Training: Patrick Henry Half Marathon 2007

Tuesday night training group

August 21, 2007 - The last Tuesday night run before the Half

This group is definitely ready for the Half this saturday. They are going to be great!  Tonight we had a terrible thunder and rain storm right before the run.  Some of us waited it out and got a run in through a light rain. It really wasn’t bad, as a matter of fact, I felt wonderful. I was feeling so good running that I surprised myself. The weather report for the weekend is not ideal for a half amrathon, 99 degrees and humid.  Good thing we have been out running in these same conditions all summer.  It will tear the snot out of us, but it’ll be okay.

The people in this group all have great attitudes, never a complaint. They smile when they’re done, proud of their accomplishments and congratulate one another on achievements. How much better a group can you coach!? It’s easy to be proud of them.

The group has been doing fantastic! There is absolutely no complaining from this bunch of people, so different than last year. We start on our run, chat along the way, encourage one another, and always cheer for the last runners to help them get through. Wow, how fantastic is that?

July 31, 2007

Well our luck had to run out at some point and tonight was that point. Clouds rolled in and just as we were getting out of the cars, wicked thunder was crashing. Five minutes later the rain came in sheets. We grabbed shelter under the school portico and watched the storm hoping for it to let up. It took a while, but it did. Running in the post-rain humidity was like running in the tropics. It was unbelievably soupy. It made 5.5 miles feel like 10. We were so slimy after! It’s such a great group of people that no one complained, just hung out and chatted. We’re getting ready for our first 14 this coming Saturday. Keep your fingers crossed for a cool breeze.

July 20, 2007

This is a step-down week for the group. Our long run will be 10 miles and will be a breeze after the miles we’ve been running. The temperatures are also supposed to cooperate and be positively delightful, it almost makes me wish we were doing some of the bigger miles instead. I am feeling a bit pressured by the Sportsbackers group as they are doing their first 13 this week, but I think the schedule I’ve laid out will be fine. It has only one 14 miler built into it, but also a 13 and we’ve done two 12 milers recently. I think the group will be ready, we’re just pacing ourselves differently.

This is a truly beautiful run planned, and I’m excited by it. Here’s one of the places downtown we run past.

July 9 — 16, 2007

Training with this group has been so much easier than the last. Everyone in the core group has a great attitude, even the very slowest runner. She is always a half to a full block behind everyone else, but at the end she always says “Thanks Rosie” and “Another milestone for me!”. We have done 2 consecutive 12 milers, which is a tough run for anyone. These runs have been this groups longest runs yet, so they are continually stretching themselves and are excited by it. The first of the 12 milers was much more difficult as the temperature was a good 10 degrees hotter. I was not particularly looking forward to the second one. One of the more experienced runners joined us and it gave the group a different dynamic which in turn helped the miles peel away.

This week is a step back week to 10. This week’s route is my favorite. It makes a complete circumference around Richmond, crossing the river twice on 2 different bridges. One of the things that I like most about it is the first 5 miles of it heads downtown to the business district that is completely empty at that hour of the weekend.

July 7, 2007 (07/07/07) The luckiest day of all!

Today was the first 12 mile run and it was a tough one for sure. The course was a 6 & 6, coming back to the park after the first 6 to refuel and then a different 6 mile loop to end at the park. There was water along the way of both legs of the run and Gatorade at the park midway. I also had Sports beans for the last half. I felt great after the first 6, thought to myself “This last 6 will be easy”. At about mile 7.5 one of the runners had a break down. Just couldn’t go any further, felt sick, dizzy, the whole shabang. We sent her back to the park. She did not have a good run the week before either, really struggling the last 4 miles, so I am beginning to be a little suspicious about her training. She says she’s done the big miles but it does not appear to be there, hmmmm. My mileage calculation on the USTAF website may have been faulty or possibly my Garmin GPS. When I thought we should have been through, my GPS said we still had a mile to go. I had passed the other runners the liquids on my fuel belt as I felt relly well hydrated, but that last mile, I was as dry as sand and knew I was in trouble. I stopped sweating, and had to dig deep for that last mile.

Em did great, continuing to grow in her training and pushing past her limits. Sje’s going to be terriffic. Jesse is just the energizer bunny to my amazment. She showed up late, caught up, ran at a good pace the whole time and seemed to have some left at the end. Then it was a shower for her and off to work. Oh those young legs will show you up every time!

