Marathon Monday - Week 9 of 18

"I'm at the half-way mark!" I realized, as I typed the title for today's post.  So far, so good.

I missed posting last Monday because I was on vacation, here, at home.  My mom came to visit from California and we had a great time together.  I stuck with my run training (minus one 3-miler), but swimming, biking and blogging all kind of fell by the wayside.  It was a good mental break for me. Today, though, it's back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I ran a fun race on Saturday - the 20th anniversary of the Maui Harbor-to-Harbor race.  It clocked in at a little over 10 miles (10.55 according to my Garmin) and I was thrilled with my average pace of 9:28!  Running more is paying off!  I felt good the entire race and incorporated some new mental tricks to keep me going in the later miles: keeping focused, staying positive and checking in on my body and how it was performing.  Run tall.  Hold your core. Smile. There was no swearing involved, unlike Xterra.

With a little more than a mile to go, a younger woman passed me.  Usually this is not a big deal, because people pass me a lot, but for some reason I could not let this one go.   I remembered something I read recently, that if someone passes you near the end of the race, do not let them get too far ahead.  Her pace wasn't much faster than mine at the time, so I hung on around 25 yards back.  We got inside that last mile and I knew if I didn't pick up the pace she would think she had it in the bag.  I remembered how Mirinda Carfrae tried to chase down Chrissie Wellington in Kona.  We hit a slight downhill and I lengthened my stride a bit, gradually catching up, then I dug down deep and pushed enough to get past her.  I figured she would push it and pass me again, but I stayed strong and finished just ahead of her.  She came up to me at the water station after the race and congratulated me on the finish, which was really nice of her to do.  I thanked her and told her I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to catch her and told her she set a good pace.

I went into the race with the intention of racing strong and trying to sustain a 9:30 pace.  It was a hard effort, but it also reassured me that I can run faster than I think!

The race was an exchange for my long run for that weekend, scheduled for 10 miles.  I know I'm supposed to get my long runs in slower, and I won't be doing any more "racing" throughout my marathon training, but this was a really good check-in for me and a great confidence booster.

I promise to take it slow at the Turkey Trot next week!

Xterra Kapalua 10K Race Report

Run - 10k
Total Time = 1h 17m 13s
Overall Rank = 260/338
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 8/19

Shoes: Asics Gel-Trabuco

PRE-RACE

The 9:00 a.m. start left plenty of time for breakfast so I had a smoothie: fresh coconut milk, pineapple, OJ, banana, ice and egg white protein. Filled coffee and left the house – it was a little over an hour drive to the race site and I still needed to pick up my packet. 

Got to the race shortly after 7:00 a.m.  It was nice to get there early – I got a great parking spot and had plenty of time to check in and relax before the start. 

The check-in area was quite a walk uphill to the center of the hotel.  I had pre-registered via fax, but they didn’t have any record for me.  Thankfully, I brought my form and fax confirmation.  The Xterra staff made it smooth and hassle-free, which was nice.  I got my bag and number (lucky #300 ) and walked back to my truck.  Turned out I got the wrong size shirt, so I walked back up to registration and they exchanged it for me.  I should have checked before I left, but I just considered it a pretty good warm up.  By the time I got back to my truck the second time, I had worked up a pretty good sweat.  It was going to be a HOT ONE!

Nutrition:  Prepped HEED in water bottle and sipped up until 30 minutes prior to race, then apple cinnamon* Hammer gel 15 minutes prior with water.  *I really like this flavor in the morning!

THE RUN

Everyone gathered at the start.  One of the first things I noticed was that the race was seriously UPHILL BOTH WAYS (meaning at the start AND at the finish).  I was chatting with some other racers then BOOM – off went the start cannon.  Talk about a hit to the adrenalin!

The runners streamed out along the golf course and across a wide maintenance road for the first part of the course.  I was near the middle of the pack and the pace was good – I only had to maneuver around a few runners to get into gear.  We hit the tunnel under the highway (funny course sighting – right about this time I looked down and saw someone had dropped the remainder of what appeared to be a joint just outside the tunnel) then the real trail started and that’s when the trouble began.

I thought that starting mid-pack was a good idea pace-wise, however, when we hit the start of the trail everyone slowed to a walk.  It was a single-track section and there was quite a traffic jam.  I lost a lot of time and momentum here and it was a little frustrating.  Next time I will know – get up front, start fast, hit the single-track, then slow the pace once the trail widens and people can pass.

