Kicking Butt with Ryan Hall

One fantastic perk of being on the ASICS Editor Run Team for the NYC Marathon is the occasional shoulder-rubbing with greatness.

On Friday I got to do tempo drills, butt kicks, squats, and other fun warm-up exercises with none other than Ryan Hall, winner of last weekend's Philly Distance Run and the first American to clock a sub-1:00 half (in 2007). Ryan's coach Terrence Mahon led a group of editors through one of Ryan's typical warm-up sessions. I wish I had pictures of the 20 or so magazine types lined up with Ryan doing funny walks and drills across a patch of dirt in Central Park. It was comical. Maybe ASICS will provide. But for now I have this one:

He was telling us how he felt when he surged at mile 8 last Sunday ("not so good"). He later told us that he loves to eat Cinnabon after a race and cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery and in the off-season can pack 15 pounds on his 5'10" frame. During the season, though, he is careful about his diet, only eating foods that serve a purpose, plus lots of Cytomax shakes. And on race morning he has a bagel with nut butter and, ugh, a Cytomax gel ON TOP. Blech. He sure does *heart* his Cytomax!

When asked what he thinks about during races, he talked about his family/wife/dog (aw!), Christ on the cross, all the people praying for him, the other guys racing. Though I totally respect it, the religious stuff wouldn't work for me (plus that image is way too graphic when I'm already one poorly timed gel away from losing my breakfast). But he did say something that I've never really considered, which is to practice what you'll think about during a race. That way, he said, negative thoughts (which he struggles with as much as the next person) have harder time taking hold.

We practice everything else (nutrition, turnover, etc.), and since the mind is such a huge part of performance, it helps to have a handle on your thoughts. Thing is, how do you control where your mind goes?

I tested it out on my long run today and came to this conclusion: I have no idea how to practice thinking! My head was all over the place. At one point, closing in on 2.5 hours, I completely zoned out. You know that bizarre feeling when you're driving and suddenly you realize you don't remember getting from point A to point B? Yeah, that was me today, but running.

Now if I could do that for 4+ hours on November 1, I'd be happy. But I suppose I'd miss out on the whole spectacle that is NYC.

In Other News

I ran the Philly Distance Run half marathon this morning. The course is supposed to be a flat PR gimme. So naturally, I not only wanted a PR, but I wanted sub-2:00.

I started out great, felt strong, got in a good rhythm. And then 14 minutes in, at the first water stop, got caught in a pothole and hit the asphalt.

It was one of those slow motion drops. Even as my left knee twisted and made contact with the ground, I couldn't believe it was happening. And I handled it with absolutely zero grace. The poor guy with the water cup got to hear a string of profanity that he didn't deserve to have blemish his sunny morning of volunteering.

Sigh.

(I will be a nicer person. I will be a nicer person. I will be a nicer person.)

Anyways.

I recovered like a cat after smashing into a glass slider.

That is to say, I pretended it didn't happen and rocketed off with just a quick glance down to make sure I wasn't bleeding.

Hit the 5K mark at a good pace and the 10K mark strong. But at mile 8 the effects of my mishap made themselves known in the form of searing pain on the side of my knee. At mile 9 I had to stop and stretch, and again at every mile thereafter.

At mile 12 I knew I'd need to pick it up to go under 2 hours, and as soon as I did, my knee felt like it would snap. I had to keep it steady.

And it wasn't enough. I crossed the finish at 2:00:42.

After I posted about it on FB, Jenny said this, and I couldn't have put it better:

Really a few seconds one way or the other is immaterial, but to the human brain it is curiously important sometimes whether the total number starts with a 1 or a 2!

Next time, I suppose. But for now, I will take the PR, especially given my little spaz move. By the end my body (and mind) was done. It had been compensating for four miles and I was really starting to lose it mentally.

I'm going to need a serious pep talk to get me to NYC in 6 weeks! I can't fathom twice the distance.

In other news, my husband saw this at his golf tournament today:

The Peep mobile!

 

Don't See These Too Often Around Here

What I saw on this morning's ride:

After I took the picture, the camel reached over the fence for the greener grass and pushed so hard a couple of nails popped out of the boards! That seemed like a good time to get back on the road.

(It was at a local animal rescue called Last Chance Ranch. I see dogs and horses there a lot, but this is the first time I've seen a camel!)

What's Wrong with This Picture?

OK, so I look awesomely happy for someone who just threw up a little bit in her mouth.

I think I was just happy to be almost done with the bike, naively thinking my stomach woes would subside. Heh. And why was I wearing sunglasses? It was raining! No wonder I felt out of it. I couldn't see!

