Archives for February 2014

February 25, 2014 By fitnessfatale 6 Comments

Taper Weekend Bliss & Weather Jitters

The end of an amazing sunset this weekend

This taper has thus far, been excellent. I’ve been resting, sleeping a ton, eating mostly healthy and executing workouts as planned. This past weekend was a my version of a perfect rest weekend. 11 hour and 9 hours of sleep Friday and Saturday respectively. Relaxation massage (free thanks to a leftover massage I had from a previously purchased package). Final call with Maria to hash out my race plan. Recovery spin. Dinner party with stress-relieving laughs with girlfriends. 60 minutes (which felt like 2 hours) of stretching with Tony Horton’s P90X X-Stretch. Plenty of time on the couch. A serene walk on the beach at Sunset on Saturday before a healthy dinner and movie night on the couch. A final long run with Mike to keep me company. Race visualization.

STRETCH!!! (plus showing off new Oiselle team tank)

I even practiced my day before the race carbo loading meal. In the past I’ve ended up eating somewhat irregular foods compared to my day to day diet in the days leading up to the marathon in order to stock up my glycogen stores while also avoiding fiber (think: pancakes, big breakfasts likely cooked in butter, sugary bagels with sugary cream cheese, cookies, JUNK). Going into this race, I’m sticking to what I know. I’m staying with a friend in Phoenix so I have the luxury of a kitchen. My new day before the race breakfast is going to be two scrambled eggs, a large portion of sweet potato hash (made with olive oil not butter) and a cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter and banana (which is also my pre-race breakfast). I tested this out on Saturday and washed it down with Nuun (also in my pre-race plan) and felt great. I didn’t feel heavy or bogged down as I have in the past.

Carbo-loading breakfast

Chickpea hummus tacos with veggie/black beans

Everything is locked and loaded. My race plan is firmly planted in my head. I’ve read as many Phoenix marathon race reports as I could get my hands on and they all confirmed what Maria’s race plan has me doing – HOLDING BACK during the opening 4 miles which have a serious decline. Save the energy, save the quads. My race plan discussion with Maria went well and I came out of it feeling good about what I need to do.

Epic Sunset on Saturday

One of the favorites!

However, the weather has shaken me a bit. I can’t help it. Currently Phoenix is predicted to be expecting a storm on Saturday morning. In some ways this is good (lower temperatures – high of low 70s instead of mid 80s). In others , it’s bad (rain and worse – 17mph head winds). I was really hoping that with the worst case scenario already behind me (not BQing once), my nerves would be less going into this race. Unfortunately that’s not the case due to this weather. I’m actually GLAD that I looked on the 10 day forecast to see the weather instead of looking the day before the race because it’s given me a chance to go through a few phases – first shock, second fear, third denial, and now, acceptance. The weather forecast is holding steady. A storm might be coming BUT IT WON’T BRING ME DOWN. I looked to blogs, Twitter and Instagram for support this morning and was able to find a few examples of people who have raced in less than stellar weather and come out victorious, whether it be a PR or a BQ. So, it can be done. Not to mention, I found people who have raced in much worse conditions (CIM 2012 – torrential downpour and 40 mph winds) which helps me take this little desert storm a bit less seriously. I’ve also been reminded that “you can’t predict the weather,” hence the phrase. Who knows if weather.com even know what it’s talking about.

This is why I’ve trained my mind to be strong – and this will be a test. It might make the race less comfortable but my goal can still be achieved. Or, who knows, maybe the clouds will part and all this plotting and planning about how to handle wind (hide in the hopefully massive 3:35 pace group) and rain (slater my feet in lube) be unnecessary. But, at least I’ve conquered those fears now instead of worrying about it on race day. All scenarios have crossed my mind and now it’s just time to see which one goes down. And I won’t let myself think of any scenario that doesn’t involve me crossing that finish line under 3:35.

Thanks Asia for the inspirational pin!!!

How do you spend the weekend before a big race? Do you have a go-to the morning before a race carboloading breakfast? Have you ever ran a race in a storm and achieved your goal?!

