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kicksaddictny · 10 months ago

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Nike’s Project Dreamweaver Supports Women’s Marathon Dreams

Forty years ago, Nike athlete Joan Benoit Samuelson made history winning the first Women’s Olympic Marathon. Since then, no moment unifies the women’s running community like the Olympic Trials, which gathers the best marathoners across the United States every four years.

At the front of the pack, elite athletes vie for coveted spots on Team USA. Deeper in the field, women from across the U.S. have trained and competed just for the opportunity to make the start line in the nation’s most competitive 26.2-mile race. The dream: to honor their devotion to their sport and represent their communities on a national stage.

Some two years ahead of the 2024 Trials, the Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier time (OTQ) was lowered by 8 minutes to an unprecedented 2:37. For everyday marathoners, this made getting to the Olympic Trials start line even harder, especially amidst full-time jobs and family demands.

At the heart of Nike is our commitment to serving athletes and partnering with them to push boundaries and turn their dreams into reality. When the 2024 Women’s OTQ was announced, Nike listened as everyday marathoners across the U.S. questioned whether or not it could be done — and assembled the resources to help.

For the last two years, Nike’s Project Dreamweaver supported a community of 120 women across the U.S. and their dreams of qualifying for the most competitive Marathon Trials ever assembled. Similar to Nike’s unparalleled support of its elite athlete roster, Project Dreamweaver was created to offer program participants the holistic resources and help needed to chase the OTQ — from coaching and nutrition to sport psychology and physiology guidance and more. This partnership supported the athletes on roads where they train and race and in the renowned Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL), the epicenter of human-performance data and knowledge.

“Project Dreamweaver symbolizes the powerful collaboration between athletes and Nike, pushing boundaries to unlock their greatness,” says Kathy Gomez, VP, Nike Footwear Innovation. “We leveraged the best of Nike’s expertise, products, resources and devotion to running to provide world-class athlete services. In return, these women pushed us to be better and reminded us yet again of the power of chasing a dream.”

Project Dreamweaver partnered Nike’s world-class NSRL scientists with participants in a shared goal of chasing the OTQ dream. They were also joined by women’s marathon legends and Olympians — including Joanie, Shalane Flanagan and Keira D’Amato — who offered advice, mentorship and companionship throughout their journey.

"We started as individuals with the goal of competing at the Olympic Trials," says Gabi Rooker, a Project Dreamweaver athlete who went on to sign a professional contract with Nike and will be racing in her first Olympic Trials. "We live in big cities and rural towns. We are mothers. We are spouses. We have full-time jobs. We have children to raise and teach. We are completing degrees and getting PhDs. We have pets and multitudes of personal obligations. We are out there for the love of our sport and because we have dreams to chase. I won’t be running on my own at the Trials. I'll be running with the entire Nike Dreamweaver Project beside me."

Along the way, Nike worked side-by-side with the team of women to study their biomechanical, physiological, psychosocial, and perceptual needs throughout the entire 500,000-plus mile journey across 70,000 runs and two years in the program. This invaluable information will inform Nike’s athlete-services model and future Nike Running footwear and apparel innovations that will benefit all runners for years to come. Most notably, Project Dreamweaver athletes were among the largest-ever women’s research and development pool for a Nike racing shoe, testing the new Nike Alphafly 3 in training and on race days throughout the shoe’s development cycle. With a goal of making the new Alphafly 3 a favorite race-day shoe for all female marathoners, insights and feedback from Project Dreamweaver participants ultimately helped improve the comfort of the shoe’s signature system of speed, from better arch support and toe protection to softer yarns in the upper for less rigidity and rubbing.

At the culmination of Project Dreamweaver, athletes showcased the power of chasing a dream. In addition to more than half of the participants reaching new personal bests in the half- and full-marathon distances during the past two years, 15 of them achieved the OTQ and will join elite Nike athletes and more than 170 other women on the start line of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, February 3.

Explore anecdotes from Project Dreamweaver athletes in the photo captions below.

#nike #marathon #kicksaddict

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cmjhawk86 · 6 years ago

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Great essay. The “OTQ” is something way beyond the reach of my 54-year old legs. I feel fortunate to have hit the BQ standard many times, and finished on Boylston Street four times, including my all-time PR in 2014 of 3:18. It’s all about the dedication, the passion, the sacrifice and the support of those closest to you. My wife @lynnucla is the best crew member I could ever have, and not just on Marathon day. These days, I’m not even sure if I will do another marathon. But I’m grateful for the ones I have been able to do, and for all those who’ve accompanied me on the journey. We don’t have shoe sponsors, we just have love and support. Something I never forget.

#runblr #marathon training #boston marathon

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gobigorgohome2016 · 7 years ago

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Cultivating Positivity

If you have talked to me in the past 10 days, you know I can’t stop talking about Deena Kastor’s book.

The truth is that it came to me at a time when I really needed to read it.

From September 2015 – July 2017, I worked really hard on cultivating positivity. Gratitude journaling, re-framing negative thoughts, developing mantras, being conscious of the words I used about myself, and practicing a positive mind frame during workouts were all my jam.

