Indianapolis 500

However you look at it, I bet that the Monumental Indianapolis Marathon is a least my 500th race - after all, I have been racing for 30 yrs, and I used to race quite a bit.  In 30 yrs, it only means an average of 16 races per year and although I didn't race much in the 1990s (well 6 yrs in the 1990s), I'm betting I still am pretty darn close if not over that mark.  That being said, tomorrow starts my build up to this race on November 2nd. This will be my goal marathon race for the fall, but not my only marathon race as I will be pacing the Leading Ladies Marathon in South Dakota on 8/19 (4:10 group) in what I hope to be an easy pace by then, and I'll re running and racing at least three half marathons and a couple of short races before Indy.  I also promised a friend from Chautauqua (my summer residence) to run Tucson with her and another gentleman from here in December to pick up (hopefully) my 45th marathon and 27th state.

This past week was all about recovery.  Recovery from my 12 days in Europe and that final 12.5 hr plane ride that brought no running but lots of walking and heat.  But I did get blessed by the Pope along with 10000+ Harley riders, so I am definitely good to go. It was a tough few days as I had to unwind this very tight body, re-acquaint myself with hills, heat and humidity, and get back into the cycling thing.  Not a lot of anything this week and a well deserved massage on Thursday.  Tomorrow brings a rest from running day, but I am going to hit the gym and maybe even the pool for a few laps in the early morning.  My first "race" will be the Presque Isle Half on 7/21, and I expect this to be a solid, but not swift effort as the day always seems to bring heat - so much so that they have taken the start time back to 6:45 am! Then I hope to be ready for the little (but difficult) 2.7 mile run here as I ought to take my AG easy (since my faster running partners here are still in their 40s for another year or two) and then the marathon on 4/18.  I expect to be able to get in a great deal of hill work as well as at least two bike rides a week.  And my main goal is to stay healthy - so hitting the gym is very important.

Sure sounds like an action-packed (but well thought out) schedule!

You're bound to run a lot faster now that the Pope has blessed you, right?

Sounds like an exciting race and running schedule.  I'm personally excited that you're coming to Indy...perhaps I will finally meet you!

Sounds like a busy but well planned summer/fall of running. 

Makes me really tempted to run Indy but I'm committed to Hamilton and I will get to meet Nick.

What type of workout do you do on your bike days?  Are these just easy recovery days or do you try to do more than that?

So is there any difference between the Atlanta heat n' humidity and NY or Cleveland heat n' humidity?

nkrichards wrote:Sounds like a busy but well planned summer/fall of running. 

Makes me really tempted to run Indy but I'm committed to Hamilton and I will get to meet Nick.

What type of workout do you do on your bike days?  Are these just easy recovery days or do you try to do more than that?

 I use the bike for recovery for the most part, but I do push the hills as I find that helps.  I also find that cycling tends to help me stretch out.

ounce wrote:So is there any difference between the Atlanta heat n' humidity and NY or Cleveland heat n' humidity?

Yes and no.  The biggest difference is that not much is air conditioned here, so it is hot and humid everywhere  - kind of like it was in Rome.  Also, it comes suddenly here then goes away and then shows up again, so it is tougher to acclimate.

Five hundred races?! Jeez, you don't do anything halfway, do you?

It sounds like you've got a good strategy for getting ready for the goal race. I wonder: with so much experience getting ready for and running races, do you have a set training approach, or do you mix it up and experiment a bit?

That's a busy racing schedule for the next five or so months. I think the cycling will be of great benefit, especially when it comes to staying injury free (assuming you'll be subbing out a bit of running for cycling in order to give the legs some extra rest). 
A Papal blessing can't hurt either!

You mean to tell me you haven't kept track of all your miles and races? I thought everyone did that, or is it just me?

Dave Bussard wrote:You mean to tell me you haven't kept track of all your miles and races? I thought everyone did that, or is it just me?