February 21, 2014 By fitnessfatale 4 Comments

How to Use Visualization to Achieve Racing Goals

“What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve” – Napoleon Hill

The first time I did a visualization practice I was 15 years old. My swim coach took the team to a large empty, quiet and dark room. He told us to all lay on the ground and close our eyes (this kind of sounds creepy now…but stay with me). He told us to visualize the ocean and walked us through a scene. He encouraged us to take deep breaths and to imagine ourselves there. Then, he told us to each focus on our most important race in the upcoming CIF Championship. He asked us to walk through the moments leading up to the race and then to envision ourselves completing it successfully. At the time, I giggled a bit, thinking this was all kind of funny. But, I did it. I visualized myself in the water, moving fluidly through and coming up for air at just the right times, kicking hard, sweeping my arms forward into the perfect breast stroke, and then grasping the wall and finishing victoriously.

A week later, I achieved my goal at the swim meet and came home with a shiny gold medal. I had forgotten about the visualization but looking back, I know that the confidence I gained in that session helped me win. I didn’t think about visualization or practice it at all until 13 years later in the weeks leading up to Ironman Coeur D’Alene. Due to all of the moving parts involved in successfully completing a race of this distance, I knew I needed to get my mind right. On long runs or bike rides, I’d walk myself through my race plan. I’d experience the cold lake, feel the pain in my quads as I climbed the hills and wind on my face as I bounded down them, see my family on the sidelines as I ran by them and finally, I’d envision myself crossing the finish line and Mike Reilly calling out my name. Race day was a bit tougher than I imagined (I’m not sure any visualization can prepare you for the pain of an ironman marathon), but it ended the same way as my visualization.

I imagined myself crossing the finish line hundreds of times before I actually did

Visualization techniques are used by the vast majority of elite athletes and coaches. In a survey conducted on coaches at the US Olympics Training Center in Colorado Springs, 94% of coaches and 90% of athletes used imagery in their sport (source). 20% of the athletes practiced visualization every day and 40% practiced every three to five days. A study was performed by Australian psychologist Alan Richardson on a group of basketball players. The first group practiced free throws 20 minutes a day, the second group visualized making free throws for 20 minutes a day and the third group did not practice or visualize. The results were pretty incredible – the group who DID NOT practice, yet visualized making free throws, improved almost as much (23% over 20 days) over the course of the study as the group who actually did physically practice (24%) The group who did not visualize or practice, did not improve at all (source). The mind can control the body’s limits.

A significant portion of my training for the Phoenix Marathon has been mental. I’ve recognized that at times it can be an area of weakness for me and I am working on improving it. As part of that, I’ve practiced visualization. Until recently, my race visualization was mostly at the end of a yoga workout, during corpse pose. I took all the time I needed after the session to focus on the goal at hand. I’d walk through the day leading up to the race and then envision myself racing, coming across obstacles and conquering them, and then finally, crossing the finish line. The first time I visualized crossing the finish line I was smiling ear to ear. Your mind can make your body react!

Another way I have used visualization in my training is during tough workouts. At the end of the workout (tempo run, hill repeats, etc) I try to put myself in the race. I even imagine the finish line ahead. When I have approximately a mile to go I tell myself that I’ve hit mile 25 of the race and it’s time to push past it. As I near the end, I imagine a finish line ahead and focus on crossing it. I repeat mantras in my head. It sounds a little intense but it helps! When I’m in that moment in the race, my mind will remember those training runs, subconsciously or consciously, and keep me going. The mind is powerful and manipulative. The mind wants the body to rest and conserve energy, not push itself to its limits and it will do anything to get your body to do so. By training your mind to keep going even when it wants to rest, it will stay stronger during pivotal moments in a race.

I plan to sit quietly by myself for at least 10 minutes each night until race day and visualize the Phoenix Marathon. Last night I did this, starting from leaving work on Thursday and driving to Phoenix all the way through the tasty beer I plan to drink to celebrate. I walked through my race plan step by step and I allowed myself to focus on the pain I’ll feel toward the end and repeated in my mind the mantras I’ll use to get through it.