We finally hit some wider trails and it was a go, then HELL hit us square in the face!  Yes, I already knew:

·         Xterra trail runs were notorious for being XXX strenuous!

·         That the old Kapalua Village course was practically a vertical climb, even on the cart paths!

I knew both of these things when I signed up, but you tell yourself, “Hey, it can’t be that bad.  After all, it’s only a 10K!”  Right.  On several of the climbs I was reduced to absolutely trudging my way up the trail, grasping onto every tree branch I could reach as I went to haul my ass up.  Thankfully, I was in good company with many other runners who had also underestimated the effort required of this course.  I found myself swearing under my breath on several occasions. 

I stayed hydrated through the aid stations because it was freakin’ HOT out there and knew how important it was to stay cool.  Props to the Xterra volunteers – there was a good amount of aid stations on the course and even one guy handing out GU at the last one (SMART!).  I took one, but did not eat it – instead saved it to try later – nothing new on race day.  It was bad enough that I grabbed a cup of Gatorade on the course – I thought it would be OK (I train with HEED and haven’t had any high fructose corn syrup since March), but it tweaked my stomach a little bit.  I thought about bringing my own hydration belt, which I do for longer races, but decided water on the course would be fine.  Next year I will bring it anyway – it would have been nice to have HEED on me for whenever I wanted it.

So, it was climb, climb, climb, climb, climb, then the wonderful and really fun downhill started.  They threw in a lot of obstacles with ducks and jumps here and there, which was a lot of fun for me.  I passed a LOT of people on the downhill, then the course ran along a narrow single track and you could see the beach and the hotel so we knew we were close.  We dropped down into a dry riverbed with lots of potentially ankle-breaking stones, but I stuck to the piles of pine needles and picked my way down to the beach.  The beach run was the first of two heart breakers…it was blazing hot, full sun, and so hard to slog through that sand!  I was really feeling my energy starting to sap, so I half walked, half jogged down the compressed part of the sand as much as I could, then hit Heartbreak Hill.

The last 200 yards or so of the race were up a steep hill on the grass between the hotel and the beach.  As much as I wanted to run to the finish, I just couldn’t do it.  Half way up the hill I almost threw up (and I almost NEVER throw up – it’s a thing) and I willed myself to keep it down because I was in the wide open with the course barrier on one side (behind which were a bunch of spectators) and a huge hedge on the other, so there was no where to go and no way to be discreet.

At the top of the hill the course turns and hits the finish line – so I at least ran that!

I would liken this to what some women say about childbirth - when they are in the middle of it, they are asking themselves "what the hell was I thinking when I signed up for this?!" But after it's all done you say to yourself, "Hey, that wasn't too bad. When can we do it again?!"

I had only been running/training on flat courses, so I was not in good shape for a difficult trail run. More trail running, more hill training, and starting up front would have probably resulted in a better time/performance.  We’ll have to see next year!

Xterra does a great job running races - this was a great day for those with families, too, because they had 10K, 5K and Keiki (child) races. Lots of volunteers. I will do it again!

Marathon Monday - Week 7 of 18

With some creative scheduling, I eked out my mileage for last week by the seat of my pants.

I ran the Xterra 10K last weekend (race report coming!) and, without doing any specific hill training or trail running in the weeks prior, my legs paid for it last week.  Sunday they weren't too bad, but DOMS always hits me worse on Day 2 post-race, so Monday I was in some serious hurt.  I was supposed to get 10 miles that weekend for my long run but I figured the exertion required of the off-road race would equal a 10-mile LSD, so I called it even.  And post-race I felt that it took WAY more out of me than the 1/2 marathon a month earlier (my race pics show it, too, but that's another story).

Last weeks mileage:

• Monday - Swam 1500yds - thought it would help.  It did, sorta.
• Tuesday  30 minutes easy spin on trainer
• Wednesday - Rest
• Thursday - Rest
• Friday - 3 miles
• Saturday - 5 miles
• Sunday - 3 miles
• Monday - 7 miles

Running just wasn't quite happening on Wednesday.  As scheduled I should run Wed., Thur., Fri., rest on Sat., then long run on Sunday.  I'm OK with moving stuff around, A LITTLE BIT.  I figure Hal Higdon is the expert and I should try to stick with the basic plan as much as possible.  But life does require a little more flexibility sometimes.

I've bumped my morning alarm from 4:45 to 4:30 to try and get on a little earlier schedule so I can fit in the longer runs on Thursdays.  So far, so good.

