Training Log Archive: mariaamaya

Well, I can't quite be as descriptive as Sean was in his race recap but I can tell you the highlights or at least what I thought.

It was an incredibly beautiful race and I felt so honored that Sean was allowing me to pace him. To me pacing is really reserved for those that are strong and super fit, and I consider myself "a work in progress" - much needed progress.

Anyway, at the beginning I had a really difficult time running in the dark. I'm not sure if it was my headlamp or my contacts but I literally felt like everything was going blurry and I couldn't see straight. There is a chance that my head cold and clogged sinuses was causing me issues but something was definitely off and I was literally terrified of tripping and falling. This really helped with keeping a consistent pace. I, like Sean, felt very good and fresh - even though I had a head cold. I was ready to get going and start running - thank goodness I couldn't see because it kept me to a very conservative shuffle, which is exactly what Sean needed. And I was very aware of that, it's not like I would have taken off with him but we may have gone slightly faster, which may have caused us problems further down the road, which in essence, sort of happened anyway.

So, here we are (no idea what mile – maybe 20?) approaching our first big downhill and I’m so excited, I tend to love downhills as much as I love uphills. Well, I took off, I didn’t exactly leave Sean but I didn’t quite stay next to him. Up until now I had stayed behind him so as to allow him to pace but see if he would speed up. This happened several times as he started gaining ground, I tried to run a check each time, “am I slowing down or is he speeding up?” Almost every time, he was speeding up, which is when I slowed him down, a couple of times I was slowing down because it was in the dark and I was having a tough time seeing so I let him go and eventually I caught up. However, there was about 15% where I ran in front, this downhill was one of those times. I just did my thing and looked back to see that he was taking it much more easy, so I slowed down and backed up to him. I wasn’t sure if it was hurting him or he just wasn’t used to the downhill – which of course we NEVER trained on. Either way, I eventually slowed down and stayed with him, but ached to fly down that hill.

Thank goodness for Sean’s food packages! Those were the best. I learned this from Leadville, when one of Steve’s neighbor’s crew was literally cooking eggs, bacon and potatoes for their runner on a camp stove. After my three hour vomiting bout, I decided this might be a good idea. Worst case, it wouldn’t work and I would throw up again. So, I tried this first at a 24 hr race in Virginia last year (2015), it seemed to work except for the fact that I still took in too much sugar and started not feeling so well around mile 56. Anyway, it worked marvelous during this race, except that this was the first ultra that I have ever gained weight at, I put on about 3 pounds or so (not a lot except I’m only 5 feet tall – so, yes, A LOT!).

So, we stuck together, took it easy, enjoyed the views (which were incredible) and ran the race. Sean pulled me through the rough parts when I was hurting and I hope I kept him going as it started getting more difficult. I wouldn’t change it for a minute and I would go out there and do it all over again, this time I wouldn’t push the downhill though :(

I did learn a lot about pacing and I'm sorry that Sean had to be the guinea pig for that but I promise to be a better pacer in future runs for whoever has the "pleasure". :)

For me, this race did not feel difficult. Don’t get me wrong, it was not easy and I was ready to stop at 46.6 miles but it was the easiest 46.6 miles I’ve done. The terrain wasn’t bad, lots of good uphills, but the downhills weren’t so steep – which was good for Sean – as I came to find out. Of course, we took our time and I think that made a huge difference. Also, I ate the best I’ve ever eaten. I didn’t have any aches except for a small blister that had I finished the full race… was going to hurt tremendously!

I think for Sean, it was a great first race, especially because it was a full 62, not just 50 – so that part of it was SUPER challenging! But Sean deserved a great finish! He stuck to the training plan and was out there every day regardless of the weather, rain or shine. Soaked and running on a treadmill, freezing cold as he made his way back outside, cloudy and depressing, sunny and unbelievably hot – he was out there. He worked his butt off, he did the work, his mind was in it, he was extremely dedicated and completed the goal. It was incredible to see and I was so proud and ecstatic for him!! He is and should be extremely proud of his accomplishments. I don’t know if he realizes how difficult it is to go from, “I’m training for a half-marathon, let’s see if I can do this” to “why don’t I just do a 100k?”!!

This gave me a goal as well, he provided me the motivation to get out there and run, even on days when I wanted to lie in bed all day. Sean carried me through the last six months and for that I am super thankful! Running is a truly magical and powerful drug that not only medicates but also brings people together to accomplish amazing feats! For those of us that see it, we are blessed to have such a powerful drug at our disposal in unlimited quantities! 

Okay, here I am in Bulgaria! Let's see what this city has to offer for running.

Good running, interesting but more modern than I would have ever expected. Felt pretty safe. Overall good run - just a little tired, which isn't exactly how I should be feeling two days before Vitosha!

So Lauren asked to walk/run with me again and well, how could I say no? She wanted to do about an hour and she wanted to walk/run. However, she started having the dreaded side stitch pain but we kept walking fast.

A good walk overall and a great warm up for a short run planned with Sean afterwards.

Run 1: Partial workout on Tue or Wed - Easy running for 15:00, then marathon pace for 15:00, then easy for 15:00. This run should feel no more than moderately hard but leave you plenty fresh when it is done. This also helps with burning off some nervous energy when tapering.

I went out with Sean to do this one. I talked the ENTIRE time, I actually don't even remember the run! It did seem a little more difficult than the pace listed above! :)

Based on the paces listed below, it looks like we definitely sped up, but not so sure we slowed down.

DISTANCE PACE ELAPSED TIME
1.0 mi 10:21 min/mi 00:10:20
2.0 mi 10:20 min/mi 00:10:18
3.0 mi 09:23 min/mi 00:09:22
4.0 mi 09:20 min/mi 00:09:19
5.0 mi 08:56 min/mi 00:08:56
5.1 mi 10:16 min/mi 00:01:27

Run 2: Normal warmup and cool-down, which can be outside or on the TM. Then for the workout - 3 x 10:00 hill cruise intervals with 5:00 flat running between each. First one at 8:30/4% , then 2nd one at 9:00/6%, and final one at 9:30/8%.

Brutal workout!! So I warmed up outside which I haven't done before, I liked it. I also did my strides outside.

Then I got on the 5 min return to normal pace.

Then I started my first 10 min at 4% but there's no way I could hold 8:30 pace, so I kept it at 10 min pace (6.0 mph), slow, I know.

Then 5 min flat still at 10 min pace (6.0 mph)

At 1.71 miles (17:22 min) I accidentally hit the stop button! Oops!

So I started up again.

The next 10 min at 6% I tried to do at 10 min pace again. Then my 5 min at flat (6.0 mph) again.

The last 10 min at 8%, I knew were going to be tough, the first minute I held at 5.6 mph, then I had to drop to 5.4 mph (11:06 m/m). Tough!

Finally the 5 min break at 6.0 mph

Then I cooled off with 10 min flat at 6.2 mph and then I ran back home (.50 miles) for a super slow cool-down.

Excellent run but seriously hard!

SEE DETAILS BELOW:

0-5 min, 5.8 mph

5-15, 4%, 6.0
15-20, flat, 6.0

20-30, 6%, 6.0
30-35, flat, 6.0

35-36, 8%, 5.6
36-45, 8%, 5.4 (11:06)
45-50, flat, 6.0

50-60, flat, 6.2

Cool Down Walk
5:00 min,
.27 miles