wear a regular running watch this time just for a little guidance. I was enjoying myself out there and saw lots of friendly faces keeping me smiling. I kept telling myself throughout warmup and during the race a simple little mantra: "you are not weak".

I hit the turnaround somewhere around 9:00 into it, leading the female variety of the race and performed my routine "ponytail check" for chicks behind me. To my surprise I didn't see any for a good ways so I kept my foot evenly on the gas. For the first time in a while I felt as if I could go 'wide open' but didn't see it as necessary since I had a good lead and an even better vibe going on for this one. The last mile I heard the too-long-awaited words from a volunteer: "first female!". This was perfect timing as I dug in a little more as I turned towards the finish line back on Market Street. I felt happily ragged (see pic) as I approached the finish and saw the clock...I smiled and thanked God as I crossed in 19:12-First Female and almost a whole minute faster than my last 5k race. I almost immediately began cooling down and felt as if I could do it all over again!

I may look tired, but overall felt rejuvinated!

Me and the pastor of my church/ former Marathon AR holder Jeff Wells.

The awards ceremony was to say the least a schwag-fest. I made out with a cute basket full of goodness: gift certificates to the 'Street, the local running shop, personal training sessions, and a haircut at Shag to name a few! I feel as if I am finally starting to lean back out a little bit, so the PT sessions may really help fine tune the core:).

I'll attribute this result to a combo of good weather, a positive attitude, and a killer massage on Wednesday from Jarrett Smilie-who made it out to watch the race. On the psychological side of things, I'll admit I battled thoughts a few weeks ago consisting of "you're out of shape and not ready" and "don't expect too much"-probably not the most helpful approach to things! Our performances really do lie often between the ears, for sure. Based on how I felt yesterday, I can realistically see breaking 19:00 in the near future again.

Thanks again to RD Cindy Mericle, WoodsEdge Community Church, and all the volunteers that made this a quality event.

Also best of luck to all my friends and teammates running Boston tomorrow-enjoy the culmination of the journey!

Run Happy!

Epic Week: Training, Charity, and Some Extreme XT

2011-04-10T14:54:00.000-05:00

Wow...

Training:

This week brought some more great running as I put in another substantial week. I have decided to keep the miles at around 30 for the rest of the month to really reinforce the base concept. The effort and quality of these weeks seems to improve considerably week after week: 2-3 easy runs, some (unstructured) speedwork, and the Saturday morning 10-miler. I'm getting excited about next weekend's First Annual Run for Hope here on Market Street. It should be a good time-complete with a jazz quartet after the race! Additionally, I got some cool new Brooks gear to compliment my Spring running!:)

Run for the Eagles:

Here's the most important part of the post, so listen up!!...

This link is also on Facebook, but here is a link for those who can't make the run but still want to chip in for the W.S. Neal Track team: http://www.active.com/donate/WSNeal

Coach Rebecca and the rest of the team greatly appreciate any donations toward the repair of their track and other necessary expenses to keep the team- pun intended-running well:)

Also thanks are in order to Texas Runner and Triathlete and Houston Area Road Runners Association for spreading the word regionally.

Yesterday Coach Bill and I did a walkthrough of the track at McCullough Junior High. We had a template of what we would like to see as far as layout goes and the facility fits in near perfectly!
While there may be lots of sun on 6/4, there will be a nice strip of tents to meet the needs of runners, volunteers, and spectators. The 8-lane track will run milers on the inner four, ultrarunners (or just those out for a jog for a good cause) will be on the outer four. Outside the track I'm threatening to include a couple slip-n-slides (remember those things?) just for funsies to make sure everyone is nice and cool!

We still have a few more details to iron out, but thus far, I'm happy with the progress thus far.

Now for the 'Extreme"....

As a parting shot, Evan was kind enough to lend me one of his fleet of motocross bikes and I tried my hand at some unconventional cross training after my run yesterday:

Needless to say I was smashed-up tired afterward!

Run Happy!

Brooks Shoe Review & Current Progress

2011-04-03T13:39:00.001-05:00

&So last weekend was the gentle re-introduction to the wonderful world of road racing and an honest assessment of where I was at speed and health-wise. As I mentioned in the post before last, I am relatively satisfied with the status quo and feel good about where things are heading. Each run seems to feel stronger than the last, and I am enjoying every one of them from the easy ones to the light speedwork (mostly fartlek), and to my increasingly long runs (yup, double-digits!).

My gear selection is fairly meticulous nowadays, and I recently have started incorporating a little minimalism into the routine. Of course that means running in none other than the environmental-friendly, light as a feather, 70% recycled Brooks Green Silence. I have tested these things out on easy days, quicker days, and raced in them last weekend. For each type of run and surface (track or road), I am overall impressed so far. Weighing just a smidge over 7 oz. for women, they look and feel a little like slippers-complete with a little cush-just enough, but it doesn't sacrifice any road-feeling effects. They also feel really fast underfoot. One observation I find in these vs. regular trainers is that you do have to focus on the finer points of your stride: posture, knee and hip positioning, as well as midfoot to forefoot striking. Used for the right distances, this will likely do all kinds of good for my form! I went through a 5k race, warm-up and cool-down in these puppies and felt no residual aches and pains afterward! :) Also pretty cool were all the compliments I got wearing them too! As with many other Brooks models, the Green Silence felt comfortable right out of the box.

Given my past history, I was a little apprehensive about doing some minimalist running. After a few runs, I am beginning to get a feel for how long it takes before the arches start to fall and form breaks down. Last week I put in an easy 6 in them and a 7-mile fartlek run, which is the distance I will keep them at for now. I am confident that my efficiency will improve over time and thus, my durability. I recommend theses shoes to the fairly competitive runner looking for a fast and efficient ride.

In other news, running progress continues at a prudent pace. I hit a small milestone yesterday putting in 10.2 miles in the morning and capping off a week of safely increased distances on all runs: from 5-6, and from 6-7 miles. I'm now cruising at around 30 miles per week but doing my best to build it up right. Jarrett S. has also been a big help with massages every other week. This afternoon I may take a break from housework for a little spin on the bike.

Next week I may have some updates for this summer's Run for the Eagles-stay tuned!

It's Springtime here in Texas and I'm loving it!

Next Up: Racing for a Worthy Cause

2011-03-29T16:42:00.000-06:00

While I'm still keeping the racing calendar light and low key, I will challenge myself to do go a little faster for foster children in Montgomery County at the First Annual Run For Hope Event. Market Street Start and Finish, Jazz Quartet at the post-race party, flat and fast course-sounds like a good event! I have the link in my sidebar for those interested in running on 4/16.