Then, in the fall, I got sick and running stopped being fun. When I was back to being healthy (but not fit) I was so focused on regaining fitness and doing all the right things, that I somehow let the positive thinking roll to the wayside.

And I could feel it.

March and April were particularly rough. How is it possible for me to be living the exact life that I want yet feel so unhappy? Am I doing it wrong? Is this actually the life that I want? What happened to that buzz I used to feel about the most mundane things, like a good cup of coffee or seeing a pretty bird in my yard? I tried reflecting on different things: what does the perfect day look like? Perfect life? I made lists of things that made me happy. Things I could do to make myself happy.

I chalked it up to the long, cold, miserable winter we were still having. I thought maybe my iron or vitamin D levels were getting low. Maybe the mileage was getting to me? Maybe I just secretly hated my husband and was having a 1/3 life crisis?

Then Dave and I got in a fight at Barnes and Noble because I caught him in the self-help book section. I thought he was looking for books for him (and was impressed at his internal reflection) but then he said a book caught his eye that he thought could help me. OH HELL NO.

That night, I picked up Let Your Mind Run, the self-help book I didn’t know I needed (and NOT the one Dave tried to recommend). As I was reading, bits and pieces started coming back to me. Oh right, I used to do that. I made lists, thought about things for which I was grateful, and started reframing the things I had thought negatively about.

Then I read Deena’s chapter about her time in Finland. She, too, had a period of time where she stopped working the mental muscle, and that ultimately resulted in a panic attack (I had one in December). The way she felt in Finland was very similar to how I had been feeling. A lot of what’s the point? and feeling sorry for myself. Within weeks of reframing her experience and thoughts, she ran a US leading 5k. Light bulb moment for me.

My mental game coach and I were chatting yesterday and the chicken and the egg argument arose. Are athletes confident because they are running well, or running well because they are confident? I know that my confidence was at an all-time high between August 2015 and January 2016 when every time I toed a starting line I ran a PR. Literally. I ran 6 PRs from 4k xc to marathon.

My best races and workouts have been the ones where I stood on the starting line and knew that whatever happened, it didn’t really matter. Even at Twin Cities, which was my last chance to qualify for the Trials, I felt an unprecedented sense of calm. I think my calmness surprised – and concerned – my coach. For the first time, possibly ever, I was completely at ease with whatever happened that day. I knew I had prepared to the absolute best of my ability and that if I didn’t get the result I wanted, it was probably due to circumstances entirely outside of my control. I went to bed that night forgetting to even set an alarm (thankfully Dave realized my mistake).

What was the secret? How could I feel that way again? Would I ever feel that way again?

Fortunately, I found the answer in Deena’s book.

Gratitude. Positivity. Removing emotion from performance. Visualization. Maintaining emotional control. Creating a plan to execute [this is a big factor. Up until I was reminded that I run my best when I am executing my plan, my marathon strategy had been to go out and run fast. That type of goal does not keep my brain engaged].

How had I forgotten all of these things I had worked so hard to utilize just 6 months ago? Well, it turns out it’s kind of like those core exercises you say you’re going to do every day. Once you get slack, it’s easy to put them out of sight and out of (literal) mind.

I started with gratitude lists. I was grateful to be healthy. To have achieved new mileage highs in training. To have been able to recognize weaknesses with enough time to strengthen them. For my support team.

Then I worked on reframing negativity. Removing the word setback from my vocabulary. Focusing on what if things go right instead of what if things go wrong. Making plans for positivity based on any circumstances that might arise on race day. Realizing that Cherry Blossom was a pretty freaking great race considering I was at such a low point, mentally, that I couldn’t wait to get out of DC once I got there.

The potentially scary thing about a marathon is that anything can happen. But instead of thinking about the what ifs (what if I fall off pace? What if I start hurting at mile 8 instead of mile 16? What if I go out too hard? What if I don’t OTQ?), I realized that it doesn’t matter. I have full control over how I react to any situation that is thrown at me, and I have learned and practiced mental strategies for whatever situation occurs. I am looking forward to seeing how hard I can fight on Sunday, mentally and physically. As far as I am concerned, the worst thing that can happen (outside of injury) is that I don’t meet my C goal of running under 2:45. What will that mean? That I will have learned something from the race that I can use in my next training cycle for a fall marathon ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That’s not to say that I wouldn’t be disappointed, but without being able to know or predict what I will encounter on race day, I’m not going to waste the mental energy on those thoughts. I’m either going to have a good day, or a great day on Sunday.

I ran a very encouraging workout this morning. I met up with Rebecca, who is running the Mini this weekend, and we did my favorite pre-race workout: 2 x 4k @ race effort with 7:00 recovery. This workout can be deceptive because you *think* it should be easy because it is *just* marathon pace. The truth is that when you’re trying to run a fast marathon time, race day goal pace isn’t easy. It’s not something you just casually run. I would never arrive the starting line of a marathon without a full warm up because I don’t know about you, but I’m not one to just casually start dropping 6:00 miles. RT and I chatted about our expectations for the workout a bit, and I told her I didn’t want anything faster than 6:00 pace. This workout is much better to be too slow than too fast. She said she was mentally prepared for anything slower than 5:40.

