Rock the Block 10k Preview!

This weekend is Memorial Day in the States.  We get Monday off!  WooHoo!  And I also get to race a race!  Woo to the Hoo!  A while back there was a Groupon deal for a 5k/10k.  I signed up for the 10k.  It’s called the Rock the Block.

I have only run two 10k’s in my life, so I’m not that familiar with this distance.  I am however, halfway familiar with this course.  I ran a 5k at the same place one year ago.  You can read my recap of it HERE.

Takin it to da bridge!

The first half of the 10k course is pretty much the same as the course I ran last year, until it splits off so we can get the extra 3.1 miles in.

I was glad that I finished ahead of all of those cones.

I know the first part of the course has a couple hills and a switchback, so I’ll be ready for that.  But I’m not sure what the rest of the course holds – other than what I can see on the course map.

One bummer is the race has a laaaate start – 8:45.  By then the Texas sun will be up and burnin.  Hopefully it won’t be too hawt.

After last year’s race. My sweat glands don’t always work, so I was panting.

That said, I still hope to PR (current is 46:23).  And if things go really well, there’s a time goal I’d like to reach (45:00).  I haven’t been following any specific training plan for this, so we’ll see how it goes.  Hopefully all the track work I’ve been doing will pay off.

Either way, I know a bunch of friends are running this race too, so it will be good to have some friendly faces around!  Wish us luck!

How bout you?  Racing this weekend?  Do you get a three day weekend too?  Any advice for 10k plans of attack?

-Scott

Dopey Challenge Trianing Plan

Who put a cartoon character in charge of a major race?

OK, so I’ve been preparing myself the past couple months for the Dopey training.  Yes, I’ve been training for my training.  Good thing too, cause I just settled on which plan to follow and Hal Higdon is the winner!  As you can see, week 1 requires you to be able to already run 13 miles at once.  So you better have done some pre-training to be ready to do that.

Not too bad, right?

Honestly, it doesn’t seem too bad.  Sure the back to back long runs will be tough, but they’re not as long as I thought they’d be.  I may add a little extra mileage, but maybe I should be smart and stick to the schedule as made.  After all, he’s the expert.  I settled on this plan because I’ve heard a lot of good things from several runners about following his plans before for marathons.  It’s worth a try.  Though I’m sure no plan is perfect since this is the inaugural edition of the Dopey, so if nobody’s done it, then maybe nobody knows the best way to prepare for it.  And maybe there is no best way to train.  I’m sure there are several plans that good for different people.  It’s not an exact science, after all.

True words. It takes a lot of work.

My only addition to his plan is I’ll continue on with my cross training during the week.  I know he has some cross training days in there, but I currently do more than that and want to continue.  I believe it is VITAL to cross train when doing distance running.  Need to keep your body strong in order to run strong.  So I’ll keep up with yoga, weight lifting, etc.  Not sure if I’m going to play soccer this fall though – I’d hate to invest in running this Dopey only to get an injury playing soccer – may have to skip a season.

Anyway, the official kickoff for this program is September 9th, 2013.  Just gotta make sure I’m ready to run 13 miles by the end of that week in addition to the other runs.  Shouldn’t be a problem.  I’m almost to that distance on my current long run and I’m basically running 5 days a week anyway.  Here’s to hoping for a successful training season and a successful Dopey completion!!!

In Training: The Run Disney Dopey Challenge

So I did something that might be a little suspect.  It went down a couple months ago I was in North Crackalaka to run The Flying Pirate Half Marathon.  I was at the apt. of my good friend Christie, or Xty as I call her.  She has a gluten allergy and can’t drink beer, so wine it is!  After a couple glasses I get a text from my sis in Florida.  She was getting ready to join us in NC for the race, but had just done something a little suspect.  She had registered for the Dopey Challenge at Disney World.  The Dopey is a brand spankin’ new event.  It takes place during Disney’s Marathon Weekend.  It’s four straight days of racing with each day increasing the distance.  Thurs=5k Fri=10k Sat=1/2 marathon Sun=Full marathon.  She registered because she lives there, wants the challenge, and wants the bling (you get 6 crazy medals for completing the challenge).  Also, after a day and a half of being on sale, the Dopey was already 99% full.  Drats!  I had to make a choice to join her or not then and there.  It was about to sell out, but I wanted time to ponder.  No time to ponder.  Another glass of wine.  Registered!

Let’s get doped up.

Registered.  Now time to train.  But how does one train for this?  I’ve asked several people but they usually tell me I’m on my own with that one.  Some say I should treat it like an Ultra.  The official training guru for Disney is Jeff Galloway, and he does have a plan on their web page.  I will reference it in my training, but I know his method is the run/walk one.  I want to attempt to run each race, to me that’s part of the challenge.

One thing I do know is that our bodies won’t get much recovery time between races.  So what I’ve been doing is trying to make my body sore/tired all the time to get used to it.  I’ve been basically doing two-a-days of running and weights or yoga, back to back long runs, etc.  Last week I was so drained that it was a struggle just to walk the dogs around the block, and when I got on the floor to do my foam rolling, I promptly fell asleep. On the floor.  On my foam roller.