Using my own experience and an article from Competitor Group here are some tips for race visualization:

1) Be Specific and Detailed. Imagine everything you can about the race. Start as early as two days before and work your way up to the race. Feel the nerves, imagine what you’ll eat, think about what time you’ll wake up. During the race portion of the visualization break the race into smaller segments so you can focus on each part, such as holding back in the beginning from strong finish at the end.

2) Imagine Success. The whole point of this exercise is to boost your confidence. Don’t let negative thoughts come into your mind during your visualization. Imagine yourself finishing strong and achieving your goal. Don’t ever think about anything else.

3) Visualize Potential Road Blocks. Despite imagining yourself succeeding, you need to also think about what COULD go wrong and how you will deal with it. In the end, you will still come out victorious but it doesn’t help to imagine a porto-potty break, tripping and falling, getting stopped by traffic, extreme weather conditions or anything else that could freak you out. Imagine yourself conquering these things head on and if any of them should actually happen in the race, you’ll be mentally prepared to face them.

4) Remind Yourself of the Reasons You Will Succeed. During your visualization and during the race, call back to reasons why you will achieve your goal, whether it be a really hard workout that you nailed, your improved nutrition or your new coach. Thnk of every reason you will succeed and remind yourself of those reasons throughout the simulated and actual race.

5) Visualize Often. Doing one visualization may improve your success, but repeatedly sitting down and walking through everything will improve your chances. Several 10 minute sessions over the course of a week is better than one longer session just before the race. If possible, practice the visualization on race day itself before you start.

Do you use visualization in your training and racing? Do you have any other tips I missed?

February 19, 2014 By fitnessfatale 9 Comments

Rest Day Record

I’m in taper mode and one thing I’ve been emphasizing during this training cycle more than any other is REST. This is all thanks to my coach Maria who is very good at reining me in. One more little piece of encouragement I can put into my bucket and take with me into the race is that I will be more rested than I ever have been before any race. Ever.

The Sunday before last, I ran 19.5 miles on a very hilly route. That afternoon, my legs were achy and I was tired. It was almost like I’d run a marathon. The next day was a rest day and my legs were still heavy. I did 30 minutes of VERY easy yoga in the evening, continued to chug BCAAs and tried to get to bed early. Tuesday morning in Pilates I felt ok but my legs were sore. I tried to keep it easy on the leg exercises (and even requested the teacher focus on arms and core instead!). At lunch, I went for my 45 minute Zone 2 run and I could tell I was not even close to done recovering from that beastly run. My legs were heavy and sore and my heart rate was much higher compared to my pace than it was last week. During that run I decided I’d ask Maria if we could switch out my speed workout scheduled for Wednesday morning to Thursday instead (I couldn’t push it to the evening because I had dinner plans with friends). I was actually really looking forward to the workout since I had been doing the majority of my speedwork on hills and the workout scheduled was 5 x 1 mile repeats. I wanted to see what I had under the hood on flat ground.

Maria, being the smart coach she is, told me that unfortunately I would not be able to move the workout to Thursday. Instead, I wasn’t allowed to even do the workout! She said I was clearly not recovered from the long run and doing the speedwork would just put me further in the hole. We are too close to the marathon for that and she wanted me to be fresh for Sunday’s 12 mile run with 5 miles at race pace or faster. So instead of doing speed work on Wednesday, I took my second rest day of the week. This is NOT something I would have done on my own. When I coach myself, I always push myself to do MORE. It is nice having someone tell me it’s ok to do less. After a good night’s sleep and my rest day Wednesday I actually felt much better and Maria allowed me to do a 45 minute tempo run (25 minutes at tempo pace), which went well and boosted my confidence. In exchange for allowing me to do so, I had to take ANOTHER rest day on Friday. 3 REST DAYS IN ONE WEEK. Unheard of. I typically rest 0-1 day a week unless I’m out of town for some reason so this was an adjustment for me. Saturday I did an easy spin and Sunday I absolutely nailed my long run with tempo portion. Maria told me that my run on Sunday was excellent (efficiency number higher than ever, even better than the 10k and half marathon races!) and that it showed serious promise for a strong finish in Phoenix.