This new Half-marathon training team is great! Different energy than the last, so positive and fresh. There is absolutely no feeling that it’s a chore to go out there and do a run together. I have yet to hear any negativity even in yesterday’s 98 degree heat. Everyone stayed positive and willing to help one another get through the rough spots. Soooo nice.

Patrick Henry at St John’s Church - Richmond, Virginia

There is definitely more info to come on this training group, and it will be a pleasure. I am slowly beginning to leave the work year behind and remember what life is about. It takes time to heal, but it’s begun.

Training for Shamrock Half Marathon 2007

January -Where in the world is winter???

January 14th - Long run 9 miles

Today’s run was just plain uncomfortable. Who knows where the cold weather is, if we’ll have any to speak of. This is just not my kind of training weather. Today at the park it was 70 degrees and just far too warm for me. I really struggled from mile 6 on. Actually it was mostly my back that was just causing me all kinds of misery.

Earlier this week, I had one of my top 5 runs ever at U of R at night. It was glorious. Cold, 39 degrees, the students are still gone on vacation so the campus was empty. I was leery of running at night there alone, but it was special. A rain storm was lifting, the air was crisp, and my energy was high. I did 8.8 miles and felt like a million bucks. And that was after a full day at work.

Training for The Battlefield Half Marathon

Battlefied Half-Marathon ‘06 Training buddies. Eric, aka E, Rosie, Anetra, aka A-Team. This training run was in 89 degrees at 6:30 pm. Definitely tough.

Wednesday 8/16 Mid-week recovery run

A good group showed up tonight, E, Kisha, Chris, Amanda, Krissy, Hildy, and Lynda. It was energizing to have so many people out. I had in mind and plotted on “Mapmyrun.com” a 5+ mile course but it actually was 6 miles and I just didn’t pay attention to the map correctly. Hildy and Lynda cut it a bit short and did really well. So good to see people out after injuries and getting back into the groove. Chris adds some energy to Eric’s running which is terrific for Eric. It turned out that we paired off fairly well switching along the way to accomodate all paces. We ran up by the front entrance to Maymont and along the state streets. Eric fkept making comments about dragging him into bad neighborhoods and I countered with “It’s a working class neighborhood”. Well it turned out he was right as apparently just before we got there one of the tri athletes was attacked on his bike right there. That certainly is the last time we run up there. Such a shame that the area we can go from the Vitacourse is becoming so limited. We just need to be careful especially in the evening.

This Saturday night is the “Moonlight 4 Miler” which was a fun race last year. The time has been moved up 30 minutes so the end is not in the pitch black. But that morning we have a 10 mile run so I am not sure if I will run it or not, we’ll see.

Saturday 8/19 10 Mile training run and “Moonlight 4 Miler”

It was the Richmond tour this morning for a run. Actually it was a rocky start to the day. I overslept, which never happens. We were supposed to meet at 6:20 and start at 6:30. Well I woke up at 6:21, jumped out of bed, called Eric and said I’d be 15 min late. I jumped into my clothes, ran down the stairs grabbed cold coffee, water, gatorade, and ran out the door. For a change, all the lights on the way to the park were green! I was only 3 minutes late! Chris left Gatorade at th Omni which was perfect. The run across the Manchster Bridge was just lovely as was the run down Floyd and Franklin. We met again at th fire house and rehydrated again. Richie was not doing well, pasty looking and shaky. H said h had really struggled al along Southsid. When we got back to the vitacourse, Richie was absolutely drenched from had to shoes.

Moonlight 4 Miler - I decided to run it. My legs were not rested but they did not feel badly either. I ran the first mile fairly quickly as well as the second. I slowed my pace as I was concerned that I would not make it until the end. I had enough left in me for a good kick at the end, but exhausted when it was done.

Because Lynda G. was the number 2 woman overall, that pulled her out of the age group bracket and I took the first place spot, which was a delightful surprise!

Sunday 8/13 Long Run

Tough run today. We joined Mike’s group today for his route. In a very short time we got spread out over quite a distance. My running bud decided to make a detour to the Kroger. I thought I’d catch up with Richie but he was long gone. Anyway, somehow I became lost up in Northside. Thank goodness for Elaine on her bike because she eventually found me and set me on the right path but that was after I went considerably out of the way. We also lost Richie. It turned out he was back at the park, but we did not know that for the whole run. It was not the way I liek to have runs go and it was too disconcerting to do again.

Because of getting spread out, not knowing the route, not knowing where the water stops were, it was a much more mentally challenging run than the previous runs. That was something We all had not experienced in a while. It’s amazing how running with a group can keep the mental obstacles at bay.

