Timp 1/2 Race Recap + 26 Miles for TRAINING?!

When our coach texted us the plan for our Saturday LONG run on the Thursday before it I literally thought we were going to get a JK text right after.  There was no JK text right after;).  My coach knows his running stuff more than anyone I have ever met so he has my 100% trust.  With the plan for the day he also told us to listen closely to our bodies because if that workout wasn’t in the cards for the day then we needed to listen to our bodies and follow that instead.  Luckily we all felt really great and completed the workout.

The plan for the day= 26 miles with the race being a solid effort/workout.  Thanks Tawny for the picture.

My alarm clock went off at 3:30 a.m.  I got dressed and was in the car by 3:45.  I ate a bagel with jelly on the way to the race and sipped on a big cup of UCAN (about 250 calories) from that point until the start.  I also took a nanohyr8 and a gel about 15 minutes before the start.  I’m thinking I had about 600 calories before the race started.   I have not always had that much before a race but I’ve found I am a much better runner when I eat more (before/during/after).

I noticed an immediate difference with how my stomach felt this time because I used UCAN on Saturday.  My stomach was happy the entire race and I felt much more of a sustained energy vs my recent races.  I also ate a bagel to give my stomach some real food 2 hours before the race because just drinking things and a gel is not enough for me.  I need some real food but I feel best when I eat it 2ish hours before the race.  UCAN I can take in right before the race and feel great.

The race started at 6 and it was so nice to feel a little cold for the first few miles.  My goal was for a 6:15 average during the first 6.5 miles down the canyon.  They are FAST downhill miles.  Our coach loves for us to get in fast downhill miles because they teach the legs to turn over fast and then with all of the trail miles we do we gain the strength from climbing and get the cardio training we need too.   Out of the canyon my goal was to stick at 6:30 or below.  I ended up going more off of feel (which ended up a little faster) than paces because I knew we still had 13 miles to run after the race so I wanted to stay in the ‘hard but still kind of comfortable stage’ the entire race.

It was raining for the first few miles but it was much cooler than the previous days.  It was very humid (for Utah) but the cooler temps made it so much more bearable.  At one point Emilee and I both slipped on cherries that got really wet/mushy and had fallen from the trees above the sidewalk and covered the entire sidewalk.  I’m very glad we didn’t fall but those cherries created an obstacle course feel for a second haha.

Picture from this race in 2018 when I saw the family at about this same place on the course.  I was so happy that they were all there on Saturday because Andrew was supposed to work but he was put on call and that meant he could be there.  Seeing them pumps me up every single time.

I was in second place until mile 2 when I passed the first place girl and I really wanted to hold the lead.  I’ve been passed at mile 9/10ish too many times in this race and didn’t want that to happen again but also wanted to maintain a pace that wasn’t killing me off (because…13 more miles after the race, ha).  Every time I started worrying that I wasn’t going to be able to hold the pace and finish the entire workout I would remind myself to stay in the moment.  In the moment I was completing the task and that is all I could think about!  Running has taught me how much more enjoyable life is when you keep your mind right where you are rather than trying to predict the future.  Who knows what is going to happen 3 miles down the road but focusing on how you are doing THE NOW brings so much more calmness and confidence.

LOVED seeing Toby before mile 10.

You weave in and out of neighborhoods for the final miles and there are quite a few turns but it keeps things interesting.  So many volunteers were there cheering for us and giving us water.  I took one gel at mile 6 and drank gatorade at each aid station and sometimes water (but mostly just poured the water cups on my head).  There were also mister showers for us to run through so by the end I was drenched ha.

Runner’s Corner sweep!  Emilee got a brand new shiny pr too which was so exciting and Maddie killed it too.

Here are the splits:

There were 1089 runners.

They had Costco muffins which we chowed down on (poppyseed for me) after the race along with a lot of water and another gel.

We hung out for a little while with our families and friends before heading out for the second portion of the workout.

Loved meeting Jennifer and her daughter.

Skye took her diaper off while we were hanging out and it made me laugh pretty hard before I started the next 13.

We left and headed out for another 12.7 miles (we did a .3 mile warm-up before the race even though we meant to do more before the race).  I also changed my shoes for this portion to the Ghost 11s because my hyperions were soaked from the rain and some puddles.

We stopped once for the bathrooms and felt pretty great until those last two miles.  They were a struggle and partly because it started to get really hot.  We had our handheld water bottles and took another gel.  It was so nice (needed) to have Emilee there because I probably would have called an Uber at mile 24 if I was by myself.

This is what the rest of our run looked like.

We stretched for a few minutes afterwards and then I drove straight to McDonalds.  There is just something about their fries and chicken tenders that I need so badly after a really hard effort.  I also ate a bunch of watermelon because that sounded really good after the race too.

A few more random things:

*My grandma told me after the race that she is sure that I’m getting faster from chasing Skye around all day which I’m sure helps but training with this coach and team is sure fun and pushing me out of my comfort zones!

*My back where my shorts hit chafed me RAW.  The shower afterwards hurt so bad.  I need to put dove deodorant (my anti chafing magic) on every inch of my body where clothing touches when I run a race.

*I didn’t do my ultra marathon earlier this year to help out my marathon times (at the time I actually felt like I was done marathoning for a bit since I hit my goal) but I remember one of you telling me that my ultra was going to really help me to do a faster fall marathon if I wanted to do another one.  Do I think everyone should do a 26 mile long run leading up to a marathon (UMMM NO WAY… max it out at 20) but I think because of the base that I’ve had from the ultra and how our training is building us up to a new level, it is really going to help to get a faster time at the marathon this fall.  I remember on Saturday morning thinking about how I used to knock out 26 miles on a Wednesday morning before the kids went to school during ultra training and that helped me feel confident that I could do it on Saturday.

*This type of training is kind of fun for my normal ‘type A plan out every moment of my life months in advance’ personality.  We find out our workouts right before we do them and a lot of the races we have done we find out a few days before too.  Our coach really takes into account what we do each day to plan/adjust workouts and races and it’s nice to just let go of planning/knowing every step and just trusting the process.

*I love how much our coach is having us race.  I used to get sick to my stomach with nerves before races and now it just feels like normal to be at a race.  I also love how good he is at predicting how our races will go and how our bodies will feel for them.  He knew for our 10k we would feel terrible but he also knew what we could accomplish just a few days later.  Hawk is a running genius.  That is all I know.

*I ended up using these gels for the day (I changed my mind that morning) and I just love them.  I also love that when you rip the top off, it stays attached to the gel which makes it easier to avoid littering during a race.

I hope you are excited for any races you have coming up for the rest of the year.  Keep taking it a mile at a time and smiling whenever the pain really sets in!  Oh and all of this summer training that we are doing is really going to pay off when we race in cooler temperatures this fall.

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What is the meal that you think/dream about after a big effort/race?  

Does anybody else agree that McDonald’s has the best French fries on the planet?

When is your next race?  How do you deal with pre-race nerves?

Anyone using a coach right now?  How is it going for you?