The irony of me, pulling us through in 5:35 for the first mile (usually RT is the one to go hard and I’m the conservative one) was not lost on me. While it wasn’t a perfectly paced workout, it was good to shake out the legs and know that I am FIT right now. I know that I can hold a full conversation at 6:10 pace, and that 5:35 apparently feels like the proper marathon race pace. At this point, the outcome of my race is entirely up to me.

I am 2 years stronger. 2 years more race savvy, and I reminded myself recently that I have done something really brave the past 2 years: I have stood on starting lines all over the country with the nation’s best and raced distances that are not my forte, but treated them as though I deserved to be in the top 10. Yes, this shook my confidence a little when I didn’t perform to my extremely high expectations, but it developed my competitiveness and gave me the race experiences that I missed out on in college.

What’s going to be the outcome on Sunday? In many ways I feel like I have run the race, because I have visualized nearly every inch of the course and have acutely felt the way it would feel to cross the finish line in every possible scenario, from 2:30:00 to 3:00:00. I feel at this point there won’t be any surprises, just opportunities.

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johnboothus · 4 years ago

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The Next Chapter for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Is Anything but Traditional

Few wines have a stronger signature style than New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Since the grape was first planted in 1975, it has become a sensation among U.S. wine drinkers — not only for its crisp character and zingy acidity, but for its sheer reliability. Even without cracking the screw cap, it’s a safe bet that any given bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand will be youthful and refreshing, with fresh citrus and grassy, herbaceous notes.

“Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is truly unique and always identifiable in a lineup of Sauvignon Blancs from around the world,” says Jules Taylor, owner and winemaker of her eponymous Marlborough winery. But, she says, “it is not all the same.” Today’s producers are increasingly intent on showcasing that there’s more to Sauvignon Blanc — and to New Zealand in general — than its stylistic stereotype. Untraditional vinification techniques like barrel aging and wild fermentation, offbeat sweet and sparkling wines, and regional distinctions outside of Marlborough are all proving that New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has the potential to be an even more diverse category in the future.

Pioneers of Experimentation

Over the 40 years since Sauvignon Blanc really took off in New Zealand’s vineyards, winemakers have worked to understand the adopted variety. “Our treatment of Sauvignon Blanc has changed and evolved enormously, both in the vineyards and in the wineries,” says Craig Anderson, the winemaker at Hillersden Wines in Marlborough, who has worked in the country’s wine industry for 23 years. Today, most New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is produced to highlight aromatics and acidity, using techniques like mechanical harvesting, fermentation at very low temperatures using commercial yeasts, and clarification and bottling as early as possible.

But this signature style also stems from the natural attributes of the grape’s main production hub: Marlborough, home to nearly 89 percent of the country’s Sauvignon Blanc. Plentiful sunshine, cool temperatures, and moderating maritime influence shape the intensely aromatic, yet piercingly acid-driven style of the wines.

“For a long time, only the ‘classic’ style was being produced,” says Taylor. “That fresh, vibrant, juicy-acidity style. [It’s] the wine that put Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc on the world wine map.” These wines garnered international attention for their unique and distinctive character — a zingy, fresh style unmatched elsewhere — and wineries worked to meet that demand.

Similarly, the rise in new styles of Sauvignon Blanc is partially in response to current market demands. “There’s a thirst for more diversity and complexity from consumers, and also recognition from Marlborough winemakers that the style needs to continue to evolve.”” says Duncan Shouler, the chief winemaker for Giesen Group in Marlborough.

However, winemakers are curious by nature. With more than four decades working with the grape under their belts, New Zealand’s vintners are increasingly willing to push the boundaries of what Sauvignon Blanc can be. “Now that producers are confident of their understanding of Sauvignon Blanc, they are naturally wanting to explore alternative expressions of the variety,” says James Healy, the co-owner of Dog Point Vineyard in Marlborough. “Almost all serious producers of Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand have at least two styles on sale.”

Interestingly, experimentation with Sauvignon Blanc styles is not entirely new in New Zealand. Many point to Cloudy Bay, one of Marlborough’s first wineries, as the pioneer of experimental Sauvignon Blanc winemaking, using techniques like wild fermentation, malolactic fermentation, and barrel aging in the early 1990s. These early experiments resulted in some of the country’s best-known — and more widely available — untraditional Sauvignon Blancs, notably Cloudy Bay’s iconic Te Koko bottling, first created in the 1996 vintage.

Today, Te Koko showcases a different side of Sauvignon Blanc — a serious and complex version that contrasts the bright and clean Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. The majority of the juice undergoes indigenous yeast fermentation followed by malolactic fermentation, and the wine is aged on its lees in a mix of old and new French barrels for 18 months. “This approach builds far more richness, texture, and complexity in the wines,” says Jim White, Cloudy Bay’s technical director, “while the fruit-driven aromas become more complex and some savory, spicy notes start to show.” It is released as a three-year-old wine.

But the team behind Te Koko has also brought this experience to other wild, barrel-fermented and aged Sauvignon Blancs in New Zealand. Healy, who was one of the winemakers at Cloudy Bay from 1991 until the early 2000s, recognized the potential to craft a Sauvignon Blanc in this style from a specific parcel within the Dog Point Vineyard. “That particular vineyard … produced wine with a distinct and concentrated citrus influence,” he says, “which, combined with these vinification techniques, made it an obvious choice to make in this way.”

