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5,000 meters
Last night I opened my Outdoor Track Season with a sea-level 5,000 meters. 27 girls from 10 different universities toed the line after the stadium lights lit up the Friday night field. The heat from the day had subsided with the sun and there was just some slight wind.
Going into the race, I have had about 2 months of training since my last surgery and recovery. Normally, 2 months is not a long time to build up both a mileage base and speed. So I wasn’t exactly sure what kind of shape my body was in; I knew my workouts were progressively improving each week and I felt strong and ready. One year ago, at this same invitational, I ran 18:05, and a month later ran 17:50. This race would just give me some sort of indication as to what kind of shape I am in after so much down time.
First mile flew by in 5:43, spot-on pace to break 18 minutes. Luckily I had my teammate Lauren right in front of me to push me the whole time.
For the next four laps, I focused on staying consistent, though the hurt definitely set in. The last mile, the true test of strength, is where the gaps started to form. I told myself to pass the two girls ahead of me, and don’t let anyone pass me. At the three-mile-mark, I was at 17:32. Breaking 18-minutes was no longer reasonable, so I just kicked with everything I had left – 39 seconds later, it was over.
Just a Blur
Finishing Time: 18:11 (5:49 mile pace)
Finishing Place: 4th (of 27)
Laps 10, 11, and 12 definitely tested my mental strength; I won’t lie, I really struggled in the last mile. It would have been nice to have my teammates supporting and cheering for the 3 of us running the 5k, but they were chowing down on the aforementioned pizza.
Give me another few weeks of track workouts and I’ll be back in the 17 minutes :)
Ultimate goal: qualify for Conference Championships in Oregon in May. To do so, I need to run a 17:40 or better in the next six weeks. Which would be a personal record, but stranger things have happened. Challenge Accepted.
Travel Day!
The wheels on the bus go round n’ round….
Yesterday was spent largely in the reclining seats of the team charter bus, on a 4-hour trek to sunny Tucson, Arizona! About half of the track team, including distance runners, sprinters, jumpers and throwers started Spring Break a day early to make our way to the desert and heat for today’s track meet – the Willie Williams Invitational hosted by University of Arizona. Temperatures are rising to the 90s today, but luckily my 5k race will be under the lights at 7:30 p.m.
Before sitting on the bus for hours, I did a nice 30 minute run, finishing at Target to stock up on snacks for the weekend. After reading our itinerary for the meet, I learned that we would be ordering pizzas for dinner the night of my race, and ham-on-white-bread for lunch the next day. (Obviously my coach is not a nutritionist…) These aren’t exactly my idea of “fuel food” so I made sure get a post-race protein bar, plenty of bananas, apples, and oranges, some oatmeal and cereal cups, and pretzels. I did not train my butt off these last 2 months to splurge on greasy, cheesy pizza the day of my race.
Oh hey, desert sunset!
Once we checked into the hotel, the team piled back into the bus for a shakeout run at Pima Community College. Gotta get that blood flowing! By then, it was getting close to sunset. It must have been the most beautiful time to run in the desert; the mountains and cactuses (cacti?) looked gorgeous and I could’ve gone a few more miles if it weren’t a recovery day!
After the run, the one thing on a bus full of athletes mind: FOOD. Since dinner was just at a mall food court, there was some major variety among the team’s dining choices. From burritos at Chipotle to Dairy Queen blizzards, it was definitely a far cry from the pre-race pasta parties I’m used to from high school. I stuck with a much simpler and healthier Mediterranean Salmon Salad – though I’m definitely not opposed to Dairy Queen after the 5k ;)
I have an entire day to relax and enjoy before the race, but honestly I wish I could just race RIGHT NOW. Sometimes (okay, every time) I have a nighttime race, I usually spend the day over-thinking and becoming more nervous; it would be better to get it done first thing in the morning before I have time to obsess over it. I need a distraction, maybe I’ll spend the day catching up on the entire season of Amazing Race!