According to RD Cindy Mericle, the number of kids in foster care has gone up in excess of 100% in the past decade-definitely a staggering statistic. Proceeds go towards helping those less fortunate have a better future. In the meantime, I may do more than one "speed" workout in preparation!

Run Happy!

Moving Forward: The BMI 5k

2011-03-26T13:10:00.000-06:00

"Do what you can." Arthur Lydiard.

It was just your typical Saturday morning 5k. Or was it?

This morning I ran my first race since August! Seven. Whole. Months. Later. It was to me the closing of a challenging chapter, one full of injury, false starts, funky bloodwork, and overtraining. Months of watching others do what I longed to do. Today, I got my turn again in Conroe, TX. It was one of my slowest 5k's ever, but that's beside the point. I crossed the line and left the venue smiling.

For starters, I had my first and only "fast" workout, not counting the 30/30 diagonals I would do once per week this past Wednesday. It was short and sweet, but awesome at the same time. Coach suggested I not wear a watch through my intervals and I happily obliged. I received a pleasant surprise of running a comfortable-hard mile in 6:03 and 400's in 1:23 and 1:24. I actually was making a conscious effort to keep the quarters dialed back. I was nervous about being timed at first, but the race set up I did gave me a new sense of confidence and optimism for the seasons to come.

Fast forward to this morning, I arrived at the Conroe Eye Clinic (the race funded eye surgeries and glasses for the underpriviliged) picked up my packet and tried to just say relaxed and enjoy the morning. I knew a great deal of the participants and had some good conversation beforehand-which kept the nerves down some (seriously, who gets this jacked! LOL). As for the race start, I took off my Garmin after warming up and felt as if my arms weighed nothing. I didn't want much data or feedback from this one, just running with what I can do currently and with no pain (except burning lungs!). This was about just getting my feet wet again.

We get off to a relatively fast start but luckily I resisted my customary overly fast start. I get into a comfortable rhythm and am in the lead pack of women. Within the first mile, I am overtaken by a HS runner and am the second female. Hey what can you do when you're outta shape? I'm wearing my Brooks Uniform, there's racing flats on my feet and life is good:). I have no idea what my first mile split is... Meh, just keep running!

Halfway through I start to feel the burn. I want to go faster but the lungs say no- Ok, I'm fine with that. I focused on form and just doing the best I can, because after all, I'm racing (see quote above). And only my lungs hurt. I see my clubmates at the turnaround on the out and back and just focus on running a consistent pace, perhaps save a little something for the final stretch. I even smiled a time or two out on the course just for the heck of it.

Just after mile 2 another woman passes me, and I'm now in 3rd. Not what I wanted, but its all good. I tell myself I'm doing great and just keep rolling. And I still have no idea what my pace is! That's how the rest of the race went, we retained our positions, I got a little ground on the HS girl but not enough. Next time, old lady is coming for you!! (j/k) Finally in the last .1 I can see the clock: 19 and something, at this point I am breathing harder than I'd like to admit but I surge in. I didn't quite break 20:00 on this one, and this was my first over 20 5k in ages and ages, but I was satisfied with the effort. Two months ago, I was too hurt and sick to even run two miles! (the false start :/) Currently, coach has only had me doing 20-25 miles per week over 4 days. I've come a long way, with some of the smartest and safest training I have done probably ever.

Final stats: 3rd OA Female, 1st AG, 20:10/6:30 avg.. No watch, Garmin, or excuses!

Afterward, I did religiously did my stretches, went to breakfast with the gang, and took my now customary ice bath. Total mileage today was just over 6. I think I may go into double digits for a long run next weekend!

Final thought: It's good to be back. With the minimal to no fast training I've done, low miles, and recent history. I'm very pleased-looks like everything goes right I have a lot to work with this season. I can't wait to continue on this journey see my fitness improve and my times go down. Exciting stuff. As for the event itself, everyone did a really nice job: nice plaque awards, the course was relatively fast feeling, and timing of everything was great.

Til then, Run Happy!

PowerBar Giveaway: We Have a Winner!

2011-03-19T20:07:00.000-06:00

I'm sure you all have been at the edge of your seats in anticipation of receiving a goody bag full of PowerBar awesomeness! ;) After a highly unscientific process, I found speedy Mr. Mark Manz's (his snazzy blog can be round here: http://runningmanz.wordpress.com) comprehensive and relatively detailed recovery routine. Here's some of Mark's staples (couldn't help but like the improvised ice bath!):

"Right after long runs and workouts I'll pound a nonfat chocolate milk. When I get home I make a homemade ice bath. I don't have enough actual ice so I use something similar to you -- a combination of those blue plastic ice packs that go in lunch boxes and stuff and plastic bags of ice cubes. When the ice melts in the bags I put it back in the freezer and it's just a big block of ice next time! While I'm in there, I'm likely eating a big bowl of Trader Joe's nonfat plain greek yogurt with a TON of blueberries added. Occasionally I'll get fancy and mix the yogurt, fruit, and some whey protein isolate together into a delicious smoothie. Later in the day it's a hot shower and some foam rolling/stretching and that's basically it."

Congrats, Mark, and there we have it! Of course, nobody's protocols are exactly alike, but the themes are common ones: protein, ice, stretching, and some form of (often painful) muscle release technique. All I need is the winner's mailing address and the pack is yours! There should be more giveaways in the future, so stay tuned.

Here's me representing last year!

Taking Flight

2011-03-18T18:44:00.000-06:00

Around the country, The Woodlands High School has long been known for developing superior high school runners, in both cross country and on the track. And as of late, so has College Park High School.

But can you imagine the blow to either program – or the motivation of its student-athletes -- if the track, used to test their mettle, drive, ability and heart, was destroyed and later filled – like a Wal-Mart parking lot – with concrete.

That is W.S. Neal High School in East Brewton, Alabama. -J.W.

This year is only a quarter over, but it has been all about new experiences and finding empowerment through running whether that is toeing the line or assisting a production as best I can (and following around Jen Rhines!!). On June 4th, my biggest ~~project~~ journey takes flight under the name Run For the Eagles.

Long story short, a Brooks ID teammate of mine and dedicated high school track coach, Rebecca M. has worked long, hard, and diligently to raise funds for the W.S. Neal Eagle track team's badly damaged track. Knowing funds were short and the team already faces a fair degree economic and social hardship, the idea came to me a few months ago while driving to a TWRC board meeting. As I drove in my old Toyota past the plush, manicured, and impeccably placed buildings and landscape of master-planned The Woodlands, TX, the idea became solidified: we can help this team. Throughout the scholarship committee meeting I had to make a conscious effort to pay attention to the local kids assistance when I was already planning out what we can do for East Brewton.