The moral of the story is – sometimes NOT training will make you stronger than training. Because I listened to my body and rested Wednesday and Friday, I was able to execute fantastic workouts on Thursday and Sunday. Being rested and strong for those two workouts was much more beneficial than additional miles throughout the week. Not to mention, the confidence I’ve gained from executing these runs correctly is way better than the confidence I’d get from some bonus mileage over the week. Or worse, had I pushed through the mile repeats my performance would have been less than stellar, which at this point would be a mental beating. My mind needs reassurance that I’m ready for the race, and not hitting my pace goals during key workouts one week out would definitely not be encouraging. Not to mention, those three days of rest allowed me to catch up on much needed sleep to help my body recover.

I continued the rest with another (planned) rest day yesterday. I also had the day off of work thanks to the President’s Day holiday and Mike and I slept in, went out for lunch, lounged around, watched 4 episodes of the final season of Breaking Bad (which is the opposite of relaxing actually –OMG), and met up with friends for pizza and beer (and the official last alcoholic beverage I’ll be drinking before the race). I could get used to this rest thing.

February 12, 2014 By fitnessfatale 14 Comments

Learning to Be Mentally Tough

There’s been a lot of talk of mental toughness around here. On this blog I mean. After some self-reflection on my DNF at Eugene and my non-BQ at OC Marathon, I certainly knew that above physical training, I needed to focus on mental toughness. Where do we start?!

First, let’s talk about what the heck mental toughness is. To me, a runner, it means staying in a positive mental state and pushing through pain during a race or a tough workout. To a soccer player, it might mean staying focused during a tough game when the opposition continues to score. To a business executive, it could be remaining calm and coming up with an alternative solution when an important agreement falls through at the last minute. To a Navy Seal, it could mean thinking clearly instead of panicking during a life of death situation.

According to Wikipedia, Mental Toughness is “a term commonly used by coaches, sports psychologists, sports commentators and business leaders to generally describe a collection of attributes that allow a person to persevere through difficult circumstances and emerge without losing confidence.” Only within the last 10 years has mental toughness been studied as a psychological construct but it has long been known that mental and physical performance has just as much to do with mental state as physical. To me, the most important word in the definition on wiki is confidence. Mentally tough people are confident in their actions and put positive thoughts ahead of negative in order to achieve their goals.

Not sure mental toughness got me to the podium at the Girls Scout Olympics or not…

Only when I started to write this blog about mental toughness did I start to realize that despite having some serious determination, resolve, dedication and willpower in a lot of areas of my life, particularly my training (you can’t survive Ironman training without a healthy dose of these), I often let my fears win over all else. As a child, I tried sport after sport. I was good at some, bad at others. But one thing always was the same – when times got tough, I called it quits. Gymnastics, dance, softball, basketball, track and field, field hockey, even swimming- I never really achieved any sort of potential in any sport. One gymnastics coach saying I wasn’t ready to move up to the next level, and I quit. One too many softballs to the face and I was done (or at least hid in outfield since my parents wouldn’t let me quit halfway through). As soon as I realized I wasn’t one of the best or that I could get hurt, I figured I lacked some sort of innate talent that my peers who were good at the sport all certainly had and said peace out (this also proves that even as a child I was super competitive).

On The Block at a Swim Meet in High School

Luckily enough for me, I was usually naturally good enough at school to do well so I never quit that. In school, I was confident. In sports, I was not. I knew I could play but I also felt like I’d never be the best. Even after winning the divisional championship in the 50 meter breaststroke my freshman year, I still felt like I was a fake since I wasn’t favored to win (I was seeded 4^th). By the time sophomore year came around, I’d lost the confidence I had earned at that final swim meet and didn’t want to dig down deep and get really good at swimming. I wasn’t sure I could even if I tried. And I never did.

I played Field Hockey for 2 years in High School – I stayed back on JV to “have fun” with a friend my senior year and was team captain (Yes, I also had blonde hair!)