Luckily, I have been waiting to run this 5k for so long, I feel like I have enough adrenaline to push me through it. :)
Tomorrow I’ll share how the race goes, hopefully good news!
Speed Workout and Recovery Fuel Smoothie
It’s Tuesday, so I must have a track workout this morning! Lately the schedule seems to have track workouts on Tuesdays and Fridays, strides following easy runs on the days in between, and a long double-digit-mileage run on Sundays. This program seems to be working because I keep shaving the seconds off of each workout and I’m really seeing improvement! Which is good because this Friday I will be competing in my first indoor track race of the season: 3000 meters (just under 2 miles). We race at 7,000 ft altitude, where the air is deprived of oxygen and times are a little slower than they would be at sea-level. Therefore we have a “conversion” time adjustment for every distance that has been created to better compare race times from Mammoth to those from Malibu.
For instance, I ran a 5k indoor track race last year at 7,000 ft altitude. My real time was 18:52, but was adjusted to be 18:02 with the conversion chart. A few weeks later I ran a 5k at sea level in 17:50. So the conversion is more of a guide. We have to keep this in mind when we run work outs up here. Trying to keep “mile race pace” for a track workout is a little slower than it would be at sea level.
Today’s Track workout: INTERVALS.
- 12 x 400 meters to be exact. (For those not too familiar with track/metric distances, 400 meters is one lap around a track which is 1/4 mile).
- 90 seconds rest in between each interval.
- Start out at 5k pace (about 85 seconds per 400 meters) and gradually speed up through out the entire workout, finishing anywhere between 70-74 seconds.
- Intervals allow you to run at a faster speed than a straight 30-minute run. Varying between bursts of speed and rest boosts metabolism and builds fast-twitch muscles.
- The twelfth interval should be the fastest!
I love these types of “progression” workouts; it really stresses control. When you start out, you feel fresh and you want to go faster. But you have to run smart to have enough energy each lap to shave off a second or two.
After this long workout, recovery is SO IMPORTANT. Especially considering I will be racing 3 days later and need to be free from soreness and have plenty of energy. Post-workout recovery meals (along with sufficient cool-down and stretching time) are top priority if you want to keep lactic acid to a minimum and reduce soreness.
I’ve always heard that chocolate milk was a perfect recovery drink. One of the track meets in high school even had cartons of chocolate milk at the finish line for racers! However I recently read an article pointing out that chocolate milk contains a significant amount of high fructose corn syrup. After a little research I learned that 1 cup of chocolate milk contains an incredible 32 grams of sugar! Not to mention an equal amount of fat as protein – a measly 8.6 grams. I feel like we can do much better than pour that amount of sugar and simple carbs in our body after an intense workout.
Smoothies are delicious, healthy and super easy to make. I’m a fan of popping them in the freezer for half an hour to make them extra thick, but since recovery fuel should be taken in within 30 minutes of a workout, we might want to fore-go this step.
Into the blender goes:
- enough water/fat-free milk to get it all moving
- frozen banana
- non-fat Greek or regular yogurt (more protein)
- handful of spinach leaves (lots of Iron!)
- scoop of whey protein (to repair those muscles)
- Pinch of Flax Seeds (Anti-inflammatory!)
- Handful of quick oats (whole grain carb for replacing energy)
You can always add in some berries, cinnamon, wheat germ, almond butter, or whatever else your favorite smoothie ingredients are. Just make sure your post-workout recovery snack/meal is not completely undoing your workout. If you are working out to lose weight, you’re not going to want to end a 4 mile run with a 1,000 calorie smoothie so remember to keep it light on the nut butters and flavored protein powders, and go for Greek yogurt over a Clif Bar.
I can do a whole nother post about recovery “protein bars” like Odwalla, Clif, Zone, Tiger Milk, Luna, Kind, and Mojo bars so I’ll save that for later. If you have any favorite recovery fuels, post them below :)