Not that it's good, bad, or indifferent, but it is expected around here that everyone attends college and funding is only minor if an issue at all. Plus, this town is a runner's paradise-paths all around, and nationally-ranked track and cross country teams. I find this the perfect situation to share some running love with Coach M and her team. What W.S. Neal does have, however, is a coach who is invested in their success not in sports but in their well-being-definitely deserving of as much of a leg up as the running community of The Woodlands can give this summer. The way I see it, this could be life changing for some young student-athlete; perhaps it can even help get them to college.

Now on to the event itself....the grassroots design is to have variety and styled much like a track meet. We're using a local track to go all day long with mile races running in the inner lanes, and an ultra thon for the the distance animals to the outside-he/she who runs the most miles, wins. I have a tremendous, experienced support crew working with me on this venture and it is already taking shape nicely in its early stages. Runners helping runners is the core of this event.

Not in the Southern/Texas region and want to pledge to the team? Feel free to contact adrienne.langelier@gmail.com and I can provide further info. It would be awesome to see some blogsphere dwellers represent!

It's going to be a fun Spring and Summer!

Inception?

2011-03-12T12:46:00.000-06:00

Ever have racing dreams that are frustrating, frightening, and just really weird? Makes you wonder if a rival is planting such madness in your head in order to psych you out! I have had several racing dreams in my day, and most of them have been unfortunately more frightening than feel-good. Last night I had one such dream, this one felt like a scene out of 'Inception':

I am planning on running a 5k here in the upcoming weeks to slowly dip my toes back into the water. I think it may be time to grin and bear it and run a Personal Worst but enjoy every minute of it-I've come a long way to just make it to the line, after all. But I digress...the scenario went something like this: I arrive at the event, which is oddly enough, indoors in corridor-like fashion. I stretch, talk to coach, and am dressed in my Brooks ID nightlife; then I start warming up and my warmup goes too long. I have missed the start of the race and am at least two minutes behind everyone else. "I'll just go faster, I can catch up" I tell myself and run to the first cone. I see nobody but a woman in a vest directing me and I still can't find the others. I run harder, but the scenery does not change and still haven't caught up to the pack. Ok this is getting messed up! I run harder, looking around but still am behind. Eventually another person tells me where the other racers are and I start to run them down, I even pass a bunch of people I guess this is the "kick" , this went on to continue for a while longer.

Wishful thinking as dream goes on, with as hard as I'm running, I think I will still run a good time, but no such luck. I don't recall the result, but a guy at the finish line saying "a lot of people just beat you, try again next time". Ugh! Time to wake up already! Where's my alarm clock? Where's my coffee?! Of course, this was just a dream, but I hate it when I have those loopy, always-behind running dreams.

Now that the sports psychologist has let you all peek under the lid and shown how crazy I really am, I processed bits of this vivid experience on my 5 miler this morning, oddly enough, was planned on a loop-type route along The Woodlands Waterway. Whenever I have these crazy racing dreams, there are a few things that seem to always be the same: typically, the course does not change much and is narrower than a real one (just like what Leo and Co. experienced!), I'm typically by myself for quite a bit of time, and I always can't seem to run in a different gear until the end. Hmmm....I guess it is what it is electrical activity and synaptic spasmming in the unconscious-just as long as this doesn't happen in real life! And for the record, my 5.3 miles were actually quite pleasant this morning, but I still have much work to do!

Now that I've opened myself up for analysis by all, have you ever had racing dreams that were just whacked?!

Monday Morning Ramblings

2011-03-07T12:53:00.000-06:00

Lucky for you all, this may be one of my shortest posts yet. I made some observations (perhaps insights, but that may be a little strong) a little bit ago, and thought I'd share some of my reflections. I also have a couple thoughts to add from my previous post:

1. As I started my 45-minute run this morning, I couldn't help but notice how my stretching routine has made my body feel almost "Gumby-like" (that's for you, Chris!), I may need to slowly add a little more tension back into the legs. At any rate, it felt weird!

2. When I think I don't have the time to get the ice bath in, it helps to compare fresh legs to fresh meat (or veggies, whatever). Would you let something good just go bad, or keep it fresh on ice?

3. I may be close to nailing 180 strides per minute. It really is more comfortable once you get used to it.

4.ALSO: I see few entries for the PowerBar giveaway guys-who wants free stuff!?!

Clearly, I need more things to occupy my thoughts. Til then, Run Happy everyone:)

All About Recovery and a PowerBar Giveaway

2011-03-05T12:04:00.000-06:00

"It's what you do when you're not running that make all the difference for your next run".

I've turned over the new leaf and stuck a pin in it when it comes to the things that I have overlooked too often in the not-so-distant past. Now that I am sick and tired of being bit in the backside for all the little things I have neglected, I have incorporated a few different things into the routine. First, while I have always done some "stretching", most of it was ADDish; as my hold counts were too short or hurried due to poor planning. Nowadays, I am timing my holds, using dynamic stretching such as leg swings before easy runs (ok, right now everything is still easy) and am reaping the rewards-like less soreness and being able to almost palm my feet when my legs are fully extended. With a little guidance from Jarrett at Body Mechanix, I've improved a ton. This is good news, folks, if I can get flexible, anybody can!!

The other thing is ice baths. After suffering months of chronic "trash legs" I have had enough! For me,
it actually isn't the frigid temps of these endeavors that turned me away, but my laziness/inconvenience of having to go buy ice all the time. All excuses went out the window when Coach Dana Lyons suggested a great idea: the home ice bath kit. All you need is some used lunchmeat or yogurt containers, about 8-12 depending on size, freeze them over night, and you have some giant ice blocks in the morning! 10-15 minutes in the bath = legs feeling like money all day:). Here's a pic of my set-up....


Take that, trash legs!

Now for the goods. My nutrition sponsor PowerBar and I are giving away a drawstring backpack full of goodies to fuel and recover from your workouts. It's pretty darn tasty too! To enter, all you have to do is email to adrienne.langelier@gmail.com a quick synopsis of your go-to recovery tricks (feel free to be creative) including: nutrition, stretches, etc., etc. The winner will be announced on 3/19 with their "secret sauce" made not so secret anymore;).

Til then, take care of those running legs!

Why Not Play Along?!

2011-03-02T17:05:00.000-06:00

My version of the ABC's of me....

A. Age: 28, Mental and physical age varies and depends on the day!

B. Bed size: Queen for a queen (j/k!)

C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning the shower-I force myself.

D. Dogs: Nicky, a 6-year old, 5-lb good-natured Chihuahua. People always seem surprised that I own a dog like that, but he needed a home when I was in college.

E. Essential start to your day: Run or some kind of workout, stretching, coffee, and oatmeal. Before any of that, I pray and read a chapter from the Bible.