Healy decided to stay away from new barriques, looking instead to other international, cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc regions. “The idea of fermentation in older seasoned barrels, as is done in parts of the Loire, appealed,” he says.

As much as Cloudy Bay’s early experiments informed the creation of Te Koko, they were also tied to the origin of the Wild Sauvignon bottling from Greywacke; co-owner Kevin Judd was Cloudy Bay’s founding winemaker, and the fruit for Te Koko’s 1992 predecessor came from Greywacke Vineyard.

“When we had our first harvest in 2009, it was natural that we would continue the less-trodden path of Sauvignon and develop our own individual style of indigenous fermented Sauvignon Blanc,” says Kimberley Judd, Kevin’s wife and a co-owner of Greywacke. “[Kevin] preferred the richer, in-depth individuality that wild yeast brings to the finished wine.”

While the Wild Sauvignon is made from the same vineyard as Greywacke’s classic Sauvignon Blanc, the two are distinct. “The result is a more savory, herbal flavor profile in the wine, and a textural quality that builds on the structure and intensity of mouthfeel,” says Judd. “The hands-off process gives the wine some real personality and individuality.”

Exploring New Styles and Regions

Some winemakers are using the country’s signature variety to make wines that are neither still nor dry. “For me, the drive behind making alternative styles of the variety is to show wine buyers and consumers that Sauvignon Blanc as a variety is more diverse than it is given credit for,” says Taylor.

In addition to her classic Sauvignon Blanc and wild, barrel-fermented OTQ, Taylor makes a late-harvest, sweet Sauvignon Blanc in vintages that encourage the development of botrytis, a beneficial mold that grows on grapes, dehydrates them, and concentrates flavors and sugars. The style has been produced in New Zealand in tiny quantities over past decades.

“In the right vintages with good botrytis, a great wine can be made,” says Shouler, who also makes late-harvest Sauvignon Blanc.

Others are experimenting with sparkling styles of Sauvignon Blanc. While many use the tank method to highlight the grape’s intense aromatics, Hunter’s Wines in Marlborough uses the ancestral method to create its Offshoot Pet-Nat. “This Pet-Nat provides a little glimpse at the type of wine our winemakers are used to tasting in the winery, before wines are prepared for bottling,” the winery writes on its website.

Because Marlborough is the center of Sauvignon Blanc production in New Zealand, stereotypical “New Zealand” Sauvignon Blanc is really stereotypical “Marlborough” Sauvignon Blanc. But other regions work with the grape as well, though in markedly smaller quantities.

While nearby spots like Nelson on the upper South Island and Wairarapa on the lower North Island make similarly bright, mouthwatering Sauvignon Blancs, further areas are now defining their own regional styles. The warmer Hawke’s Bay, for instance, has the second-highest numbers of Sauvignon Blanc vines in New Zealand after Marlborough and makes riper, rounder varietal wines. “In the warmer regions to the north, the wines tend to be more tropical and lower in acid, and further south, they are more delicate while retaining good acidity,” says Taylor.

Even Central Otago, New Zealand’s most southerly wine region, counts a handful of Sauvignon Blanc vines among its plantings. “I’ve always portrayed the region as ‘officially too far south and too cold for Sauvignon Blanc,’” says Andy Wilkinson, the director of operations and sales for Misha’s Vineyard in Central Otago. “However, with that said, if you have the right site — one that is exposed to lots of light, both direct and reflected — you can produce the most stunning style of Sauvignon Blanc.”

The rocky soils, longer days of intense sunshine, and cool nights of Central Otago’s continental climate combine to create a gentler Sauvignon Blanc with softer fruit and lifting but less sharp acidity. “The tough conditions that we expose the vines to encourage them to put more energy into the fruit, [producing] few bunches but much more intensity,” adds Wilkinson.

Though these offbeat styles of Sauvignon Blanc are broadening the grape’s spectrum in this island nation, don’t expect that signature New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc style to disappear. “It is a style that is well suited to the geographic and climatic conditions of New Zealand’s major grape-growing regions,” says Judd. “But as the New Zealand industry matures, there will be an increasing presence of what we call ‘left-field’ Sauvignon Blancs in the market.”

While this might worry those who have come to rely on the predictable nature of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc as a category, stylistic diversity doesn’t undercut the intrinsic tie of these wines to their place of origin. “I think that ultimately, this will eventuate into two, perhaps three styles that will be instantly recognizable as [being] from New Zealand,” says Healy. “The one thing that they will all share is an interpretation of the intensity of the fruit quality that we have seen consistently over the past three and a half decades out of this country. It really is unique.”

The article The Next Chapter for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Is Anything but Traditional appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/new-zealand-sauvignon-blanc-untraditional/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/the-next-chapter-for-new-zealand-sauvignon-blanc-is-anything-but-traditional

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wineanddinosaur · 4 years ago

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The Next Chapter for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Is Anything but Traditional

Pioneers of Experimentation

Exploring New Styles and Regions

“In the right vintages with good botrytis, a great wine can be made,” says Shouler, who also makes late-harvest Sauvignon Blanc.