I must admit DaveB, that I do and have kept track, but until 2003 all of my logs were paper and they are buried somewhere in a box after the last move.  I can tell you that I may actually be over the 500 mark, but I didn't race much in the mid-1990s, only doing 2-3 races per year (spring 10K, spring half, Peachtree, and the fall half), so that is why I'm believing more in the approach to that 500 number.

And Seth to answer your question, some of the cycling miles are strictly for xtraining and some are substitutes for runs especially in the heat of the summer.

Training cycle began yesterday with an easy 40 min run (4.3 miles) and a 16 mile ride this morning.  Now I am off to the gym (1.5 mile run there and back).

We were in the valley picking up swather parts yesterday and took the scenic route home...through Silver Falls State Park.  It's beautiful.  Then this morning I picked up the RaceCenter Northwest magazine at the pool.  It lists the 10 most difficult half marathons in the NW.  Silver Falls is listed.  It talks about the beauty but also mentions the hills, wet and muddy conditions, narrow trails and switchbacks.  The toughest stretch is apparently when you drop into a deep ravine, run under a water fall and then face an extensive switchback climb up stairs. 

I remembered you had asked Mark about the marathon and were considering it.  It would be a beautiful course but...

Maybe I will have to pass on that race, Nancy as I consider myself a road runner these days.  I would probably break limbs falling so many times.  

Tough week and I am not real sure why.  I can blame it on menopause (I know, TMI), but that is the only real change in my body/self in recent weeks/months and dealing with it and heat and humidity has not been real fun.  I just need to find the combination that works for me and I've not yet nailed things down.  I pretty much struggled with all my runs this week although the rides were good - so who knows. I did make it through the unremarkable 32 miles, but it felt like such a chore.  I'm just waiting to re-turn the corner as I so felt I had before Steamboat.  

I'm planning on using our traditional 4th of July 10K here as a Progression or Tempo run.  It will be dependent upon the weather as it has been nothing but hot and humid or wet with thunder and lightning.  The crazy race does not start until 9 am which is really quite ludicrous given that it is never "cool"!  At least my favorite half marathon on the 21st has pushed back its start time to 6:45 am given the weather that we have had for the last few years.

Well off to dinner.

I find it always hard to transition into real summer weather and the humidity is so tough no matter what else is going on with my body.

One of my friends I run with just told me yesterday Monumental is her fall race. I hope you both have a great time there and great weather.

I hope you enjoy Leading Ladies! I've heard good things about it.

Michele, you are "from" too many places! Boston, Atlanta, Cleveland... Are you in Chautaqua now? Our ministers goes there to the institute every summer for a while, and I think will be there shortly. Never been, but I hear such wonderful things about that area.

Hope the running improves sooner rather than later!

Ooo. Hot flashes during hot weather? Somebody in my house is going through that right now. Distinctly unfun.

Either way, a sudden shift to hot-n-muggy is a big challenge. Especially running!  (At least you get a guaranteed breeze while cycling.)

Let your body adapt. Hotter weather always feels easier in August than it just at the start of July.

Ah, the cycle of life!  This too shall pass.

Not running a lot of miles yet, but mixing in cycling and a bit of swim mileage too.  Basically, I will be fine for the paced marathon on August 18th, and then I will build and peak for Indy on November 2nd.  It's warm here, but thank God not as warm as New England.  The humidity is the killer though as it never seems to get below 70% even in the afternoon when the temps get up to around 80F.  Like Michael, I have started to carry water with me even for a short run as I am drenched in a couple of miles - and I mean drenched, wet enough that you can wring out my singlet.  This too will pass as I acclimate, I am sure.  One thing I do see is that I am running all the hills now without a significant drop in pace or increase in HR.  The pace might be a bit slower than I'd like, but progress is already happening.  I have added in at least two rides a week and even a bit of lake swimming (which will cease once the algae comes in), and that has been a nice change.