F. Favorite color: Blue

G. Gold or silver: Silver, but really prefer platinum

H. Height: 5' 4

I. Instruments you play(ed):Many years of piano as a kid but sadly can no longer play, I can play a little guitar.

J. Job title: I technically have several, but am officially a Licensed Professional Counselor Intern. Typically I describe myself as a counselor or Sport Psychology Consultant (my area of passion)

K. Kids: Not really the motherly type. I'm currently figuring out what the aunt thing is all about with my 8 month old nephew!

L. Live: The Woodlands, TX. A little pricey, a lot postmodern, but full of great people and a very, very active community. I plan to stay a while.

M. Mom’s name: Anna, but goes by her middle name, which is Grayson.

N. Nicknames: Some call me A or Adrie. Anything to shorten it!

O. Overnight hospital stays: Fingers crossed, none at this time.

P. Pet peeves: People who seem to stand against a whole host of things, but stand for little.

Q. Quote from a movie: "What is this, a learning center for ants?" Ben Stiller in Zoolander

R. Righty or lefty: Righty.

S. Siblings: One younger sister, age 25.

T. Time you wake up: Usually around 5:30 to 6:00. Getting more and more automatic and losing the ability to sleep in!

U. Underwear: Seriously!? Next question...

V. Vegetables you don't like: Haven't met one I didn't like yet!
W.
What makes you run late: Running a tad too far or taking too long cooling down. It's important, ya know!

X. X-rays you’ve had: Both feet, multiple times, hip, jaw, hand.

Y. Yummy food you make: Red Beans and Rice. It's awesomeness in a pot

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Although these animals are definitely better off in natural habitats, the Jaguars at the Houston Zoo are majestic to behold.

Have you completed this survey? If so, link it up in the comments and share the ABCs of you, with me!

Spring Breakaway Ride

2011-02-28T10:11:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a couple of firsts for me: my first organized bike ride and my first time to don a bib number of any sort since August! Given my now moderate cycling base I thought I'd moonlight a bit and give the Spring Breakaway Ride around the Katy, TX region a try. Out of 3 available distances, I was most comfortable with the 37 mile route; this proved to be a wise decision due to some ugly winds.

Before the ride and the first few miles were spent fumbling around a bit and getting a feel for the cycling ettiquite and remembering when to clip in and out. I have to admit, it felt weird to be wearing spandex and a helmet for hitting the roads. I started the route with Stacy, who was getting miles in for the upcoming Ironman Texas race. We were able to get into a nice rhythm after the first 10 miles or so, after we had to deal with a derailer malfunction and a subsequent spill on my behalf-yes, those dang clips again!! One thing different on a bike course, besides the noncompetitive nature of the event is the rest stops. Given that is it was hot and I was hydrating quite a bit, I welcomed a little break. This is where the biggest issue of the ride cropped up. Of course the 30-mile head and crosswinds came and went; presenting a challenge, but I made a terrible sunscreen choice rendering me a one-eyed rider at some points. Sweat + Eucerin sunscreen = Ouch!

In between stations we traversed across farming communities, many familiar with the Texas Independence Relay routes (good times!) that I ran a few years back. Blinking and squinting, we all took turns drafting and fighting the wind, although I felt pretty strong despite few long rides in the past month or so. I entertained going the full 57 miles, but decided to play it smart and part from IronStacy in Simonton veering towards the medium route. I enjoyed a nice flat and windless stretch where I averaged about 23 mph without really trying, that was fun-until taking a turn and back into the wind-and ouch, my eye!! I felt like a bug wuss as the left side of my face felt as if it were melting, but I'll take a sore eye any day over anything else.

Pic. Courtesy of Mary Kershbaum.

I ran into Mary, a fellow TWRC'er at the second rest area, took some pics, stretched the hamstrings (see above) and made a b-line to the sink to wash my face. Ahh, cool water! After looking in the mirror and seeing nothing but crimson, I stuffed my jersey pocket with paper towels and proceeded with Mary and her husband for the final, VERY windy stretch. I had a lot of fun on this ride except for the last haul back to Katy, where the winds were relentless. I was lucky to average 15 mph on this part and I felt as if my face were melting. What I did do was finish strong and get a good low-impact workout in. I forgot to start and stop my watch a few times, but the total time was about 2 and a half hours, including rest stops and headwinds. A couple guys comments on my PowerBar clothes and assisted me in handing out GelBlasts and Energy Bites samples.

My overall evaluation of organized cycling based in this experience is positive. Everyone seemed friendly enough and the event was definitely low key. I learned that my body is getting stronger and that my skin and eyes are not! I will make sure and take Mary's advice, use baby sunscreen next time!!

Lost in The Woods

2011-02-26T17:50:00.000-06:00

Note to self: when you have absolutely NO sense of direction, refrain from running alone on new trails-seriously!

So here we have it-an awesome 4ish mile run paired with an unplanned hike at the end. Before visiting as a guest speaker at Tri On The Run today, I took advantage of an open morning and indulged my curiosity/previous recommendations and ran the trails at Jones State Forest. What I found there was very well manicured pathways of combined leg-saving dirt and sand with plenty of room to just get lost and run. Fifteen minutes into it, I thought about just being predictable and doing an out and back but I was having too much fun playing "explorer" and figured any given trail would go back to the wetland area where the car was. Turns out I was a tad mistaken.

When my run time "allowance" was up, I noticed an apartment complex to the right that was considerably far from my entry point. Dang it! Laughing at myself, I started hiking back to the car along FM 1488 (ok, probably not the safest thing to do, but it worked). About a half mile down, I spotted the entrance-only to be told by a park ranger that the parking lot was still a mile and a half down the road! If I wasn't coming off a major case of trash tendons, I would have just ran back. Being the smarter runner that I am now, I sheepishly requested a lift from John the Park Ranger. I even learned a few things about this particular park:

Jones Forest is managed by Texas A&M's Rangeland Ecology program-Whoop!.
It contains an endangered bird species. Not being a big birdwatcher, however, I never inquired what bird!
It has been a sanctioned area since the 1930's.
There is little wildlife to be seen besides birds.

Okay, nothing really magical to take away here, but it helped me shake some of the stupidity I was feeling. I think I need to go back to pinning maps on me for the time being! I will definitely keep this place in my route rotation from now on.

Rest Days: The hardest part of training?

2011-02-18T19:20:00.000-06:00

...ok, this may not be a true statement across the board, but it appears to me that most endurance athletes struggle with taking rest days. I personally don't know too many runners who leap for joy when taking a day off. Funny how the absence of vigorous activity sends many of us into quite a tizzy- one wracked with feelings of guilt, laziness, fear of losing fitness, or perhaps the most annoying of them all (at least for us girls): "a scheduled fat day".