Over the last few years I’ve come to consider myself an athlete. A runner. At triathlete. I appreciate my body for what it can do and wonder what I could have done in the past had I applied it right. I’m proud of myself. However, I still compare my performance to others. Instead of focusing on the fact that 90% of people who run a marathon are slower than me, I compare myself to the 10% who are faster. When reading fellow blogger’s race recaps, I wonder why I can’t miraculously bust out 6:45 min/miles in a half marathon. I have to remind myself that I can now run 7:45 min/miles in a half marathon and just a few years ago I ran a half marathon at over a 10 minute mile! What pace was once a struggle to maintain during just one 800 interval is now half marathon race pace. If I look at it that way, 6:45 seems pretty damn close!

SD Half Marathon – Running Faster Than I Ever Imagined I Could!

It’s all about HOW you chose to look at thing. In 2008 after a bad breakup I went through a rough time in my life, questioning who am I, what do I want, where do I want to go?! I recognized that my thoughts were increasingly negative and it was affecting others in my life. I read the book “The Secret” which is based on the premise that if you send positive energy into the universe, you can create your own destiny. Although I’m not sure I believe I can wish myself into my dream life, I took away a lot from that book. I now believe I can shape my life by shaping my thoughts. How you react to a situation is what makes it “good” or “bad.” As a child, I threw fits quite often – I’d ruin my own day (and my mom’s – sorry Mom!) by crying my face off. After reading this book as well as a couple other self-help books, I came to the realization that I was in control of my life via my thoughts. I could sit in traffic and huff and puff and bitch about it, or I could turn up the music or call a friend and enjoy the ride. I could focus on being alone or I could focus on being completely independent for the first time. That year was a rough one but I learned so much and I changed as a person. I became a happier person just by shifting the way I looked at things. I wasn’t easy and I’m still not perfect at it.

I’ve come a long way since my childhood tantrums and boo-hoo breakup of 2008 and I’m sure I have plenty more hard times to learn from. The lessons I’ve learned so far about mental toughness in life can easily be translated to running races. When my legs are sore, I’ll think “you’re running a marathon, your legs are supposed to hurt.” When my lungs are burning I’ll think “good thing you did those crazy treadmill hill repeats.” When I wake up on race day after a restless night, I’ll think “It just means your body is excited and ready to go!” If the pace group passes me I’ll think “You will catch them.” If I have a cramp in my side, I’ll tell myself that it will pass. When I begin to wonder why in the world I’d ever put myself through 26.2 miles of hell, I’ll think “Because you LOVE to run.” And I do.

I am a runner!

Mental toughness is about taking every negative thought that even tries to enter your mind and pushing it away immediately. Not letting these thoughts fester is the key to success. Recognizing that negative thoughts WILL try to intrude is even more important. So how do we become mentally tough? Practice makes perfect. I have actively tried to focus on the positive and push all negative thoughts out of my mind during all training runs and during any thoughts I have about the race. It’s much easier for me to make up excuses for possible failure in advance than it is to embrace a goal and make it your mission. In the past I’ve made up excuses before races even started and then as soon as the going gets tough, I cling to those excuses and let them take me down. Not anymore. It’s time to focus on the good and forget about the bad.

What have you learned about yourself and mental toughness? Are there certain situations that you find yourself more likely to give up during?

February 10, 2014 By fitnessfatale 7 Comments

Peak Marathon Training Week

Longest run of the training cycle complete!

Although this training cycle wasn’t traditional – a tad short, interrupted by an injury and included only two uninterrupted long runs over 16 miles, I feel good about it. My ankle seems to be on the final stretch of recovery (it does not hurt but there is a tiny bit of swelling remaining which I am still icing/wrapping/massaging) and I’ve had some solid training weeks. Even during the weeks I was sidelined from traditional marathon training I was able to get in some quality workouts on the bike and in the pool which helped maintain (and according to Maria, even boost, my fitness!).