The article The Next Chapter for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Is Anything but Traditional appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/new-zealand-sauvignon-blanc-untraditional/

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endiness · 3 months ago

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i can't help the feeling that irks me that i'm falling down

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ipodanthony · 5 years ago

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As I begin my training for 2020, I look back on 2019 positively. After sitting out most of 2018 with injury after injury, 2019 was a year of redemption to prove to myself that I still had it. 2019 was much of the same. I raced a bunch a races, and I won a fair amount of them. While I fell short of my goal of OTQ at CIM, I didn’t go down without swinging. What I am most proud of this was my ability to push through mental blocks on my way to the three instances I’m most proud of this year: 1. Breaking a 29 year old course record at @toughtopanga on a day when I really didn’t think I had it in me to even run as fast as I did. 2. Top 10 finishes at Santa Barbara Nine Trails, @squamish50 , and @thenorthfaceecs 50k. All three forced me to fight to the finish despite how bad I was feeling midway through each race. 3. Running my 2nd fastest marathon to date at Boston at the end of probably the hardest six week racing period I’ve had so far. 2020 will continue to push my limits as I take swings at longer and harder races. While there’s always a chance of failure with each race I do, I’ve never let it stop me from laying it all out there and I don’t plan on letting it stop me now. Thank you to all my friends, new and old, who’ve cheered for me on the sidelines or slapped my butt during a race. I appreciate all of you and look forwarded to seeing everyone on the trails or roads in 2020. I’ve already lost one toenail so I guess training is going good so far. https://www.instagram.com/p/B6UWIW3HbC2/?igshid=u447p4fg7kdu

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catejwbarrett · 6 years ago

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I got some annoying news today. I tried to get in to a big race, my A race for the spring, but found out my times weren’t fast enough to enter (not that that was posted anywhere publicly... cool, cool). It feels like those situations where you’re applying for a job right out of college, but all the job posts say you need to have experience. Like, that’s why I was going to do the race. But what choice do I have? I have to up my game. . . . Today was the last day of my sales training outside Boston. We finished in time for me to squeeze in my workout before heading home to the airport. I got dropped off in Back Bay, stashed my bags at Tracksmith (thanks y’all), and hit the Esplanade for a fartlek. . I knew I was going to have a bad workout if I didn’t stop my brain from replaying the frustrations of not getting into the race. I talked to myself out loud during the warmup: “this doesn’t change anything.” “This doesn’t determine who you are.” “This doesn’t change what you’re capable of.” . After 15 minutes I’m not sure if I was all the way there, but I felt a little better. . Drills. Two strides, go. Then I started running hard, and the effort blocked out everything else. . The workout went well. When I finished, I noticed how pretty it was out here all of a sudden: cherry blossom trees were blooming, and bright yellow shrubs, and there were gardens on top of roofs, and the pale sun setting. . I realized that how I felt, diminished and upset and fired up, and like my goals are far away, was probably how a lot of people felt about getting into the Boston marathon. And here I was grinding it out in Boston, where a lot of people worked really hard to get last weekend. For me, it’s easy to BQ. Heck, even OTQing wasn’t a monumental feat. But that’s how it goes. We’re runners. We prize what we have to work for. And we’re never going to stop raising the bar. — view on Instagram http://bit.ly/2XovWjC

#Instagram #IFTTT

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kahm · 8 years ago

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Las tardes que me gustan ❤️ #DailyMiracles #Sunset #Love #143 #OTQ #LittlePrince #red #clouds #Bogotá (at Ed Avenida Chile Calle 72 Con 9)

#clouds #love #otq #bogotá #red #143 #littleprince #dailymiracles #sunset

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pearlqueensposts · 8 years ago

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Don’t lie about things, people.

Also, I feel that I should announce something. Just as a precaution, the hypno 'domme' Mckayla has returned. As such, anyone seeking real and actual help in not obeying her can come to me. If you're looking to shove the OTQ spirals in my face, please leave. It's much better than me blocking you. And if you want to have fun with them, go ahead. Just know that I'm here if you need me, and I did warn you.

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woodworkinghere1 · 4 years ago

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Normalize and Does This Make Your Palms Sweat? | The Hungry Runner Woman

Celebrity News Today -

7.5 miles @ 9:25 common with a bump that appears like it’s doubling by the day!

Throughout my run yesterday I listened to Lindsey Hein’s episode with Shelby Houlihan and Karissa Schweizer. They each simply ran sub 14:30 for the 5k and Shelby (14:23) set a brand new American Report, the episode was superior. In the course of the episode Shelby and Karissa have been speaking about how they like to ‘normalize’ their loopy targets. They each simply began speaking to one another about their targets for his or her 5k final week, normalizing a time that appeared loopy at first and pumping one another up about doing it after which they did it.