I will admit-I have experienced each of these feelings and sentiments many times over and perhaps may have a history of being one of the worst at resting. This of course has lead to many a useless workout, unnecessary tiredness, overtraining syndrome, and of course, my good frenemy injury.

If we look at this concept rationally, none of the above catastrophies has ever come true, at least not for me. That is good news. Actually, many athletes need a day of little to no activity (the staple "scheduled rest day") to absorb the "damages" while becoming more resistant to them. It's like pouring plaster of concrete. For best results, you have to leave it to harden for 24 hours It can be considered a regular part of training. .Do more work, let it form and harden, get even better and stronger. Cool concept, huh?!

So cool it has taken me years to start to accept it. I am beginning to realize that I am not one of those athletes, at least not at this stage, who can withstand big number mileage 7 days per week. I have tried in the past, and have yet to be able to tolerate it. And that is okay. There are many runners who have been productive on lower mileage. After recently taking a few weeks off from running, and making it through (gasp!) some consecutive rest days, a funny thing happened, I didn't balloon out (at least I don't think so;)), my head didn't explode, and I just may be beginning feel a little stronger and supple. Don't get me wrong, total rest days are still tough, but I keep using the image of the body being "under construction" as a way to get through it, telling myself to embrace resting.

It's getting easier. I know that at least one day off a week is necessary, and maybe in the future I just may grow to actually like it. An added bonus: a cleaner apartment on those mornings I don't head out for a workout! I guess most things have their upsides.

Back to Nature

2011-02-13T08:11:00.000-06:00

When I was in school, I used to train on trails weekly. I often ran twice a week at least on Huntsville State Park's pathways and did the majority of my long runs on the rolling pine-covered pathways. Actually, this monster I created actually started with me randomly accepting a professor's invite to run trails one afternoon and it went on from there. Yesterday, while it did not feel fast, I had fun getting off the beaten path. I can get lost for hours out there in the woods.

Did I mention how much I love these shoes? The pink KT tape is also a nice accessory!

I found myself thinking the other day, why did I stop doing soft surface running? I suppose time issues and travel to parks, but mostly habit of daily pavement pounding. Since moving to the new place, I'm fortunate that now the Mitchell Nature Trail just 5ish minutes away. It's just a 3-mile loop, but winding and wooded enough to be interesting. I got up fairly early yesterday waited for it to warm up a bit, and hit the path. I was sporting my latest greatest Brooks Gear and my trusted Glycerin 8's. These are like my "truck tires" of trainers-dependable and adaptable, especially when I am in 'truck' shape currently -LOL! I did a really easy 3.5 or so and enjoyed every minute. The sun was shining, it was brisk but comfortable out, and I felt in my element. One of the local track teams was working out on the trails as well, making it fun to run around with them (although I refrained from chicking some poor teenage boy this time!). As I passed, I got a "hey Adrienne!" shout out from one of the runners-I wish I knew who it was! :).

From a more functional perspective, soft surface running is definitely in vogue in my training plans. The benefits are many: reduced impact on the legs and feet, improved lower leg and core stability, improved strength, and raster recovery .Funny how the only injuries I recall from regular soft-surface running were minor and were result of me tripping on rogue tree roots as I grooved along through God's creation. Plus, if it's good enough for the Kenyans, it's good enough for me! Rumor has it that you also feel much faster when taking to the roads afterward as well. ;)

Luckily, I'm less sore than I imagined this morning. I'm happy to have found a go-to pathway right in the middle of my community.

Looks like it's in with the old and into the new!

Good luck to my peeps running Rock N Roll New Orleans this weekend!

What It's All About

2011-02-06T08:47:00.000-06:00

Running PR's, setting and achieving goals, and racing til we drop are just some of the reasons us serious runners do the thing we do. Yesterday I had yet another- perhaps even sweeter than the last- non-race experience that reinforces the intangibles of running. In a small way, I found it almost healing: healing from the post fracture complications, personal challenges, and frustrating return-to-training hiccups I have been experiencing. When the finish line is crossed, there's still a whole lot more to running....

In 26 degree temps (yeah, it was COLD!) I headed to a 5k benefiting the MD Anderson Cancer Center a fellow Brooks ID member/Lymphoma Survivor Bill Crews and manned an aid station. This is a special event where the race takes a backseat and it is more so a celebration of life and remission from cancer. I have some personal investment in the cause as my cousin is a lymphoma survivor. Even though I could not feel my feet, I cheered the participants on and handed some really cold water out at the halfway point aid statioon. There were several survivors running and the race direction and crew were spot-on. Quite the way to make the best of a frigid morning! Last I heard, in excess of $16,000 was raised.

After the race, we headed up the highway a bit to check up on Karen F. and a few clubmates who were running the Rock Raccoon 50 and 100 milers. After being at a high-profile road race last week, I was reminded how different the trail scene is: laid back, low fanfare, and just about the running (with lots cookies and cokes and Camelbaks thrown in!). Walking up to the turnaround, we saw Scott Jurek casually chatting it up with some of the other runners and spectators, to put the low-keyness into perspective. As it turned out, he dropped at 60 miles (wuss!! j/k;)). Who did not drop at the 60 mark was Karen-one inspirational lady whom I had the pleasure of pacing for just a short few minutes as I did a little out and back on the trails I used to run weekly. She was looking awesome 40 miles in! This was actually my first run in a couple weeks-I kept it off the blog mostly, but I was on a break to deal with some soft-tissue problems and anemia-and I couldn't help but thank God for each pain-free step on such a beautiful day.

Last night I crashed early and woke up today with a sense of gratitude. Tomorrow, perhaps, I may go hit the local nature trail.

Oh, and go Chris K. and Green Bay;)!!

Party Like a Rockstar-Or a Runner!

2011-02-02T08:16:00.000-06:00

One of the biggest running weekends of the year here in the Houston area came to a close with something fairly low-key but perhaps even more exciting for yours truly. In our world, I spent 3 days hangin with rockstars!:) As if talking racing with Jen Rhines and company at the championships was not enough, we had some more fast company visit just down the street from my place here on Market Street on Monday night: Ryan and Sara Hall!

The Halls were here to promote their Steps Foundation, which is one of the key sponsors for March 2012's launch of The Woodlands Marathon. I am excited about this race for several reasons. First, I would like to put a lot of my training energies to finally blowing the doors off my half marathon time. It is flat and fast down here and the weather could be favorable this time of the year. I also, always seem to do well in "hometown" races where familiar faces are everywhere. Call me an attention hoochie, but it works for me!