New cubicle inspiration

Sometimes little thoughts poke into my head reminding me that I never ran 20 miles (today 19.5), I didn’t have any training weeks even close to 40 miles, let alone the 50 I have done in the past, and that I spent the majority of my training plodding along at in the high 9/low 10 min/miles. I try to banish these thoughts and immediately replace them with things like:

I never had such an amazing coach before.
Last marathon training cycle, I never got on the bike and now I get that bonus endurance session without the impact of pounding on my body twice a week.
For my last two marathons I did not maintain a solid core/strength workout routine though training and now I can maintain a 5 minute plank (I did it!) and I go to Pilates twice a week.
I have the mitochondria army thing going for me (heart rate training).
I’ve never consistently done so much hill work before (and the race is a net decline!).
I have been practicing my nutrition and have added more calories pre-race to ensure I get the fuel I need.
Those things I did before – they didn’t get me a BQ – so why repeat what didn’t work!?

5 minute plank happiness!

Today’s long run was rough – there were definitely highs and lows over the past week of training. Last Saturday I had an EXCELLENT long run. I ran 17.5 miles, 10 of which were with a good friend and the miles flew by. It was my first long run post ankle injury (the previous week I ran 90 min plus 1 hour elliptical) and I felt great. I was by far my fastest Zone 2 long run and I felt amazing at the end – it literally barely wiped me out. I felt strong!

After a rest day Monday, Tuesday continued to be a great training day. I had a good Pilates session in the morning and then did a 45 minute run at lunch on the trails near my office. It felt effortless to maintain a 9:20 pace in Zone 2 and I felt great! Tuesday night Mike and I celebrated 4 years since our first date by going back to Turquoise Bar, a Spanish tapas and wine restaurant where we first laid eyes on each other. It was a great night!

Wednesday’s run was probably one of the hardest workouts of my life, excluding races. Maria put me through a torture chamber treadmill hill “repeat” workout which to me, didn’t involve repeats since there was no rest (1/4 mile increments at a 7:50 min/mile moving from 3% to 6% to 9% grade on the treadmill and back down). By the last 9% grade interval, my heart rate got up to 193 (that’s pretty close to my max). It was a killer and my whole body was exhausted. And it was supposed to be, according to Maria. I finished it up with the partial squats Maria has me to do after all long and hard runs (elevate heels and squat as many times as possible to failure – it targets the quads, making them ready for the net decline at Phoenix) and an ab workout. I had a moment of weakness in my workout where I gave up for a minute and slowed way down, but I got back up and made up for the time I had lost. It was a hard workout and I did conquer it.

Thursday morning’s 6 a.m. Pilates class was a slogfest for me. I was exhausted from the prior night’s workout and of course class happened to be very leg and glute focused! I got through it and went to work for a 10 hour workday. I almost skipped my easy spin that night on the trainer since I got home late, but I convinced myself to spin my legs out for at least 10 minutes and ended up completing the full 45 minute workout and feeling way better. Friday morning, I had a 60 minute run with a 15 minute tempo finish and it wasn’t pretty. My energy was low, my legs were heavy and those 15 minutes were no where near my tempo (or even goal race) pace. I knew I needed rest!

Luckily I was able to sleep 11 hours Friday night and felt good for my 60 minute spin on Saturday plus ab workout (I did p90X Ab Ripper and it felt EASY! This is how I know my core is ready to keep me going for 26.2 miles in Phoenix). I took it easy Saturday and practiced my pre-race nutrition, treating Sunday’s training run as a trial run for the race. Mike did a local half marathon so I woke up with him and went to the start (luckily it was an 8 a.m. start) and warmed up, used the portopotties – basically acted like I was doing a race too! I wore my race outfit but swapped out my Oiselle team singlet for my new Oiselle burnout tank (love it!).

Set everything out just like race day!

At Mike’s race start – pretending I was racing too.

I left on my own and ran the very hilly 19.5 mile route I had mapped for myself, running up and practically over Torrey Pines before turning around and heading back to Encinitas. I practice my race nutrition and tried not to focus on pace too much. My legs were heavy from the week behind me and after the pounding they endured climbing up Torrey and then running fast down it , they were toasty. This was a great run for mental toughness for me. I rarely run this long alone – 3 hours in your own head is a long time. Not to mention, the achy legs and side stich that followed me from miles 12-16. Maria had instructed me to pick it up to goal race pace for the final 15 minutes and based on the way I was feeling leading up to that point, I wasn’t sure it would happen. But, I decided to at least try.

Just the first 1/4 mile of Torrey Pines – doesn’t really capture the full hill

Ironically, I felt SO much better running faster. The pace I’d been holding was putting my legs in one motion and the faster pace put them in another. My heart rate was just fine cruising at goal pace and my legs actually felt quite fresh. I ran home fast and felt good – the terrible feelings I’d had just a few miles back were forgotten and replaced with strength. I reminded myself that this can happen and WILL happen in the race- there will be moments of doubt, moments of weakness. When those moments come up, I’ll remember how I finished strong at the Holiday Half and during today’s run. That realization during my run today was probably more valuable than the 19.5 miles or the nearly 2,000 feet of climbing and ascending I did.

So now we taper! Maria still has few hard workouts left in her bag of tricks (mile repeats Wednesday, tempo long run Sunday) but the hardest work is behind me. It’s time to treat my body well and have confidence in the training. Then we can let the mitochondria out for a victory lap.

Do you try to simulate race day with a practice long run? Do you practice your nutrition as you will on race day before and during long runs or switch it up at all?

February 6, 2014 By fitnessfatale 10 Comments

How Your Cycle Affects Training and Racing

Runners have to deal with a lot of factors that go into their training and race performances – weather, dehydration, fueling, humidity, sleep patterns, recovery. There’s a lot of reasons why one run might feel like you’re running on the moon and another feels like you’re running through quicksand. However, women have yet another factor to consider which most of us probably don’t even think about – our menstrual cycle.

I’m 30 and honestly, a lot of my friends are trying or having babies! Because of that, I’ve heard plenty lately about the different phases of the menstrual cycle. With all this talk, I wondered how these phases may also affect training. While doing P90X I had read that women on birth control get different results from strength training than women not on it and I remembered reading about how your period can affect your energy levels. I figured this also probably affected running and I was right. Running and important race at the wrong time of the month can make the difference between a PR and disappointment.

The Phases of the Menstrual Cycle

The two most important hormones that affect our bodies and our training during our menstrual cycle are progesterone and estrogen. High estrogen levels are associated with better athletic, specifically endurance, performances and higher progesterone levels are associated with worse performances.

The two main phases of the menstrual cycle are the Follicular Phase and the Luteal Phase. The Follicular Phase begins at menstruation (Day 1) and ends at ovulation (varies from woman to women and can be anywhere between day 11 to 21). The Luteal Phase begins after ovulation and lasts until menstruation. The entire cycle typically lasts 24-32 days, depending on the woman.

Luteal Phase – Tread Lightly

Let’s get the bad news out of the way. The second half of your cycle is the hardest time to train or race, especially the week leading up to menstruation. Progesterone is at its height during the week before your period and then will drop off when menstruation begins.

Due to high progesterone levels, your natural body temperature is higher during this phase. This rise in temperature makes it harder for your body to cool yourself off, which means that racing in hot weather or humidity will be especially taxing. Another fun side effect of high progesterone levels are a lack of energy and bloating caused by imbalanced electrolyte levels. Oh yeah, and all the other symptoms of PMS that we love.

Although it might seem worse, your body actually operates better during menstruation than it would during the week before your period due to the drop in progesterone that takes you out of the luteal phase into the follicular phase.

Follicular Phase – HECK YES

The follicular phase is your best friend for racing and training. During the days post menstruation but before ovulation, your estrogen levels are highest. And high estrogen levels are associated with using FAT for fuel instead of carbohydrates. As we all know, the key to success in a marathon or other endurance event is not using up all of your glycogen so that you avoid hitting the wall and continue to have energy throughout. Being in the follicular phase during a race or hard workout will allow you to run harder for longer periods of time.

Estrogen peaks just before ovulation and annoying progesterone is at its lowest – this is the time you will probably have the best workouts. You will enjoy a lower heart rate, fresher legs and a better attitude. And we all know that these self-confidence boosting workouts are the key to racing success.

My Experience

I was reading up on all this around the time of my last two races. The Hot Buttered Run 10k – which I ran 10 miles just a couple hours before the race – was a great race for me. I felt amazing and had a great race despite no taper and a 10 mile warm-up. Later, I realized I was at the tail end of the follicular phase during this race (estrogen the highest). A week later, I ran the San Diego Holiday Half Marathon. Although I ended up with a pretty good time, my energy levels weren’t great during this race. It felt much harder and mentally it was tougher. Because I track my cycle, I know I was in the luteal phase during this race. Although I don’t have a lot of experience so far, these two races seemed in line with my research.

So what do we do with this information? Ideally, you can plan your workouts and even better, your key races, around your cycle. Of course, that’s easier said than done since ovulation and cycle duration vary from woman to woman. It’s hard to know exactly when you’ll be in your “I am woman hear me roar” phase and clearly when you sign up for a race 4-5 months in advance you can’t time it perfectly. But, armed with this information you might be able to cut yourself some slack when you’re having one of those heavy-legged, low energy runs or bring an extra Gu when you know you’ll be blasting through carbs.

If you’re interested in reading more about this topic, here are the 3 articles I used to write this blog:

http://running.competitor.com/2013/03/training/running-around-the-menstrual-cycle_67117

Running and Your Period

How to Run with the Flow of Your Menstrual Cycle

Have you ever noticed differences depending on the time of the month? Have you ever heard anything about how menstrual cycle affects training?

February 2, 2014 By fitnessfatale 9 Comments

Happy, Strong Mitochondria Are Having a Party (Heart Rate Training Update)

As soon as I started working with my coach Maria back in November, I began to train using mostly heart rate as my guide. At first, this was a very uncomfortable transition, as I was forced to run VERY slowly at times. However, over time I have grown to appreciate and even enjoy training by heart rate.

What Does Heart Rate Training Accomplish?

In case you missed the first post I wrote about it – a quick heart rate training recap. To run fast for long distances, we need STRONG mitochondria and we need LOTS of them. When we run slowly (in Zones 1 and 2, zones that we can run for a very long time in) we build lots of mitochondria – a tiny army. When we do hard workouts in Zones 4 and 5 (which we can only sustain for periods of about under an hour or less), we make those mitochondria stronger. The added benefit is by running most runs in Zones 1 and 2, our bodies can recover quicker and easier and be ready to really work hard during those key strengthening workouts. Many athletes spend far too much time in zones 3 (during what they percieve as easy runs) and 4 (during hard runs) and instead of building more and more mitochondria, they hit a plateau. The really cool thing about training in lower heart rate zones is that as you build more mitochondria, you can actually run faster without elevating your heart rate, meaning you can last longer. And of course, we all know the key to running a fast marathon is NOT to run out of energy at mile 20. Having a ton of strong mitochondria is what will get me to the finish line of the marathon FAST.

source

My Progress With Heart Rate Training

At first I struggled and missed the feeling of validation I used to have after running “easy runs” at a kind of “fast pace” (i.e. in the 8s) but soon I started to realize that running slower made running physically more pleasant and a little easier to get out the door for. I started to crave my tempo and speed workouts and look forward to seeing what I had under the tank, rather than sometimes dreading them because I wasn’t recovered from all those “easy runs” at a “fast pace.” I started to celebrate small victories like my first Zone 2 run under a 10 min/mile or not having to walk up every single tiny bump in the road during a Zone 1 run.

Now, it has been over two months since I have been training using heart rate. I’ve made big improvements. Maria, my coach, says my running efficiency has improved a lot, even with some time off of running to mend my sprained ankle. Between my first long run and my most recent long run (11 miles vs 17 miles – yes this means I ran 17 miles today pain free!!!), both run in Zone 2, I have dropped my average pace per mile by 1 minute 10 seconds. Essentially, I’m putting out the same effort over a longer period of time yet running much faster.

There are 4 weeks until the Phoenix Marathon and my training looks absolutely nothing like my training going into the Euguene Marathon last year. I am training smarter this year, not harder. I have put my trust in this heart rate training system and have used it with cycling as well as running throughout the training cycle. From what I can tell so far, it’s working and come March 1 all my big, strong mitochondria are going to do a happy dance when we sail through that finish line.