In the old days, I used to post weekly recaps of my training for races (i’ve been blogging for 14 years!) . I enjoyed sharing the details of training with others and I used to read a lot of other bloggers posts about their training too.
Obviously, social media has evolved a lot since I started this blog in 2011, but I STILL go back and read some of my old training logs. And I figured, someone out there might still actually be interested in the details of someone else’s training. So here it is!
To give a little background, this is my 2nd time running the California International marathon. It’s actually my long standing PR race, from 2014, my last marathon before having kids. And its my most memorable marathon, as I collapsed just hards from the finish line and had to be helped over the finish line. I watched the clock go from 3:32:X to 3:35:27, and my BQ dreams go down the drain. My dad snapped this epic photo of it all going down….
Originally, I signed up for CIM this year on a pretty big impulse. I was signed up for Revel Big Bear, which is where I got my first BQ. I was VERY confident that I could run not only a sub 3:35 on that course, but under a 3:30 to get a 5 minute buffer so I could finally actually run the Boston Marathon. Well, apparently the BAA also felt confident, because they slapped Revel and other downhill marathons with a 10 minute penalty.
In my opinion, while they are faster, Revel races have their own challenges – from below freezing temps and snow at start lines, to insanely early start times, complete lack of spectators and boring course, and to the brutal pounding of the downhill course. You have to be strategic and strong. Plus, living in Southern California, there are very few fast marathons that take place in ideal temperatures nearby. The only reason in my opinion you run a Revel marathon is to run as fast as you can. In my case, I wanted to run as fast as I could in order to get into Boston.
As soon as I heard the news about the penalty, I knew I couldn’t run Big Bear. There are too many downsides to that race. Besides the whole collapsing thing, I had a good race at CIM. It was almost sold out and I barely grabbed one of the last (very expensive) bibs available.
All right, on to the training.
Preparing to Marathon Train
I spent the spring season working on shorter distance speed, with the Carlsbad 5000 as my goal race. Looking back, my training wasn’t as focused as it should have been, but I did get faster and set a postpartum 5K PR at the race, running my fastest time on that course (which is actually now hillier than it used to be). In May-June, I took a short off season, traveling to Italy with one of my best friends for 10 days and also going on a 10 day road trip to visit friends and family with Mike and the kids in June.
The Summer Block – Speed & Strength
In July, I started working with a new run coach. This was a MUCH better fit than my last coach & I felt it immediately. Since CIM was still 5 months away, we decided to use the summer to focus on threshold and strength – with a 10K in early September as a short term goal and the Mammoth Trail Fest 26K in mid September was my endurance/fun goal. Besides the annual 4th of July 10K, I did not race at all over the summer, which allowed me to really have a solid 2 months of training.
Mileage: During the spring, I had been able to get much more used to running 50ish mile weeks with ease. This was something I worked on last year and this year I really saw it come together. I ran over 50 miles per week in 7 out of 9 weeks.
July : 210 miles
August: 222.9 miles
Strength Workouts: Montana De Pasqual’s Strength Lab Base Building Track (2-3 heavier lifting workouts a week with 1 core/stability workout/week). My next door neighbor Zuleyma moved back (her family is military and they were stationed elsewhere for 2 years) and I started working out with her in her garage in the afternoons. The strength lab workouts are great for this as I follow them on an app (vs watching a video like I used to with BODi) and there’s quite a bit of rest time to chat between. Having her to do these with really kept me going.
One big change here was that my coach had me doing a strength workout THE SAME DAY as my long run. This as a huge mental shift for me and something I’d never considered doing before. It also made me even more focused on my long run fueling, since I sometimes was running 14-16 miles with some pace work in the morning AND doing a 45 minute lifting session in the afternoon.
Key Workouts
The key workouts during this time were my Tuesday speed workouts. And they were SPEEEEEDY! And unlike when I run with my run group, I was really focused on hitting particular splits, which really felt like they were on the edge of. fitness level. It was also really hot and humid.
A few notable workouts:
July 22nd – at an actual track! (I lapped my watch (vs. using the Garmin splits) to ensure it was accurate ) Workout was 4 x 400 – splits 1:45, 1:49, 1:40, 1:50 and 3 x 1 mile – goal of 7:20-7:30, actual was 7:24, 7:28, 7:28.
August 26th – 8 x 1 K, goal of 7:25-7:30. Actual: 7:18, 7:25, 7:31, 7:29, 7;29, 7:35, 7;35, 7:23
This as HARD AF. It was hot and I remember feeling extremely accomplished after completing this. Basically 8K of intervals at goal 10K pace.