Sounds like we are getting to the time of year where everyone is experiencing warmth and humidity.  You definitely have a lot of racing scheduled during your training cycle.  I have found that I can only do one or two races during a cycle otherwise I get burnt out from racing too much.  Have you ever experienced that?  It's good to read that the hill training seems to be going well.  I think it is essential for leg strengthening/stamina.  Keep up the good work!!

Thanks for the details, 1L.  Not TMI for me.  Keep going.

Nice work on the hills! I remember you'd been looking forward to getting back to them again.

500 races and still getting after it....inspirational. Pretty damn cool.

Thanks all for your kind comments!   And yes, Nick, there was a time when I really got burnt out on racing.  In my early 30s, after all my PRs, I had a spell where I would show up at a race, size up the competition and make myself nauseous figuring out how fast I had to run to beat whom.  It wasn't fun anymore and I decided I needed a break from racing.  Little did I know that the break would end up being roughly 5 yrs with a kid thrown into the mix .  I have re-found my love of racing, but really more at the 15K-half marathon distance.  I can still feed my competitive self with solid efforts even if they are not all out best efforts - meaning I am very content with running a solid pace or fast finish or even well paced training run as well as an all out race.  I pretty much stay away from shorter stuff, and I know I am not made for the ultra stuff.  I do enjoy chasing the 50 state thing, but I also like to try my hand at a solid marathon effort (raced) at least once or maybe twice a year.  I'm not chasing PRs, but I still like to run BQ times (if I can) for the AG under mine (or two if I can).

After today's run, I can indeed say that I am beginning to turn the corner.  I had an 8 am meeting to attend, then a lecture, and then some work hours, so I was unable to get out there until 3:30 pm.  Now temps are indeed cooler today than they have been with less humidity, but it was still 80F with 67% humidity at that time.  I was able to comfortably run what felt like an easy 5 miles in 8:50 pace, and I didn't even know I was running that fast.  My mile time didn't even dip too significantly running up the hill that I could barely crest just 2 wks ago.  Yeah!

Thanks for sharing that bit of history, Michele. It's difficult to imagine you ever burned out, but I can see how it could happen now. 

Good job on the training this summer! You are making great progress.

The rest of the week went pretty well - I even ran/raced an unplanned 5K as part of my 12 miler on Saturday.  There is a challenging little local 5K that a running friend and her daughters were running.  I've run it before, and it is tough in that the first 1.1 miles consists of a 0.7 mile long hill.  The good news is that then you come down (although it is't as long or as steep) and then you finish on  gravel/grass rails to trails that is pretty flat.  I know I'm really not in race shape, so we decided to run to the race, race, and then run home.  Her 17 yr old daughter drove to/from the course (with her 13 yr old) so she picked up.... the awards that we won.....gift certificates to the local ice cream shack.  I ended up running a 23:12 which was good enough for 1st master and 1st AG ( I surprisingly beat my friend by 30 sec, but I am a better hill runner and she was gaining ground).  My first mile was 7:47, so I am pleased that I am not nearly as far behind as I thought I was.  However, the temps were really still pretty cool (73F) with not too bad humidity.  Next week (Sunday), I am running the Presque Isle half in Erie, and I don't expect it to be quite so pleasant even with the race starting at 6:45 am.  It just never is!

Overall, I'm feeling better and slowly bringing up the mileage.  I'm not really planning on running long runs over 13-15 miles before Leading Ladies, but again, that is a race that I am pacing and at a 9:35 pace.  It is also a mostly downhill course, and I am still a decent downhill runner as I am re-learning once again.  My only disappointment this week was that I was not able to get in any cycling as we had a lot of morning rain - I can run in the rain, but I can't ride.

Definitely getting stronger, after all, it takes guts to run in 100% humidity.  6 miles with striders.  I wasn't even sure it was possible - but this morning at the start of our run, it was 71F and 100% humidity.  I survived.  I'm just hoping this stuff is out of here by Sunday morning or my half marathon will be a major death march, and all but about 3 total miles is in the shade at Presque Isle.