I have a 12-mile run this Sunday ON THE ROAD for once, and with a new running partner.  I'm a little anxious about it, but looking forward to spending time outside and with someone to chat with on these long days.  We are both training for the same marathon, so our training schedules and mileage are pretty close.  She's a faster runner than me, but her long runs are at 10mm so I can hang with that.

The Great Coconut Milk Experiment

Coconut.  One of the (many) beautiful things about eating Paleo!  The only difficulty is finding unadulterated coconut products, especially coconut milk.  So, I decided to make my own.

With Bruce's help, we husked two of the three coconuts given to me by my friend and co-worker, Gina.  It has been difficult to find mature coconuts because everyone wants the water these days.  After several false starts, her and her husband provided us with THESE beauties.

We have worked out a trade deal - they give us coconuts, we give them avocados.  I like it!  The picture above shows one coconut with the husk still on, and two without.  Once you husk them you need to use them - they can leak or rot quickly.

These we just perfect - plenty of milky white flesh.

It's not easy getting the meat out of the shell.  If this was a Top Chef quickfire, I would have lost.  I've got to research to find an easier way to do this.

Here is the meat - don't worry about the dark peel - it doesn't impact the taste of the milk.

Put it all in the VitaMix and blend with enough hot water to make a slurry.

The slurry going into the nut milk bag.

Squeeze out all of the milk - use a nut milk bag instead of cheesecloth.  They work great!

The finished product!  It is delicious to drink just by itself over ice, blended into a smoothie, or used for many Paleo recipes that call for coconut milk.

I'm spoiled now, and only want fresh.  The trick will be to maintain a 1-2 per week supply of mature coconuts.  You'd think they'd be all over the place on an island, but apparently they are one of Maui's best kept secrets.

Marathon Monday - Week 6 of 18

I had this crazy idea that I would post every day in the month of October.  For the first part of the month, I didn't feel like I had that much to say.  Now all the post ideas are piling up and I think this will be a banner posting week!

I've decided to dedicate Monday to marathon training updates.  I'm in week 6 (of 18) of Hal Higdon's novice training plan and so far, so good. 

I was supposed to have a 10-mile long run yesterday, but I raced in the Xterra Kapalua 10K trail run on Saturday.  Suffice it to say that I believe it was equal to the effort required of a 10-mile run, and then some!  (I have a full race report to post later this week.)  It actually felt harder than the 1/2 marathon I ran last month.

Sore quads today, which was helped by a little dip in the pool this morning...only 1500yds.  Today is a cross training day, so it was good timing.

Tuesday's are usually rest days for me, but I've unearthed the trainer in the garage so I can get back on the bike.  I think I'll go for an easy spin tomorrow morning to warm things back up.  There is a century ride mid-November (with a 25-mile option - perfect!), and a 36-miler in December.  I think a little time on the bike will be good, as long as it doesn't interfere too much with the longer mileage I'll be hitting those months.  

We'll see how it goes!

Smoothie Friday: Kiwi Green

It's Smoothie Friday!


Each Friday (for as long as I can keep it going), I'm going to post a recipe for a new Paleo smoothie creation.


Today is "Kiwi Green."


Ingredients:


1C water
1/4 of an avocado
1 small banana
1 orange, peeled
1 kiwi, peeled
2T flaxseed meal
1 scoop egg white protein powder
1C raw spinach
1C ice


Blend on high for 1 minute in your blender.


A couple of notes:

• If you do an sort of cooking, are following a Paleo nutrition plan, like to make smoothies, soups or blended cocktails, do yourself a favor and go buy a Vitamix!  I can't tell you how many cheap blenders I've burned up over the years, and you probably have done the same.  Add them up and you could have bought a Vitamix!  They are a little pricey, but worth every penny AND MORE.  I wish I had discovered them years ago.  Use a Vitamix and say goodbye to chunky, unpleasant smoothies.

• Do you peel your kiwi when you eat it?  I have a friend who eats hers skin and all.  I can't seem to wrap my head around that, but if there's a benefit, I'll do it.  After all, I will throw flaxseed, nuts and other fibrous stuff in a smoothie, but kiwi skin?

Island Life

This, my friends, is a cane spider.  That is MY finger.

I can't tell you how much courage it took me to take this picture, even with the giant spider on the other side of the glass.  Large, speedy arachnids give me the creeps!  (Don't get me started on centipedes...)

They are quick and hard to kill.  They like to play dead.  Then, when you least expect it, they race off.  Eeek!