Lessons Learned from (Another) Rainy Race

Well, only one of these lessons from the Quakerman "Mini" Triathlon (.6 swim/38.2-mi bike/10-K run; not so itty-bitty, but whatever) has anything to do with the rain, but I wanted to change up the race report format this time because, frankly, race reports can be a real snore.

Lesson #1: Pack your run stuff and your bike stuff in two separate plastic bags, then pack those in your race bag.

OK, so maybe everyone already does this, but I take a while to catch on to these things. When prepping for a soggy day, I knew plastic bags would be key for keeping my shoes and other gear dry. But I didn't count on how much they would keep my bag organized. No frantic fishing for goggles and gels in transition pre-race! Yay. I'm doing this from now on, rain or shine.

Lesson #2: I love it when a race is just a 10-minute drive from my house.

Nothing more to say here. The reasons are self-evident.

Lesson #3: I can swim.

The swim was my best portion of this race compared to the rest of the field. Out of 111 people, I had the 33rd fastest swim time. That is unheard of for me. But in my last race, the swim was also my best of the three events. Hm. That doesn't mean I'm real-deal swimmer fast (duh). But it does mean I can have lots more confidence when diving into the water, which is really how you want to start a race, y'know? And I wonder how much better it would be if I actually, um, practiced more? Heh.

Lesson #4: Don't eat a PB & honey sandwich and a gel within 45 minutes of race start.

Ugh. I won't get into the reasons I did this, but suffice it to say I tasted them both for the entire effing race. During the last third of the swim I started feeling queasy and had visions of throwing up in the water. I somehow talked myself out of it and was able to make it through the first loop of the 2-loop bike no problem. But on the second loop, just as I was about to kick it up, the entire contents of my stomach threatened mutiny. And simultaneously, my left leg began not to function.

I slowed to a crawl, tried unclipping and stretching my left quad while coasting. Didn't work. I tried sitting up straight. Didn't work. I tried standing. Nada. Then I remembered I had a Gas-X strip in my bike bag, took it and--hallelujah!--it worked, so I was able to salvage the last quarter of the bike. Which leads me to...

Lesson #5: Don't try to pass me when I'm on my way back from hell.

Early in the first bike loop a chick in a YMCA kit passed me. (This race didn't body-mark age groups, so I had no idea if she was in mine, but since the start waves were organized by age, there was a decent chance.) We played cat and mouse for a while until I finally dropped her on a climb and didn't see her again. Until my stomach started to rebel. Then she came zooming by and I watched her gradually become a speck in the distance. Damn. She isn't a faster rider than me and it was incredibly disheartening, but there was nothing I could do but stick to my belly-taming mission.

After the Gas-X kicked in and I regained strength, on the last hill of loop 2, out of nowhere I heard, "On your left!" from a chick behind me. What?! I seriously didn't think there was anyone that close to me at this point and I almost fell off my bike in disbelief. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to watch her pull up next to me. But then I heard, "On your left coming... really... slowly."

Which would have been amusing, had I not already been passed by YMCA chick. I thought, "Oh no you don't!" And I dug in and cranked it up the hill. As I pulled away, I heard her say, quietly, "OK, so maybe not." I laughed to myself and left her in the dust. Hehe.

Lesson #6: Races are more fun when a) you've accumulated a little experience and b) you have friends and acquaintances there.

Gone (at least for now) are the days when I'm so nervous the night before a race that I can't eat and can barely think straight enough to pack my race bag. And I had fun in transition chatting with the people around me. I found myself sharing tips and advice, stuff that seemed obvious to me like, "No, you don't want to wear that ginormous rain jacket that will billow like a spinnaker on the bike" but clearly was not. And sharing only-at-a-triathlon quips about lake detritus and playing the who-has-less-body-fat game. (Yeah, triathletes are hilarious.)

Anyways, despite the GI distress and the rain and, yes, the lake detritus (we all had black sludge on our faces after the swim--blech) it was a fun day. Fellow EnMu Club athlete Jan got third overall in the half IM distance and Chris won his age group. New club member Barbara won her AG and Lenny got third in his. I wound up with second AG in another close race. If not for my stomach, I likely could have won my age group. The chick who beat me (YMCA girl, I think) only did so by a few minutes, most of which I probably could have accounted for on the bike. Fuel for next year!

No pictures from the race to post yet, but here are a couple of Willa and me enjoying the glorious weather today kayaking at Lake Nockamixon and hanging out on the rocky shore: