Just Keep Running ~ Just Keep Running

When I signed up for the Tri-Cities marathon (coming up in a couple weeks) I remember thinking "oh ya I've got this!" I've always been a runner and with spending the last year triathlon training I figured it would actually be easy to transition from triathlon training to marathon training; I mean come on it is only one event so much easier than training for three!!  

Now don't get me wrong I am very realistic about the challenges that occur with running especially with running a marathon:

• Running 26.2 miles is a very long ways,
• Managing nutrition,
• Finding the time to train via long runs,
• Bowel issues (because we all know how kind running is to our GI tract),
• Blisters,
• Sore legs, feet, neck, arms, and various other body parts,
• Getting bored after a couple miles and realizing you still have at least ten miles to go...

I love to run and I could still give you a list a million times longer than the few I just gave you.  In truth I was excited to start my marathon training and despite being a bit nervous I am still excited to run the race.  Running is a healing tool for me and the last couple of weeks have been recriminating; just having to focus on one event and it being the one that I find the most joy from.   Now the big question is whether or not I am prepared??

16 miles of treadmill running while on the road for work

While I am a little unsure as to whether I am prepared enough to run my first marathon (the longest run I have been on is 18 miles) I am very excited to participate not only because I believe every runner should experience the energy of running a marathon but also because my parents are going to be running as well.  They are going to relay the marathon with each of them running a half; their rationale being that it would force them to run.  I must brag for just a minute about my parents as they are amazing.  Both work 50 to 60 hours a week and still find time to run, bike, ski, golf (sometimes two of these activities in the same day!) all while supporting my sister and myself in whatever crazy adventure we are on at the time.  I am truly blessed and excited to have them running in the race with me.  

As those of you who follow my articles know I am a strong believer in having goals for yourself and this time is no exception:

My first overall goal is to just finish the marathon. :) 26.2 miles is no small feat and those of you who have completed one know that it isn't always easy no matter how good of a runner you are.

Next I am striving to finish the marathon in under 3 hours and 30 minutes.  Finishing under this time would qualify me for the Boston Marathon a race I have always wanted to compete in.

Secondly, I plan to run a smart race.  For me that means not starting out to fast and remembering to keep my nutrition on par. I have a tendency to one start out way to fast and two not consume any calories during my long workouts and bonk near the end.  

Lastly, I want to remember why I run and that when I am out there on the road it is just me and the road so go out there and have fun!!  

I have one more week of long running with the hope of getting 15 miles in on Saturday and 18 to 20 in on Sunday and then taper off into the 26th of October where I will step up to the start line of my first marathon!!  

What races do you have coming up?  Any advice for a novice marathon runner?  What training plans do you follow for preparing for your race?

Troika 70.3: Ironman administrative body of 70.3 miles

THE 34th TROIKA LONG DISTANCE TRIATHLON

An administrative body of three or more simply a group of three the Russian derivative Troika embodies the swim bike run trifecta that is the sport of triathlons. The 34th annual Medical Lake Troika Long Distance triathlon was my first attempt at the long distance course of the Ironman 70.3.

On Saturday May 31, 2014 at 8:05 am I hoped into the murky lake waters of Medical Lake for my first attempt at the IM 70.3 distance.  For the past year my focus had been on the Olympic distance as Age Group National Championships  continues to steadily loom in the distance.  


Yet there I was on Saturday May 31st with butterflies in my throat and my family taking pictures behind me.  Due to it being my first one I had no clue what I was getting into and merely prayed that I would cross the finish line in one piece.

My Goals going into the race

Me and my number one supporter: Brandon

1. Finish the 1.2 mile swim in 45 mins
2. Successfully get out of my wetsuit without falling over myself
3. Make up time in the bike by completing it in 3 hrs
4. Maintain/do whatever I could to make it through the run
5. Finish the race in 5 hrs 45 mins

The Swim

Swimming is not my strong suit.  It seems as though whatever I do I end up in the back of the pack and after previously barely finishing 1500m at HITS in Napa Valley in under 35 mins I realistically did not expect much out of the swim.  I merely put my head down and kept my eyes on the yellow caps in front me, next thing I know I am emerging from the water, ripping my wetsuit off (succeed in not tripping over it) and hearing the timer yell out 38 mins.  My fastest swim time ever!  I guess the last month of open water swimming in the 50 degree ice cold water of Lake Couer d'Alene paid off.