Wednesday 8/9 Mid-week recovery run

Ir was the guys group tonight: Richie, Chris, Eric. We decided to go over the Nickle Bridge to Forest Hill and down to 44th Street to New Kent and back. It was a good workout with hills, which we haven’t done for a while. It’s bad to neglect hill work, but it has been so hot lately that all I can think of doing is just the distance runs and that’s it.

Sunday 8/6 - 14 mile Long run

Okay, so the alarm went off at 4:15 am. This is the sickness of a runner training. I drank a cup of cold coffee, forced myself to eat a yogurt, drank a glass of juice, and out the door. Off I went to bury Gatorade and water on the course and meet the group at 5:30. I have to admit, I was not pumped for this run. Getting back from vacation and then having confusion amongst the group as to what they wanted to do threw off my motivation. I knew what I had to do for the half training and was determined I was going to the schedule I had set out for myself no matter what the others wanted. But as it turned out, Krissy, Amanda, and Kisha joined me on the run. (Richie and Eric were both out of town). I was still not pumped at seeing the group there, but decided to just focus on getting in the zone and making it happen for myself. In a very short time, I was there and things definitly got better. We ran into Mike and his group half way through and that perked me up again. We took beans at about mile 7. They deliver a kick, no doubt about it. They carried me through with energy to spare. My feet started to hurt at about the 12 mile mark, and as it turned out, I started to get a blister. At the end, I had more left and felt great and in a good aerobic state. The run surprised me with its ease. I maintained truly conversational and was able to shout encouragment along the course the entire last 2 1/2 miles. I am more ready for this run than previously thought.
I was surprised to get an email after getting home saying there are 4 weeks left to the half. I was certain there were 3 and had my training schedule in my head to be at the 3 week mark for this 14 mile run. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with being ready early, just require keeping up a level of fitness for a longer period of time. I think that I will use the extra time to do some speed work which I have not done. My concern is I think that there are IT band problems starting. Hmmm, we’ll see.

Monday 7/24 - Last of the Cul-de-Sacs

Good night last night. Again just a few degrees cooler makes all the difference. Hildy was back for the first time and I could tel that she felt good about herself. The group all was there and supporting each other. Nice to build that ‘community’ support. All improved their times from last week. I tied for third place in my age group with my time, so that tickled me. Then on to Richie’s house for a good get-together after the series. Great people.
Saturday 7/22 - 12 miles

A terrific run! I got to the park just on time, having put Gatorade and water on the ocurse, and much to my amazement at 5:40 in the morning, the group was there in the middle of the road laughing and carrying on ready to go. That definatly helped energize me. Off we went. The tad bit cooler temperatures helped a great deal. It was a great course by Eric that kept things flat and interesting. We did 6 before the BPG and 6 after. We had water stops planned right and took advantage of the. I didn’t want anyone to sit around at the park in between loops as I didn’t want the lactic acid buildin g up in anyones legs, so I kept all moving. Gatorade helped as did the Sports Beans that we popped at about mile 6.5-7. It gave a jolt after about a mile and all cruised on to the finish. Great stuff and I am so proud of everyone!

Saturday 7/15 - BPG

I feel I must apologize for the run Saturday at the park. It was way to hot for something like that and completely unnecessary after Wednesday. We should have just had an easy recovery run. My fault entirely. Amanda, thanks for being in tune with your body and knowing better than to continue.

The 2nd of the Cul-de-Sacs should be misery with the heat. Let’s look forward to a nice recovery run that Kisha will map out at the park Wednesday.

07/12/06

Monday, our training group ran the first of hte Cul-de-Sac 5k races together, it is good practice to race and run fast in the heat. People didn’t seem to feel that it was their best run with most going out of the starting gate too fast and not being able to recover enough to run hard at the end.

Our Wednesday night run was a challenge but it looked like all involved felt better going into the run than the previous week. The teps just will not give us a break, with the heat index at 102 at start time. It cooled some as the run continued and by the end the thunderstorms were gathering, thunder rumbling, and lightning motivating us to finish. Everyone looked much stronger with an impressive run by Kisha. So much fun to run with you, very inspiring. We will take next Wednesday as just a fun run with a 12 miler on the following Saturday. (By the way, you can see how Richie gets his advantage running with 4 arms and 3 legs).

07/05/06

Well, we were to have another long-run Wednesday, but rain and flooding cancelled the plans. Hopefully everyone will get in a long run this week on their own. I am off to the hills on NC and have been promised good running there. I’ll get in a long run before the bridesmaid’s luncheon for my nephew’s wedding. It’ll feel good to hit the pavement before having to sit around and behave for 2 days. What’s a type A to do ?

06/29/06

Great long run tonight. We were joined by Richie, Amanda, Chrissy, and Kisha, great group of people! We did a nice 9.3 despite the 89 degree heat and high humidity. There were plenty of water stops, which were needed and an interesting course, which helps keep things moving. Watermelon never tasted so good as after this run! I’ll bring the camera next week to include more people.

Here’s a bit of history

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This is a picture after my first race ever. It was the Ntelos 8k, November 2003. My longest run before this race was 4 miles. I finished and felt great. Doug ran the last half mile down the sideline along side wearing clogs. I thought he was going to slide on his face.

The next race I entered was the Monument Ave 10K. I trained for the race and felt ready. Race day was 20 degrees hotter than my training days and it was a debillitating run physically and psychologically. It took me 6 months to recover my head enough to enter another race.

Ntelos 2004. I had trained much better for this trying to recover from the previous race. here was no way I was going to beat myself up again. I did well and was happy with my finish.

The Ntelos race is always in November. I had been running for a year and a half, and doing it alone. On weekends, I would look forward to waking up really early and heading down to Byrd Park. I got into this habit during the summer months when it is just abyssmal to run here in the south. I’d get to the park most of the time by 6:00 a.m. and revel in the sunrise or the mist coming from the ground. I’m an early riser, always was, always will be, so this was the perfect activity for me. By the time I’d get back home, Doug would just be getting up. Anyway, I’d pass so many intersting types of people at Byrd Park, all ages, all colors, all characters for sure. Many would be there week after week, doing the same thing just like myself. You’d say “hi” wave in passing. Toward winter that year, there was a young large African-American guy out there walking and occasionally he’d sneak in a trot or two. I would encourage him as I past. One morning, I asked him to run with me for a bit, and so he did. He told me that his doctor told him his blood pressure was sky high, he had diabetes, and had just lost 60 pounds walking over the course of 6 months but had many more pounds to go. From then on, we’d try to meet in the park and he’d run a mile with me and then walk the rest. When I was dragging and feeling like I couldn’t run another step, I would think “now where is my big angel?”. Whn he’d arrive, my feet felt lighter and I could run much better. One day, many months later, we hadn’t seen each other in several weeks, then met again. He said the very same thing to me, “I kept on wishing for my angel to come back to keep me going”. You just have to know that the spirit works in all kinds of ways.
Anyway, in the meantime, I had met a running buddy,

Hildy, who had been running for a long time and was a member of a running group that met at Byrd Park that met Saturday mornings. I had seen this group as they blew passed me on the fitness trail, laughing a chattering, as I was usually struggling with my last mile. They were an intimidating bunch, mostly because there were so many of them. Hildy continued to invite me to join her on Saturday mornings, but I would always back off saying that I ran earlier than that.

As the spring and summer went along, Hildy would continue to ask me to join her in this race or that race. I do not know why I agreed, but we decided to run the “Cul de Sac 5k” races together. It is a 3 race series run on Monday nights on the cul de sacs of a subdivision on the other side of town. We went to the first one and I had not registered yet. At the registration desk, you could sign up to be a member of the club as well as register for the race series, so I did both.

It seemed to be a low-key event, which was good for me. The first Monday night was the coolest night with the temperature at about 96. It was a hot run, with a course unlike anything I was used to running. It was a route down 3 uninteresting crowded cul de sacs and around a loop, on pavement which I had not been running on, and so white bread there nothing to spark the eye. Mostly it was just hot.

In the meantime…Doug’s family had come to visit for a fraduation/birthday party. Carol, his sister, and I, chatted about running and casually made the remark that “we should run a race together”, thus the “Schutte Womens’ Run” was born. After looking around the country for a race to run together we decided upon The Tulsa Run, a 15k in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Suddenly, I had work to do, and my first serious training started.
During

Run for Read! This was a race I signed up for as a training race for the Tulsa Run that would be 6 weeks later. It was an 8K that I thoght I knew I could do. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, what had I gotten myself into? Had I bothered to read up on the race, I would see that it was an X-terra which I was completely unprepared for. It was hot that morning and the course nasty. I did it, and in hindsight was amazed at what I just did. The more I thought about it, the better I felt.