Leesburg 20k Race Report

I'm a bit slow posting right now. Trying to get ready to fly to Minnesota this afternoon!! I'm sure I'll forget something.

Lask Sunday, the 13th of August, Geoff and I ran the Leesburg 20k (12.4 miles). Leesburg 10k/20k We decided to do a long race instead of our usual long slow runs. We have gotten up to 2:15 hrs running and wanted a change of pace. Also this would be a good measurement of where we are at in our Marine Corps marathon training. The plan was to run the race at the same pace as our marathon goal times. In doing this we could see how trained we were and if we could keep it up for another 14 miles!

Goals:
Me - Under a 1:40 hr time
Geoff - Under a 1:30 hr time.

It turned out to be a perfect running morning. Cool and dry. Unusual for a August morning here, which has lately been hot and sticky by 8am. So everyone seems happy and ready to set some course records. We started out in the middle of the pack since. Here's a pic of the start. At about a 1/2 mile Geoff ran ahead weaving through people. He didn't wait for me like he normally does?? For a second it seemed odd. Why wouldn't he wait? Then I remembered, that's right, we're running our own races today. So off I watched him go... with no effort.

I decided to take it easier on the way out and monitor my heart rate, then pick it up if I could on the way back. Plus it was uphill going out. So I average around 8 min/miles. At the turn around at 8 miles I decided to get serious and pick it up. A girl passed me, so I decided to stay on her. I ran the rest of the race at a much faster tempo. I was doing around 7:20 min/miles now. By the finish line I was exhausted and happy to be done. I didn't have much left in me. Notice how my heart rate kept going up! Guess I'm not keeping that up for another 14 miles! But I got my goal. 1:36 hr :) I could keep up a min/mile for a marathon. Geoff finihed with a great time of 1:28 hr. Here's a picture taken of him close to the finish.

Here's some stats for me:

Miles-- HeartRate-- MileTimes
1---none---7:49.51
2---144---7:51.12
3---146---7:57.36
4---150---7:00.52
5---149---8:10.65
6---147---8:33.63
7---149---7:31.58
8---152---7:31.64
9---150---7:33.52
10---152---7:16.70
11---155---7:18.15
12---154---7:23.33
.4---157---3:11.19

The Core Sweat Group

A pic of the crew Geoff and I bike with. What a fun group! Thanks for letting us tag along. :) I had to do a little photoshop doctoring to include Liza, who was taking the picture and Damian who was at a race that morning.

Exercise
Friday 8/11/06
40min run easy
Thursday 8/10/06
off
Wednesday 8/09/06
4x200@10k pace,2x400@5k pace,1x800@mile pace,2x400@5k pace, 4x200@10k pace
Tuesday 8/08/06
40min walk, 1 hr bike - hills & speed
Monday 8/07/06
25min run

The Haircut II

Haircut time again. It's so warm out I decided to cut if off and be cool. I have 9 months after this to still grow it out for the wedding. She cut it three times. I kept telling her shorter. I think I was warm from my walk over and wanted it off my neck. Who knows? It ended up really short. But I didn't cry. Here's a before and after. Of course not an exact comparision. The before is make-up free, the after I have make-up on.

New Friends

Well we've have a great week of hanging out with new friends in between working and exercising. It's been so wonderful to get to know people around here and feel more connected to the area. Here's the highlights of the week.

• Monday night we went to the 'Fiona Apple' concert at the Wolf Trap outdoor stage. We meet up with Jen and Michael with our picnic dinners and sat on the lawn to eat and watch the concert. Thanks for a fun time! I really didn't know what to expect from the Concert. I had listened to her CD a few times. That girl is strange. Fiona has some major pent up anger, but what a voice!


• Tuesday equaled a night to relax at home.


• Wednesday night consisted of the usual track workout. This time in 102 degree heat! A heat advisory was out and a bad air quality advisory. But we ran anyways. We took it easy by doubling the rest between our 400 repeats. I was surprised, it actually didn't feel so bad. We actually stayed after and talked to Cindy, a coach, about coaching up for the Lake Placid Ironman.


• Thursday night we had Libby and Jason over for dinner. We made food together and then sat around chatting and getting to know each other until late at night. Finally at 10pm it was time to say goodbye and get ourselves to bed before the early weekend. They are a fun couple.


• Friday night was a pool party for the Reston Runners. Great group of people but I think the average age there was somewhere around 45. At least it made us feel really young!


• Saturday was a early training day with the 'core group' of crazy cycling friends from the TriCats (Capital Area Triathlon Club). Another 5:30am morning to get up and bike before the heat. Then a great church service at night. A perfectly timed reminder of the grace God has given us.


• Sunday was a early morning too, but this time a long run with the Reston Runners. Wow, were we tired Sunday. 2:15 hr run. But no nap until after we had lunch with Becky and David from church and a bunch of their friends.
  

I'm tired just typing about it all. But looking back it was a wonderful week filled with new friends. Too bad I didn't take any pictures.

Exercise
Sunday 8/06/06
2.15 hr run
Saturday 8/05/06
56 mile group ride
Friday 8/04/06
5 mile tempo run
Thursday 8/03/06
20min swim - water way too warm
Wednesday 8/02/06
20min warm-up, 10x400's, 5min cool-down

Running + Heat = misery

It jumped to 115.6 F right after I took the picture. Top is inside, bottom is outside. I know it's warm in here but better then out there. What is one suppose to do on a day like today? Run? Ya right! Talk about heat. So I did what I thought everyone did. Head to the pool. It was empty. I guess too hot for even swimming. I tried doing some laps for a half hour. It was like a bath tub. So I tried laying out to read a book. I started sweating. I thought 'Am I sitting in the sauna?'. Time to head back indoors.

The training plan is done. I finished it last week. We are officially in the mist of Marine Corps Marathon training. Race day is 12 1/2 weeks away, October 29th. It is Geoff's first stand alone marathon. He's got some great potential. I'm so excited too see him succeed!

Running + Heat = misery

I bet your asking, how do you train for a marathon when it's that stinking hot out!?! The answer is get up really, really early. And it's still hot. Got up at 5:30am to meet up with new friends (ya for Jenn & Michael & the gang!) for a ride. Good thing I'm a morning person. It was a tough one for Geoff but he did great.

So why didn't I think of this heat thing when I signed up for the marathon? I have NO idea. But I can say I am getting soooo much better at this hot weather exercising. Monday I did my 2 hr run. I started at 7:20am and it was already at least 85 F and climbing. First hour with Genni, second hour with Austin. I felt great the whole time (except for my eyes stinking from all the salty sweat). The dogs on the other hand, were worn out for once. :)

Exercise
Tuesday 8/01/06
30 min swim & stretching
Monday 7/31/06
2 hr run
Sunday 7/30/06
off since feeling sick
Saturday 7/29/06
56 mile ride
Friday 7/28/06
60 min tempo run, 40 min easy ride
Thursday 7/27/06
2300 yrd swim
Wednesday 7/26/06
3 1/2 hr ride, skipped track due to tight IT band
Tuesday 7/25/06
40 min swim
Sunday 7/23/06
2 hr run