The Bike

Despite coming in with my fastest time yet I was still in the back third of the pack and knew I needed to really push it in order to gain during the bike.  One of the biggest struggle during races for me is eating.  I either forget or can barely stomach whatever I try to force down.  It is something I have been working on and when I heard my stomach grumble I was forced to choke down a chocolate GU and rip into my Probar Bolt chews.  I am not 100% sure what went through my head while on the bike I merely put my eyes on the person in front of me and kept my legs moving until I passed them and repeated the process.  

Coming into the dismount I saw my dad and sister standing on the corner, as my family had gotten up at 2:00 am to make the 5 hour drive from Hood River, OR to come watch, and my dad yelled at me that there were only 8 women in front of me. 

The Run

Big thank you to the Bowker and Lloyd family
for all their support

So now it was time for me to do what I do best, time to take charge of the third and final group of three: the 13.1 mile run.  Putting one foot in front of the other I tried to shake out the ache from my hip flexors and quads and took off down the three loop course around Medical Lake all the while hearing my dad's words in my head: "only 8 women in front of you, go after them Kayla." So thats what I did.  Averaging 8:14-8:30 min miles I slowly but surely went after every racer out there.  It didn't matter if they were a man or women I was going to over take them.  Upon rounding the corner at after lap two and having caught three women putting myself into 5th place I came to the realization that I was going to break 5 hrs and 30 mins.  

The final push

At this point I was hungry, dehydrated, and my knees and ankles were screaming at me; all I could think about was wanting to be done.  Not really thinking I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and urging myself to continue doing so a little faster each time.  With a mile to go I was averaging 8 min flat per mile pace and begging myself to keep going to the end, then all of the sudden the finish line appeared and the announcer yelled my name and I crossed with a time of 5 hrs and 13 mins way under the goal I had set for myself.

Learning Curve

Each race provides you with the opportunity to learn and grow.  Participating in my first IM 70.3 really afforded me a chance to take a step back and find my strengths and weaknesses.  While it is not the distance I am going to be focusing on for the rest of the season it really helped me to get a better gauge of what I need to do in order to prepare for Nationals in the Olympic distance.

1st, 2nd, 3rd place award ceremony

Goals for summer training

Speed, Speed, and more Speed.  It is time to increase my power and force output, across all disciplines, which in turn will increase my speed.  So how will I go about this?

1. Introduce more interval, and lactic threshold workouts into my running program
2. Similarly introduce tempo, interval, and lactic threshold workouts into my biking program
3. Continue with brick sessions
4. Utilize swim practice offered by Team Blaze in order to help build strength in my swimming
5. Get a better understanding of fueling and nutrition for training and racing.

Participating in the IM 70.3 taught me that despite being an individual sport being a triathlete wouldn't be possible without the support, care, and love you receive from your family, friends, and fellow athletes.  The journey isn't one that you can do on your own it takes a village and a team.  I am blessed to have such a caring family, friends, and boyfriend who's belief in myself has taught me that I have the strength to keep pushing the limits.  

Being new to the triathlon circuit I am still learning a lot; how to fuel my body properly, train most effectively, and my biggest obstacle when to rest.  The process has been a blessed and amazing one so far and I look forward to what the rest of this season and future seasons has to offer.

Hit the Hills not the Floor

HILLS, HILLS, HILLS, HILLS

I believe this is a long time in coming.  It has been a while since I have had the time to sit down and tell you all why the all dreaded running of hills is an important aspect to your training.  For those of you who have been aching to get out there and run some hill repeats I apologize for my delay; for everyone else now you have no excuse :)

Can hill running make you stronger, quicker, and more light footed?

The brief answer to this question is YES! 

Imagine a weightlifter and/or body builder who is trying to increase his one rep maximum weight.  Their workouts wouldn't increase in light-weighted lifts and they wouldn't just do their repetitions at a faster pace; they would increase the weight on the bar.  Running works in the same fashion to increase strength we have to increase the maximum amount of force.  

"Running up hills forces the knees to lift higher, one of the most desirable developments for any runner, because this governs stride speed and length," wrote Lydiard (with Garth Gilmour) in his book Running With Lydiard. "It also develops the muscle fibers, increasing power."