It actually made me take into consideration how my operating associate, Emilee, helped me to do this final yr and the way a lot it labored. Emilee had this aim (which appeared CRAZY to me to start with) that we may go sub 2:50 on the St. George marathon in October after I first began operating along with her final Could. At first it appeared like a joke to me however then the extra we talked about it, the extra it appeared regular and doable. It’s like we talked it into occurring! Normalizing a 10 minute PR made it much less scary and made us do the work it took to to get that aim… If I had continued to assume that it was only a loopy aim then I wouldn’t have finished the work to get it. We then ‘normalized’ the concept to OTQ collectively and whereas it undoubtedly didn’t occur for me final December, I consider that it isn’t a loopy aim for me. It may possibly occur after I’m able to go for that aim once more. It’s enjoyable once we can change our ideas from believing that one thing is not possible to believing it’s attainable.

We had one other day of soccer camp for Brooke! She had the sensible thought to make use of the mister that I purchased for his or her hair to mist her face throughout their water breaks as a result of it was so scorching outdoors. She stated it actually helped her to chill down. I’d simply have to start out bringing this factor with me on my runs now as a result of a lightweight mist each couple of minutes sounds actually wonderful throughout these scorching summer time months of operating.

I already broke my bagel custom as a result of Chick-fil-A mini biscuits and rooster with some greek yogurt sounded even higher.

Skye and I additionally went on a stroll across the fields throughout Brooke’s camp.

I instructed you a number of days in the past about how Skye now goes by ‘Max’ and thinks she is a canine for a great chunk of the day…. Effectively, the women discovered Skye’s leash that we purchased for once we have been touring and Brooke walks her throughout the home now.

We had a really low key day at residence for the remainder of the day. Brooke wished to make up her personal cupcake recipe so she combined pancake combine, vanilla, powdered sugar, sprinkles and milk and so they have been truly fairly good. She was happy with herself.

A number of sofa time occurred too.

Three excellent news moments from Andrew’s life:

*Baseball is again on!

*The opposite day my sister-in-law instructed me that she overheard Brooke telling her cousin, “mountain biking is admittedly particular as a result of it’s simply sort of me and my dad’s factor that we do collectively.’ Andrew is so completely satisfied to have her loving mountain biking too and to work on her bike:)

*He picked up a brand new spibelt from Runner’s Nook. He’s an enormous fan of operating with these.

Does this video of operating make anyone else’s palms sweat and coronary heart charge improve? I CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE DOING THIS.

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I discussed yesterday that we’re planning on going to Yellowstone quickly and I hoped to get any and all suggestions from you guys! HELP plan our journey ha:)

What’s a operating aim that you’ve got had prior to now that appeared loopy at first however you ‘normalized’ it and made occur?! (In the event you really feel like you might be bragging with this and don’t need to share ha, cease it… I REALLY need to know)!

Are you a threat taker or do you have a tendency to stay to the secure aspect of issues (or are you someplace in between)?

-Earlier than Brooke/faculty years I undoubtedly took extra dangers however now I take ZERO RISKS.

What do you employ to hold your stuff if you run?

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#diet #Weightloss #Fitness #DIY

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gobigorgohome2016 · 8 years ago

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Training Cycle Recap

I made it!

Truthfully, I think everyone’s “A” goal for any race should be to make it through the training cycle - and to the starting line - healthy, happy, and emotionally prepared to race. We put so much emphasis on time goals that we rarely see the big picture: just getting to the starting line is a feat within itself.

Without a doubt, this training cycle has been my best since when I hit my OTQ. When I look at the big picture, that is. In October, I didn’t really have the US half champs on my radar as being my *big* race. I thought it was going to be cross country, and I put the 15k and half champs on schedule figuring if I had a good race at xc and subsequently ran at worlds, I would cross those two off my list.

But, if I look back I see now how Houston, xc champs, and the 15k were all key components in making this entire training cycle something really special for me. I have learned so much about myself, my needs, my strengths, and my weaknesses that I would be content to say this has been my most successful cycle yet.

Mileage Consistent, high mileage is kind of my jam. But, consistent high mileage without quality does not a great runner make. I topped out this training cycle with a few 95/96 mile weeks while balancing high-quality track work. My highest mileage week ever is 115, so it was a little on the “low” end for me, but I think it was important for helping me develop consistent leg speed in the 4:40 - 5:10 speed range.

I looked at the last 6 months (this training cycle started at the end of October), and I have run just over 2,000 miles. Even though I thought this was a period of “low” mileage, it’s only ~70 fewer miles total than during the 6 months leading up to the Houston half in 2016, where I ran my PR. A big difference between that cycle and this cycle is that I now incorporate strength work, core, and track work, whereas before I was exclusively doing marathon pace and 10k effort.

Since the end of November I have been above 75 mpw, and with only a few exceptions, I have completed a 20 mile long run every weekend since December 11th. This cycle has definitely balanced my strengths (high mileage, 20 mile long runs) with my weaknesses (being comfortable at top-end speed) quite well.

Best/Worst Workouts It seems like cheating to say that a tempo was one of my best workouts of the cycle, since tempos are my bread and butter, but I would definitely say that my 5 mile tempo the Thursday after the 15k champs was one of my best of the cycle. I was TIRED but I still cranked out 5:27 pace for 5 miles on crushed gravel, on a moderately windy day, to run 27:14.

My best non-tempo workout was probably my final 400 m or mile repeat workout. A few weeks ago I did 6 x mile on crushed gravel in 5:12, 5:09, 5:12, 5:09, 5:09, 5:07. That was definitely out of my comfort zone. I also did 10 x 400 m in 72, 72, 72,72, 72, 72, 72, 72, 71, 70 on a stupidly windy day. Actually, all of my track work has been in 12 - 20 mph wind, and I’m kind of ready to never do a track workout in wind again.

My “worst” workout was 5 x mile on the track on a windy day. I couldn’t get under 5:25 to save my life, and i think my slowest repeat was 5:35. It definitely made me question whether some of my other workouts had been a fluke, but later that week I ran a great fartlek so I got over it.

Lessons So many.

I’m still learning how to balance my life in the best way possible. A lot of people wonder why I just don’t get a “real” job now, take some time away from high level training, and come back full speed right before the trials.

For me, this period in between qualification windows is the “off-season.” I am nowhere near as good as I want to be, but I know that the only way to get there is to train as if I already am. I might lose this opportunity tomorrow. Everyday I hear about friends who are diagnosed with terrible diseases, who one day wake up and decide they no longer want to run, or for who life just simply got in the way. Of course there have been times where I have questioned what I am doing, and why, but ultimately this training cycle was a good one for reminding me that I have been given an incredible opportunity and I don’t want to waste a single day.

I also learned an important lesson that I never in a million years thought would have applied to me: I don’t eat enough to sustain my training.

I think my low point, in terms of energy and recovery, came right around the xc champs. I didn’t feel great at that race, but i think it’s safe to say that no one did. I recovered terribly. I had to take two weeks of no workouts because my legs just couldn’t handle it. I didn’t get my period that month.

Also during that time I went into post-big race mode and Dave and I ate out quite a bit. Every time I ate more than normal, I would have a great run the next day. I started putting the pieces together that I needed to reevaluate my needs. I began tracking my calories and macro/micro nutrients and realized I was severely under-fueling. This was by no means purposeful, but when you’re working out 2 - 3 times per day and have dietary restrictions it’s just going to be tough.

With a few adjustments I started feeling better than ever before. Initially I gained weight, which, truth be told, freaked me out a little bit. However, I value performance far more than a number on a scale, and the best workouts of my life came at my highest weights. My period also got back on a 28 day cycle.

Another lesson is that I drink too much caffeine. As much as I want coffee to be part of my pre-race routine, it simply cannot be. I perform MUCH better when I drink green tea. I have found that when I drink coffee, I can’t get my heart rate up. I think this is actually perfect for long runs, but not so good for when I’m trying to run an all-out effort.

About 3 weeks ago I was struggling again with inflammation. The scale was creeping up every day, and I had gained ~4 lbs in a week and my body/legs felt lousy. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing differently. Then, I thought about my daily routine: no water, just black tea, green tea, or coffee ALL DAY. In a typical day, I have 4 cups of coffee or ~8 - 10 cups of tea. I stop drinking caffeine around 7 or 8 PM. I decided to see what would happen if I drank just one cup of caffeine in the morning, and then only drank water the rest of the day. Within 3 days I was back to my normal weight and feeling a lot better. I later read that there are compounds in coffee and black tea (catechins, I think?) that, while healthy, still require ~1 gallon of water to flush entirely from your liver and kidneys. I kind of wonder if I was overdoing it with the tea/coffee to the point I was dehydrating myself. Fortunately, I didn’t have any caffeine withdrawals, and honestly don’t feel like I *need* caffeine to get my day going.

I tried to nap more during April, but realized that napping just doesn’t work for me anymore. If I nap during the day, I can’t fall asleep at night and wind up going to bed after midnight and waking up at 9 or 10. If I don’t nap, I fall soundly asleep at 10:30 and am up at 7:30, which I much prefer. I used to nap a lot before I took my food sensitivity test, but the changes in my diet have either caused me to be less tired (fatigue is a sign of food sensitivities), or the timing just correlated with me being better able to handle my training/work load.

Races I race quite a bit, and this training cycle definitely was a reflection of that.

November - Turkey Trot 10k, 35:35, 1st place, 5:43 pace I was bummed because the year prior I had run 35:20, but that’s kind of a dumb thing to worry about, in retrospect. It was a good rust buster.

December - Resolution Run 5k, 17:19, 1st place, 3rd OA, 5:34 pace I really wanted to break 17:00 but it wasn’t in the cards on a super cold/windy day.

January - Houston Half, 1:16:43, 18th place, 5:51 pace I was irrationally bummed that on a day with 96% humidity and strong winds I didn’t run faster. Again, hindsight is 20/20.

February - XC Championships, 38:06, 20th place, 6:07 pace I was disappointed. Lots of travel for what felt like a missed opportunity. Had I run ~12 seconds faster I would have qualified for a championship race in FL. But, this race sparked a turning point for my season.

March - 15k Championships, 52:49, 17th place, 5:39 pace I went into this race with a different plan: go out hard and hold on. I went through 5k in a PR (16:58), and 10k in a PR (34:42), and held on the final 5k.

April - Spring Into Fitness 10k, 34:26, 1st place OA, 5:33 pace This was my final tempo of the training cycle. Very happy with this, especially considering the huge hills (my 5th mile was 5:55 due to one climb!)

I noted that I thought xc was a turning point for me. After this race, I met with my coach and we talked training. He helped me identify a few adjustments that needed to be made:

-no less than 4 hours between runs (I was especially bad about this when daylight was scarce) -more top-end speed work -more balance in my training plan

I also identified a few areas of my own that needed adjustment, particularly a sense of guilt I had been feeling towards my training. I had fallen into a rut of doing things that left me feeling guilty at the end of the day. For instance, deciding not to do my 2nd run of the day, eating half a tray of peanut butter bars that I knew for a fact were made with soy, not getting enough sleep, etc. I would justify these things as, “if this ONE instance derails my training, then I’m doing something wrong” but, to be honest, all of those “one” instances were starting to add up. One week of 5 less miles isn’t going to make or break me. But, when I was doing it 3 weeks in a row and suddenly I’ve lost 15 miles of training, that does matter over time. The peanut butter bars aren’t a big deal, except when I can’t finish my run because my stomach cramps are too bad and I know there isn’t a bathroom nearby, because Indy has no public restrooms (a topic for another day). Happens once? whatever. But it was becoming a habit that I needed to break.

I decided no more guilt. I'm not going to lie and say “no more guilt” meant that I broke free of mental constrains and blah blah blah. But no, no more guilt meant I woman’d up and just stopped behaviors that I knew were detrimental. I feel like many people will want to read something like, “I worked out less, ate more sweets, and saw the best results ever” but that wasn’t my reality.

Injuries/Illnesses Part of what made this training cycle so successful was a relative lack of setbacks. Since October, I have taken 9 total days off: 2 because I was sick, 2 for travel to/from Oregon, 2 for an Achilles issue in December, 2 for a plantar issue in March, and the other was when my mileage was low and I didn’t need the extra training day.

My achilles issue was promptly taken care of by my massage therapist.

My foot issue was a little more stubborn. I was actually pretty concerned I had a neuroma or a stress reaction, but again my massage therapist saved the day and it turned out to be some tightness in my plantar that was causing pain near my 2nd metatarsal. This issue affected me for about 2 weeks before and after the 15k championships. My foot actually went numb with about 2 miles left in that race, which had me convinced I had a nerve issue. Ultimately, I think I wore a pair of running shoes about a week too long.

In contrast, my last training cycle probably went a week too long. I stood on the starting line at the 10 miler with a really bad back, and that course beat me up. Prior to that was the trials, where I was in massive denial about the things my body was experiencing, particularly in my entire right leg. I’m even healthier than I was before the Twin Cities marathon, when I had a slight hamstring and IT band issue.

Taper My taper for this race has been going really well. In high school we didn’t call it taper, we called it “peaking,” which I much prefer. I don’t drastically cut my mileage. I ran 96 miles two weeks ago, last week I ran a total of 79, and this week will be ~60 with the race and nothing on Sunday. The majority of my “taper” comes from less volume on workout and long run days. Otherwise, I still run the same, just maybe a mile or two less.

Goals My goal is to PR on Saturday (sub-74:03). I am ready. When things get tough in the race I want to remind myself to be a gritty bitch and to run as if I’ve already achieved my ultimate goal, which is to break 2:30:00 in the marathon.

What’s Next? Remember how I’m actually a marathoner? Well, I will be making a return to the marathon in December! CIM is hosting the US Marathon Championships, so that will be my first 26.2 since the trials. I also plan to race the 20k and 10 mile championships in the fall, and will do the Monumental half as my tune up. I am not-so-secretly hoping to dip under 73 minutes at Monumental so that I can just knock my trials qualifier out of the way. My goal at CIM will be to go under the (yet unannounced) A standard.

In the immediate future, I’m looking forward to a bit of a break. I have been grinding since last May without more than a week off from training, which I took in October after the 10 miler. I will take two weeks completely off, and so far we have the following things planned:

-short vacation post-race on Saturday/Sunday. Dave and I are trying to make a memory in each of Indiana’s 92 counties, so we are going to knock off 5 this weekend with casino visits, lunches/dinners at new restaurants, and a trip to Clify Falls. Other things include: -bike ride to Graeter’s for ice cream -Fogo de Chao for lunch -coffee festival -no nutrient tracking, going to bed early, limiting caffeine, or eating kale -deep clean our house (this only happens during breaks) -eat all the pastries at the farmer’s market -drink all the beer that has been in my fridge for months -go to Burger Haus -eat the JB burger at Big Woods -start my container garden -binge watch Golden Girls

My vacation starts today and I am excited. I am nervous, in that way you get nervous when you know you’re about to do something hard but you also know once it is over you will feel the most amazing sense of satisfaction. I am excited to see what my body is capable of. I am excited to be faced with that opportunity during a race to either give in or push, and see what all of the training I have done outside of my comfort zone allows me to do. I know that I am on the brink of a breakthrough, and while there are no guarantees that the breakthroughs happen on the day that you want, I know that I have trained to the point that even a bad day will be better than a previous bad day. I am going to stand on the starting line on Saturday with no watch, no real race plan, and no expectations, other than knowing that my legs and my competitive fire will not let me down.

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