Notable long runs:
In preparation for the Mammoth Trail Fest, which is a 26K trail race with over 3,500 feet of climbing, at elevation, my running buddies and I did a few runs on the good ol’ Lusardi loop, which we’d trained on together for the Avalon 50K. On one notable day, Megan and I did TWO loops, which ended up being 19.3 miles with 2,700 feet of gain. I remember feeling very strong throughout and it was a big confidence booster!
We also ran up and down “big black mountain” in east san diego at the end of August – this was a true straight up, straight down run – meant to simulate the mountain in Mammoth. I stuck with Megan at the front of the group and pushed myself up the mountain. When we trained for Catalina 50K, I really stayed conservative in my effort – and this was one of the first longer trail runs with significant elevation where I really pushed. It felt good!
September: The Racing Month
September felt like a roller coaster. Both in terms of my mileage and my emotions, due to racing 3 races in 5 weeks.
Race 1: Aloha 10K
The first week of September was a much needed cutback week after 4 consecutive hard weeks (usually I have a cutback every 3 but due to race timing my coach stretched me to 4) . And I needed it – bad! Mileage that week was only 32.22 and the race itself ended up being chaotic. It was very hot and incredibly humid, and the course was and out and back on a narrow beach path.
On the way out I was dodging runners, walkers, dogs and strollers and the way back I was literally going against hundreds of runners going the other way. I finished the race disappointed and a little angry. My first sign that I needed an attitude adjustment about racing. My self talk during the race was downright mean and I was grumpy after the race. I really tried to adjust my perspective, but it felt like my hard work wasn’t paying off and it felt frustrating.
Race 2: Mammoth Trail Fest 26K (recap)
This race was EPIC!!! Not only was the race one of my favorite races of ALL TIME – the course was spectacularly beautiful & I ran the majority with friends, but Mike and I had an incredible vacation weekend with our running buddies. I felt very strong throughout and although I wouldn’t say I ran it “all out” – I ran very well.
Unfortunately, the attitude (8,000 feet at the cabin, 11,000 at the summit) did not agree with my sleep. I slept really, really poorly all 3 nights we were there, with race night being the absolute worst. I felt like I was back in the days of newborn twins.
I’d had a very solid week of training the week of the race, but my recovery after the race was delayed. I ended up having to do my long run that Friday (5 days after the race) due to scheduling conflicts, and the pace portion of the run felt like I was in the final 2 miles of a marathon. During my suffering, I started to imagine the CIM finish line and it was here that I started to shift my perspective about the race – instead of being so singularly focused on a Boston qualifying time, I started to shift my focus to looking at CIM as a redemption race – coming back to the place I’d collapsed, to finish on my own two feet, as a new version of myself as a runner – a mom of 3, a run coach, with a lot more experience and wisdom.
Race 3 – Pacific Beach Half Marathon
The rollercoaster continued to dip though as I raced the Pacific Beach half marathon just 2 weeks after Mammoth. Again, with the races being so close together, I was in a perpetual (self inflicted) mini-taper – race – recover situation. My sole goal for the PB half was to beat my time from last year (to “prove” my training was working – not a healthy goal).
I went completely alone to the race and ran my 3 mile warm up (my coach noticed it takes me longer to warm up so she gave me a longer than average warm up) in the dark, alone. I was more anxious than I usually am before a race. My coach had given me what felt like a stretch of a pacing plan. And since I had gone to the race ONLY to run fast, I was putting too much pressure on myself.
When my legs felt heavy just 2 miles into the race, I mentally quit. It was a rock bottom moment for me in training when I considered running off the course and back my car. No one would even have to know. Not even Taylor Swifts new album could convince me to pick up the pace. My brain had mentally turned off and my body followed. I got my medal and cried a little as I jogged back my car. Why was I making racing not fun?
My coach didn’t let me off the hook -she called me out on my mental quitting. And it forced me to really look inside. Why was I putting so much pressure on myself to “prove” I was getting faster? Yes, Boston is a goal of mine, but it was beyond that.
After soul searching, talking with my coach, mike and some close friends, and honestly calling myself out on some inner crap, I decided that I needed to let go of my Boston goal for CIM. I needed to train based on my fitness level & stop forcing paces.
September Mileage: 179
Strength sessions: Montana de Pasqual’s Strength Lab – Base Building
October & November – Training For the Joy of Training
After the half marathon, I was in my final block of training for the marathon. This meant that the majority of my speed workout. long runs included marathon pace.
But now, instead of that being a certain pace, it was an effort. My coach scheduled all my runs based on effort (5/6 out of 10 for marathon pace). For the first several , I didn’t even look at my splits or pace at all til after the run. We also started setting “action goals” for my key runs, based on a suggestion the book “Courage over Confidence” that I listened to during this time. (I also re-read Elizabeth Clor’s book “Boston Bound” which helped as well) . Examples of action goals are “take a gel very 30 minutes” “focus on turnover down the hill” etc. All things I can control, not based on pace at all.
I found myself staying more focused on the present instead of thinking about the future or ruminating on the past. What can I do during THIS run on THIS day? That’s all that mattered.
Another thing I did – I increased my carbs even more. Although I was nailing intra-run fueling on speed and long runs, I wasn’t keeping up the rest of the time. I got more focused on adding more carbs and even drinking juice to get in the carbs I needed to sustain such high mileage and activity level.
When I traveled with my friend Kelley to New York to spectate the marathon, things really started to come together. I had coached Kelley for the race and 2 other athletes I coach (a 1:1 athlete and a Run Strong athlete) were running as well. We went to a live tapping of the Ally on the Run show with Olympian Sydney Mclaughlin Levrone. I ran 16 miles for my own long run on Sunday, along the Hudson river and to the Statue of Liberty and back. I got to see the pros finish & watched a family go absolutely nuts from the grandstands as their loved one finished his first career marathon in the top 10. I cheered for hundreds. runners by name and put in over 50,000 steps.
On Tuesday, I did a tempo run in Central park along the reservoir and I felt myself come alive. I was running faster than I had in a long time, but feeling stronger and better. My legs felt light and my effort felt hard , yet good. I felt incredibly lucky to be a run coach and to have running in my life. I didn’t even RUN the marathon, yet running was giving me so much that weekend. On the plane ride home, I wrote a post about the shift I felt, and I truly felt myself mature into new version of myself as a runner.
These last few weeks of training have been solid. Highlights included a 20, 21, and 22 mile run, all with pace work. The 21 miler was completely alone and I felt REALLY terrible during the warm up, but then proved to myself that anything can change when I finished the run anyway, and even did the marathon effort miles (again, old me might have given up on the marathon effort since it wasn’t ‘fast enough’ but new me focused on effort over pace.
I also hit my highest mileage week ever – 63 miles AND had 2 more 60+ mile weeks.
October Mileage: 229
November Mileage: 234 (estimated with 6 days to go):
Strength sessions: Montana de Pasqual’s Strength Lab – Race Build Up Track (1-2 workouts/week, ideally 1 core workout/week).
Notable Workouts:
Central Park – 11.4 miles with 4.5 miles at 7:55 pace + 2 x 4 min at 7:28 pace.
22 miles with 3 x 3 miles marathon effort on rolling hills course , in the rain (it rained on me 4x).
Race Day Goals
Today begins a 2 week taper – and I’m ready for it. I’ve found in the past with a 3 week taper I get antsy and distracted by the time the race comes, but at this point I’m just in shock that it’s already happening next Sunday.
I feel really proud of my training. I worked hard, but I also enjoyed it. I had a good balance of fun AND training. I had girls nights, date nights, vacations, parties, and adventures with my kids. Megan and I jumped in the ocean after one of our long runs and we drank beers out of the car at a trailhead after our last mammoth run.
And my primary goal for this race is to feel like didn’t give up. That I worked through the hard patches and finished strong . I’d like to negative split and run by feel – not pace. Whether I actually cover my watch or not is still TBD. I would genuinely be shocked if I PR’d – I don’t think I will because I’m not as speedy as I was in 2014. BUT…. I have a lot of endurance. So I’m not ruling it out on a unicorn day.
The beauty of not putting pressure on a certain time is that I can be OK with whatever the race gives me. Whether I’m PMSing (looks likely, yay), it rains , there’s a headwind , or I cross the halfway point & see that I’m running slower than expected, or there’s some other unexpected obstacle, I’ll be prepared both mentally and physically for it.
The race means something new to me. Last time I raced CIM, I was a different woman – a newer runner, with PR after PR.
I was not a mother. Just one month later, I became one – getting pregnant weeks after the race and going on to have 3 babies in 3 years.
This time I’m racing CIM as a 41 year old mom of 3. This time I’m racing to show how strong I am as THIS version of me.
I WILL finish on my own two feet, with the biggest smile on my face. “Because it’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” -Babe Ruth
And honestly, this training cycle was the win. Race day is a celebration.
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