The brilliance of hills comes from their ability to train and target all three muscle fiber group:

slow twitch-aerobically utilized and slowest to fatigue, intermediate fast twitch-producing more force than slow twitch they help to create the long slow powerful strides as seen in middle distance runners, and fast twitch-function anaerobically and used only in short bursts.

Olympic Coach Joe Vigil looks at hill training from an physiological side: "We use oscillatory terrain to increase the athlete's adaptation to stress, and to teach a more efficient use of glycogen," he says. "It also gives them a nice reactive power that improves their running economy."

You may be thinking "I am a long distance runner why would I need to strengthen by fast twitch muscles?"  If you take a second and break down the sections of a race (whether a fun one or competitive one) you find that at some point you will utilize all of your muscle fiber groups.

• Starting gun goes off: Fast twitch muscles activate to get your from a stand still to moving
• Right after the start: intermediate muscles are firing as you get into the groove of the race
• Meat of the race: the most used fibers slow twitch fibers maintain an active state through most of the race as they are the slowest to fatigue. 
• Kick: You're a half mile away from the finish line and from hitting the personal record you've been striving for time to kick it into gear.  Once again those fast twitch muscle fibers take over propelling you towards the finish line.      

As all fibers participate in the process of running it is important to strengthen all so that you have the ability to recruit one or the other when the timing is right.

Ok; you believe in the concept of increasing strength increases the amount of force and power output you can have so why can't you just go to the gym and lift? 

Combining strength work with endurance work is very important and this can be obtained from weight training at the gym.  While strength training through lifting does increase muscle strength and power it does so in an isolated format by focusing mainly on individual joints and small muscles groups.  In contrast hill training forces the muscles in your hips, legs, ankles, and feet to work in a coordinated fashion while supporting your body weight, this leads to your muscles contracting with more power as you continue uphill and in the end results in longer and more powerful strides

MECHANICS OF RUNNING HILLS

Most people are afraid to run hills not only because they can be mentally, emotionally, and physically challenging but the stipulation that running hills will cause injuries.  However, as with most physically demanding activities if you preform them correctly you have no need to worry.   
 Running uphill
There are three key concepts to running uphill. 

1. Keep you chest straight, stand up tall, and lean into the hill.  Think about standing on the balls of your feet and pushing off with your toes.  
2. Eyes up.  One of the biggest mistakes people make with running is general is watching their feet.  Looking down drags your shoulders, head, and torso downward putting your energy into the ground instead of propelling you forward.  
3. Maintain your rhythm going into the hill.  Running hills is all about rhythm, by maintaining your step cadence and just making minor adjustments you will find you will stride up the hill with ease.  

Running downhill

You've made it up the hill (and powered through the top of it) and now its time to go down.  The

key to efficient downhill running is to stay in control:

1. Stand up tall: one of the biggest mistakes people make in running down hills is to lean backwards.  Leaning back causes you to take pound your heels into the ground and have a forceful front foot slam, both of which are not conducive to staying injury free.  Lean forward and let gravity help propel you down.
2. As your pace increase equally increase your foot turnover rather than increasing your stride.
3. Keep your feet close to the ground and land lightly on your feet.

Hill Workouts

Here are five hill workouts as detailed by Runner's World Magazine, Mastering Hill Workouts via Runner's World Magazine. 

1. Long Hill Runs: the staple to every runner's training arsenal the long hill run is masterful at increasing the strength of slow twitch muscle recruitment, ankle flexibility, and stride power.
2. Long Hill Repeats: everyone's favorite.  These force your body to climb the muscle fiber recruitment ladder.
3. Short hill Repeats: here your hamstrings and quadriceps learn to coordinate with each other resulting in longer smoother strides.
4. Hill bounding: great way to build strength and stride efficiency
5. Downhill strides: through eccentric contraction your quadriceps will get a great workout during these strides.

Hills: they are the worst kept secret in the endurance world.  Runners of all ages, abilities, and professions love to hate them.  Choose to embrace them.  Embrace the discomfort, the aching, and gain a strength of mind, body, and spirit.  Choose to be a hill seeker!

COMING SOON: Hit the Hills not the floor

Hill repeats, everyone's favorite workout. More often then not they get avoided. However, I'm here to tell you that pushing yourself up to the top of that hill not only provides you with an often spectacular view but provides you with strength, power, and focus. Find out why hills are an important aspect to your training coming soon.