I had a moment to congratulate both of them on their performances and thank them for coming to our relatively small community. They both seem like very gracious (and busy!) individuals. As I rebuild my body and spirit over this next year, I hope to make this one of my first A races in a while. If you guys aren't busy Next March 3rd, I encourage you to come out and test out this flat, fast, and friendly course!

Here's me (in regular clothes!) with our "helpers"-please forgive the bad lighting! :

2011 USATF Half Championships: A Close Up

2011-01-29T16:37:00.000-06:00

Wow. I had quite the morning today: I watched an awesome race with Mo Trafeh outsprinting Ryan Hall and Jen Rhines making it look easy, I also had the opportunity to learn quite a bit in the process.

As the alarm clock went of at a quarter til 5:00 this morning I got up not really knowing what to expect or what I had gotten myself into volunteering for the 2011 USATF Half Marathon Championships here in Houston. I knew that my position was considered 'critical'. I drew one of the most and least glamorous position out there: an anti-doping escort. this is something I am too slow to experience, but interesting to see how the real fast people get handled after crossing the line.Just FYI I had nothing to do with the actual testing...

Another unique thing I experienced this morning was hanging around the elite area without facing any of the pre-race anxiety I have felt in the past. This year, instead of nervously chattering (ok, maybe there was a little bit of that) and bouncing around til start, I was able to scan the room and check out some of the prerace routines: stretches, who's who, etc. That doesn't sound stalkerish, does it?! Honestly, I learn well from observation and picked up a thing or two, especially some new dynamic stretch routines. I also ended up chatting with a former multiple sub-3 marathoner who was also volunteering. She had some good info. to share, which I will soon get to.

After a meeting, we went down to the starting line, surveyed our positions and headed to the second floor of the George R. Brown Convention Center to watch the first loop. I have to say, it was more exciting than I originally anticipated watching some of America's top runners including Hall, Rhines, Tera Moody, Heidi Westerling, Patrick Smyth, and others. I had a serious case of "speed envy" for sure! :) Based on the announcer's updates, there were several lead changes for both the men and the women, making for an exciting race.

Soon enough, the lead men surged through the finish, with Trafeh over Hall and then it was time for me to go to work with the women coming in. Jen Rhines could have been running through Memorial Park after work that's how fresh she looked crossing the finish line. We then headed up with the top 3: Rhines, Serena Burla, and Nan Kennard to the press conference. This is where I had to play groupie wannabe and ask these ladies questions when I had the chance!

I found J.R. to be very engaging and gracious; if I was annoying her to no avail she did not let it show. She reinforced some principles of training that I always struggle with: taking easy days really easy, as did Doris, the sub-3 co-volunteer. She also mentioned always being the one in training to be told to "pick it up", however, she would consistently crack the 3:00.

Also discussed was the concept of taking a break. Like a real one. No pool, bike, or anything like that. In the past, I would rather have had a root canal twice than take time off. Now, this needs to be a yearly (at least) training staple, given my 'propensities'. We also just kind of chatted about future races, what it's like to be handled after you finish a race, and so on. At the press conference, focus was also a big topic and overcoming those low points in a race. Of course as a sport psychologist I find this especially relevant-too bad I didn't have more time to really get into the subject!

I love hearing things like this from athletes who have been there, and find it refreshing and motivating.

Afterward, I walked the expo, met up with some more of my awesome Brooks ID teammates for pics and decompressed a little from the business of the race. Did I mention I love being in the ID program?! Getting this up-close experience enhanced my sense that I really do have a charmed, blessed life. Better make the most of it!

A Late Race Report of Sorts

2011-01-23T09:58:00.000-06:00

I'm still not racing, but my mom is-and I can live vicariously through her for the meantime;)!...Better late than never, here are last weekend's happenings:

As I have blogged about in the past, I'm super-impressed with my mom's entry to running and how well she's done for a relative "newbie". Last Sunday we braved some fairly gross and cold weather conditions for Sugar Land's USA Fit Marathon, Half, and 5k-which was her second race ever. I also had a couple friends and training partners running the marathon that day (shout out to Juliee S.-way to PR!).

Let's just say things got off to a less-than-ideal start. I stayed the night with my parents the night before since we had to be there uber-early due to parking issues; the same parking issues that delayed the start of the races about :45 minutes. Upon arrival it was drizzling off and on, and cold! Apparently I'm out of practice for how to dress for these events as I wore jeans that were soaked halfway up my leg by the end of the morning-blue, numb feet-you betcha! At one point, all of us were considering saying the heck with this and bailing. Anyhow, after finagling and helping Jarrett get into the Univ. of Houston Sugar Land's campus to do some side massage work on us, the races were set to start. After the full and half start, the 5k was off.

Mom and I have kind of started a new tradition at races: as silly as it sounds I always found it helpful to hear a loud "go 'Sis!" before the gun goes off (I guess 'Adrienne' is too long and I come from a large family of two daughters-LOL!), but anyway, I reversed the nickname shout-out trend on my somewhat bohemian and earthy mother-nicknamed "Saffron" (another story for another day) with a healthy "go Saffron!" before the start. Cheeky and cheesy-sure, but who cares, right?! Life's too short to not act like a dork sometimes.

After moving around to stay warm, mom's official finish was 29:34, good enough for 5th AG. Impressive given the conditions and hesitant start to the morning. Unfortunately, the course was an out and back that made viewing tough, but the finish was a long straightaway. I am learning that competitiveness seemingly runs downhill, as she said she was bummed she didn't lower her time from her first event. Looks like running has another convert!

As for the whole event itself, parking and traffic flow seemed to be the bain, but it looks like everything else was quality, such as the shirts, food, etc. The temps and rain did do my wimpy butt no help as I didn't have it in me to stay to watch all the event. I still find that even though there is no equal to toeing the line, I still really enjoy and am inspired by others' performances and being a part of them in a small way. Good for the soul!

*Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer.

God bless and blow doors.

Cankles

2011-01-15T12:34:00.000-06:00

This blog has seemed to take on the theme of listening to the body, the art I am slowly learning. Key word = SLOWLY...

I can actually now post after that a sense of relief mixed with sheepishness has died down some. As you may have read in my last post, I had a little flare up in my right shin. This bothered me a little, but I remained positive and implemented what I am calling "the protocol": 3 rough runs = 2 days off at least, plus cross training and needed icing, anti-inflammatory treatment, etc, etc. This did have me a little disappointed and worried as I gingerly approached my workouts this week, but I was proud that I managed to hold back a bit. I actually took 3 days off of running and hopped back in the pool to hopefully clear out everything. During that time, I kept stretching the calves like a crazy woman and felt about 80 percent so I hopped on the treadmill on Thursday morning and it went something like this in my head: mile 1- "ok, not so bad, this is a great song on my iPod", mile 2-"hmmm, ankle tightening up, but the shin's ok", mile 3-tightening and pain under the ankle in heel area--"achilles to Adrienne, get off now and get in the pool"..."mother sucker"....and so I strapped on the blue marshmallow and finished off the hour in the water. After that, I called my sports med. specialist to get everything checked out once again, just in case.

The next day must have been a busy one, as I waited almost an hour at the Dr.'s office to finally be seen after an x-ray ( seeing my friend the radiography tech once again) to get the verdict if I was sore, tight, or full-on injured once again. I could tell by the doc's demeanor (or a muted "you idiot" face) when he arrived that it was nothing to write home about, just as I (for once correctly) thought: shin splints. My soleus had basically turned to stone it was so tight and pulling on the tibia and achilles tendon, needing time to calm back down and lengthen. Apparently, when I received the comment "you have very well-defined calves" it may have not been meant as a compliment. Probably from overkill with strengthening exercises and riding the bike in high gear caused me to grow muscles on my muscles, especially the soleus Great if I'm trying to enter body building competitions, for running, not so much! Cankles, folks, I've got friggin' cankles goin on!As far as injury and pain stories go, I find this one almost comical.

So what to do? Obviously, cut out the calf raises, that's ok because I didn't enjoy doing them anyway, and stretch. I was given stretching exercises and instructed to stop and stretch during activity a few times. I can run, but probably shorter distances until I get some flexibility back-what do you expect when I took some BAD advice a while ago saying that the standing calf stretch was useless. I was on the right track, but probably could have benefited from a few more days stretching this stuff out. C'est la vie. No races on the calendar, just eager to see some satisfactory times come down. No timeframe was given, but I'm stretching like a crazy lady-shutting the door to my office so I don't look like a freak and that sort of thing. If I feel like I really need to, I have no problem with PDS (public display of stretching)!Whatever it takes. I was just glad to walk out of there with a solution.

So I may try running next week, I may not, it depends on what the lower quadrant says when I step out of bed in the AM. I'm also getting lots of ART and some cool chiropractic laser treatments for tendonopathy. Lesson of the week-don't overlook the little things, or you will feel silly and it will hurt a little bit.

Ok, rant over. Now off to Sugar Land to watch my mom run tomorrow. Go mom!!:)

God bless and don't forget to stretch!

Stylish Blogger Awards-Or some variation

2011-01-12T21:20:00.000-06:00

I just got tagged from Chris K fort the Stylish Blogger thing. The basic premise is you tell 7 things about you, then tag 5 people.

So, what about me is actually worth telling...let's see:

My name originates somehow from the NE/Quebec area (or so I've been told), and I wish I was more Canadian sometimes.
My high school mascot was a Unicorn. Seriously.
There should be more blogging with women's jewelry as a prize. That one's for you, Chris!
I play the guitar-a little bit, anyway.
I used to be a personal trainer.
I ran my first organized race in grad school, won it (F's anyway), and thus it created this monster.
I always have trouble thinking of people to tag, as my blogsphere is actually quite small...

5 Volunteers??? How about :???
LA Runner
misszippy1
K
Aspire. Strive. Thrive
Jason L.

Pfitziner's Plan Progress: Week 6

2011-01-09T12:54:00.000-06:00

This morning marked the completion of week 6 of my go-to return schedule. One noticeable thing about this week is that it actually resembles a light training schedule-complete with a couple chances to go fast-which I like!
I made it through these sessions successfully, especially enjoying (yes, enjoying) a 50 minute treadmill run with a freshly loaded iPod. Actually, it's not the running that I think was the most important thing to gain from this week, but how I managed a small setback and listened to what my body was telling me. Hmm... there really is something to that principle. Catch it early, slow down even though you don't want to, take care of it, keep on going!

The setback came in the guise of waking up after my tempo run and feeling like I had been kicked in the shin. Yuck, shin splint-I haven't experienced one of those since my first track season when I was 13! I never forgot how they felt though (I will refrain from giving my graphic mental representation). I have the sneaking suspicion that running on the road did not do me any benefits for the first "faster" workout in over 3 mos. So what to do?: Lots and lots of ice, Fibroplex and double EC Matrixx, calf massage, lighter running/skipping a run (gasp!), and stretching the calves an almost obsessive amount. I soon realized that I was not stretching the right parts of my calves-no wonder! Runner's world had a helpful article that gave this straightforward protocol and it really is effective. I'll admit, I had to fight off the catastrophic thought of "oh crap, now I broke my leg!! Luckily, I returned to rationality fairly quickly:) and just dealt with it. Feels almost gone today, and I have yet to go see Jarrett yet!

For this week's totals, I put in about 8 hours all together: 5 days/24.76 miles running plus several bike rides (about 50-60 miles give or take) both outdoors and on the trainer, plus a swim and corrective weights. Oh yeah, and my prerequisite rest day too. Monday's tempo was not as fun as it sounded on paper, but I got it done in chilly temps. I averaged about a 6:42 mile for 15 minutes. On one hand, I was encouraged that I could still hit the 6's for a few miles, but on the other hand, geez, a 6- flat or less was what I used to regularly work out at. Baby steps, Adrienne- it will come down as I get fitter, besides pure track work is still months on the horizon but I'm confident I'll get faster at a steady rate.

Wednesday night I spun out about 6 and a quarter on the track in about 45 minutes-feeling a lot easier than Monday's run. I think I'm getting the easy running down. Yesterday I ran 4 on a dearly-missed stretch of Lake Woodlands Dr. and did a "reverse brick" by riding my bike for another 20. I intended to track down a dear friend on her solo 40-miler but forgot my map and phone-ugh! Later I enjoyed the traditional cup of coffee with friends afterward-oh, how I love my Saturday mornings! I alternated surfaces today, plus some really cold rain drove me to 24 Hour Fitness to do my 50 minute easy "long run", which felt pretty good on the legs.

My overall take from this week: work the plan, but be flexible...better yet, work YOUR plan!

God bless and blow doors.

'Tangents' Gets Decal-ed!

2011-01-07T08:12:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone!

Since all of you have helped put this little collection of ramblings (ok a LOT of ramblings) onto the map a bit, Buildasign.com has graciously donated an allotment of decals (almost like SUAR, but I'm no where near as cool or original;)!) to share with anyone who's interested. I think they're pretty cool, whaty'all think:

Anyhoo, if you want one, all you have to do is shoot me an email at a.langelier@hotmail.com with your info, I have about 120 to divvy out. Thanks so much for being a reader!

Soon to come: more updates as I approach 'real' training:)

God Bless and blow doors.

2010: "For Every Uphill, There's a Downhill"

2011-01-02T13:28:00.000-06:00

First of all, thanks to all who have the patience to read my ramblings and to those who lent their wisdom, friendship and support over the past year. I hope to have many new and exciting stories to tell here in the next few mos.:)

I guess it's my turn to put my year in review up for the blogsphere and beyond. 2010 was one of those random 12 month spans where God presented me with a grab bag of events and experiences. Many of these were awesome and unforgettable, while some were uncomfortable and forced me to change my direction and focus. Regardless of the value label I put on them, here is a rundown of some of the significant things that transpired in this woman's (humble) running and life in general.Those who have already used this format, please forgive my unoriginality!

January 2010: Second year in a row as a local elite runner in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon. This year more surreal than the first given I was escorted out to the start line right next to the likes of Shalane Flanagan, Tera Moody, and a host of other 'real' elites. Ran a 1:22 PR that day despite never really "feeling it" during the race. Projected to run sub-3 at Boston. Very cool stuff (and that's me to the R. of Ms. Flanagan herself)!

February 2010: Training 70-plus mile weeks while working full time and taking a post-master's course to fulfill a TX licensure obligation. May have been a little much at the time as I came down with a severe tendinitis in my left foot after the Conoco Phillips Rodeo Run 10k in Houston. Placed 3rd overall behind Mary Davies and Carmen Ayala-Troncoso. Cue "This boot is made for walkin'," cuz I couldn't engage my ankle after that. Started "Your Competitive Edge" Sport Psychology program (my dream job!) laying the groundwork for helping athletes in my community and elsewhere.

March 2010: Introduced to the wonderful world of aqua jogging, no sarcasm intended-it really helped me get fit fast afterward. The people at the YMCA were awesome in giving me a temp. membership. Get email that I have been approved for sponsorship with PowerBar for the next 2 years! Mmmm bring on the bars and gels! I also hooked up with massage therapist extraodinaire, Jarrett Smilie. If you have not been worked on by him, you don't know what you're missing!

April 2010: Back in the running shoes again. Quickly got back up to speed, ran a 19:56 5k easy within end of the month. Feeling good, although work is crazy and carrying a lot of stress. Slowly start "marathon express" training for Rock N Roll Seattle.Went to Boston for a family vacay since I already had plane tickets and hotel ready to go. Hooked up with a friend from HS there who oddly enough also became a marathoner and watched the action at Mile 23 with Mr. Jon Walk himself right next to the press. Boston is where my dad's side of the family is originally from, and I feel an instant connection and affection for that city.

May 2010: Class ends, loved the instructor, training progressing nicely as I click off sub-6 minute miles in training.

June 2010: "For every uphill, there's a downhill"-Tony Allison while driving the course pre-race. Really needing to get away and itching to race, head up to Seattle for the marathon. This was also my first out of state marathon, or any race out of Texas for that matter. This was the best of times, and the worst of times all in one. Met some awesome people, got VIP treatment from Brooks, had a picture taken with Brian Sell, fell in love with Mt. Ranier's view. For the race itself, went in overconfident and perhaps a little underweight and even more so undertrained. Ran like a dream for 22 miles, then gels quickly began to taste like crow as I hit.the.wall. In retrospect, I'm very proud of that race, given I overcame intense physical discomfort and embarrassment to place 9th Overall Female and still come in a respectable 3:14. Oh, and more importantly I became an aunt right about the time the gun went off as my nephew Carson was born that day! Soaked it all in with new friends and gawking at Mt. Ranier on a beautiful day.

July 2010: took a little time off from running (ok like 4 of 5 days), ran Lunar Rendezvous 5k in 19:15, which was good enough to win my AG and get 4th overall. Meanwhile, it was really freakin' hot in TX. Took last post-master's course and crossed that off the list professionally.

August 2010: One-year anniversary out of grad school! Despite a nagging injury in my RIGHT foot, another first came in running 2 races in one day. Came in 3rd in the first 5k, got mad, used some sport psych on myself and took the challenge of running a second 5k that evening. Learned that a GPS for me is pointless in a race that short, had a great time, and was First Overall Finisher (sorry, boys!) with a time 9 seconds faster that in the morning. Ran Jon W. in for both races (he did 3 that day), which was fun to do.

September 2010: Crack! Tired and admittedly burnt out from work and lackluster training, my right foot finally succumbs to an avulsion fracture of my 5th metartarsal , resulting in one of the biggest teachable moment in my running career. Decided to focus on the positive aspects of the situation and heeded the message and started the TOTAL healing process...

October 2010: Get first road bike and throw in some cycling. Yes I did cycle in my boot for a while-gimps need sunshine too! Also did a lot of volunteering and found spectating enjoyable and less tiring. Boot came off on 10/29 and got connected with PHS MedNet as a sponsor as well as expanding my network and supports. Big lesson here: I felt even more supported not running than when competing. Make decision to start moving away from "runningism" as a religion and rededicate my life back to Jesus.

November 2010: Happily volunteered for Brooks Cavalcade of Curiosities at the San Antonio Marathon expo, seeing many local running friends, learning lots, and talking even more. New shoes and jacket were a nice incentive too:) After cross training all Oct. I am feeling much stronger and energetic. Put in first 10 minutes of my re-entry at the end of the month and was tempted to kiss the track, however, opted not to do so! Also spent a lot of time working on Your Competitive Edge.

December 2010: Working the Pfitzinger return to running plan and loving it. I also moved to The Woodlands to be closer to work and training. The running and running community here is fabulous! Learn that Brooks has asked me back as a member of their 2011 P.A.C.E team-Run Happy-you know I will! Had a great Christmas (first one for the nephew) and running begins to feel natural once again.

Today: Started the New Year pitch-perfectly with a 40 minute run that felt like slicing warm butter. I took the Garmin off the shelf and just monitored my natural pace-around 7:30ish and put in 5.3 miles (plus about 27 miles on the bike in addition). A far cry from this time last year, but quality trumps quantity. I'm excited about my "fun running year" and am feeling this thing again. Speaking of quality, that will be my manifesto when it comes to my athletic pursuits in 2011. Chasing numbers and trying to "keep up with the Joneses" mileage-wise is obviously NOT the way to go. I will never be a Kara Goucher or Shalane Flanagan, but I can be a really good Adrienne Langelier. I'm not one for resolutions, but if there was one tweakage to capitalize on for the fresh set of 12 months, it is to just be myself as a person and an athlete:-who He created me to be- nothing more, nothing less.

To close out this very challenging yet very rewarding (I see a correlation here for sure), 2010 was all about what us therapists call "breaking the homeostasis": shaking things up and facing adversity in order to make change and grow. Let's celebrate the gift of running this year!

God Bless and blow doors.