But it’s all good.  I think my body is getting used to the constant (as can be) motion.  Already lost some extra lbs.  Adjusting my diet too to keep up with the extra energy I need.  And I think the lactic acid in my legs are getting flushed out faster so they can be ready to run again sooner.  But in reality, I haven’t started the actual training yet.  The race isn’t until January, which is good.  Gives me time to get ready.  So I’m trying to be smart about it and not do too much too quickly.  Avoiding injury is key!  But I’m wondering how my body is going to respond in a few months when I have to run 10+ miles one day, and then 20+ miles the next.

As far as training programs go, I already mentioned Galloway, which I will reference once in a while.  I’m also looking at Hal Higdon.  I think he advocates back to back medium/long runs.  So that could be useful.  I’ve also looked into the Hanson marathon method.  They never have you run more than 16 miles, but you are running almost every day and going pretty good distances each time.  Something to consider.  I will look at all of it and try to figure out a plan of attack.

I know I’m probably just telling myself what I want to hear, but I’m thinking it won’t be so bad.  I’ve been running these distances for about 5 years now.  And this past year was the first time it all felt like it was starting to click.  I’ve been injury free (mostly) for that time and I keep getting faster.  I recently read that they tell elites coming out of college that it will take them about 3 years before it clicks for them, and it makes sense.  You’d think running is just running, but it’s not. It’s a lifestyle.  You’ve got to learn to put it all together – the diet, sleep, cross training, etc. etc.  It can take a while to get it.  I still have more to learn, but I hope I’m getting it.

Good news is the 5k is not timed.  My goal will be to get a PW (personal worst).  The other races are timed, but I’m hoping to be smart about it.  I do NOT want to PR in the 10k or half marathon.  I want to keep as much in the tank as possible for the full.  It will hurt the ego and competitive spirit to run slow in a race, but it is necessary.  And I know it’s dumb, but I’m secretly hoping I can still PR in the full.  Like I said, I know that may be a dumb wish.  It would be pretty cool to PR though after three straight days of racing.  We’ll see how it goes.

Anyway, I’ve resisted in the past using this blog as a place to post my routine workouts, but I might start doing more of that now.  Hopefully some of you others doing the Dopey can get some use out of my training posts.  And maybe some of you can offer me some advice from your own perspectives.  Runners helping runners.  There you go.

So it starts here.  I’ll recap my week.  Saturday, 7 miles then 1 hr yoga.  Sun, 7 miles.  Mon, weights.  Tues, 4 miles. Wed, weights then 5 mile track workout.  Thursday (today), weights then running around 4 miles.

Like I said, it’s Thursday.  That means evening social run.  This week we’re running from one of my fav local pubs (they always have good quality beers and it helps that I know the owners) – Rugby House.  Last week we ran from the Katy Trail Icehouse Outpost in Plano.  GREAT patio!  It’s close to 100 degrees outside in North Texas right about now, but on the patio you wouldn’t know it.  Blanked with tree shade, chilled with cold brews, and fanned by misty fans.  Though on my track workout yesterday, I definitely did know it was close to triple digits….HAWT!

That’s enough for now.  I’ll leave you with a pic from our social run last week.  Join us sometime why don’t you?

We run. We socialize. It’s cool.

‘Nuther Weekend, ‘Nuther Race

So a few weeks back I registered for the Dopey Challenge at Disney World.  It was a pricey entry.  I’m still waiting for sponsors to help me out – come on already,  you know you want to!  Anyway, I’ll write about that later.  In the meantime, I figured I’d have to skip other races cause I spent so much on that one entry.  But here’s the thing, I’m in a 5k tomorrow.  I got a free entry from a co-worker, so that is good.  I like free race entries.

It’s the Head for the Cure 5k in Plano, TX.   I don’t know what to expect because I’ve been a little sick the past two weeks and that took a toll on my runs.  It caused me to run slower than normal and even skip a couple runs all together.  But you know how it goes on racing day, the adrenaline can get cha!

I also don’t know what to expect from the course.  It goes through a nature preserve mainly, so it could be quite scenic.  But from what I gather on the course map, there are quite a few switchbacks.  I hope they aren’t too bad.  I also hope the weather is good.  Anyone who lives in North Texas can tell you that it’s been windier around here than in a 1939 Kansas farmer girl’s dream/nightmare.  It’d be nice to have a run where I’m not facing 20-30 mph steady gusts.  And I hear the temps are supposed to be around 60 degrees American – which would be surprising and awesoming!  N.TX don’t usually see those temps in mid May, I’ll take it.

I’ll do my best to try and place in my age group, but you knever know about that.  I’ll fill y’all in on how the race went on Monday. So stay tuned!

Either way, after the race on Saturday we’re shooting a new David Chicken music video.  If you (or your little ones) want to be in it.  Holla at me!

C-Ya!

The Katy Trail 5K #blog

May, 2012.  Dallas.  The full title of the race: The Michelob Ultra #13 Katy Trail 5K.

This one was a fun one, but not a good one to record good times.  Lemme ‘splain.  In Dallas, Katy Trail is a popular running and biking trail.  It’s a great place to get your sweat on, but when 5000 people are there to race, it is pretty crowded.  The trail itself isn’t that wide, so when you have a gaggle of folks out there, it was quite congested.  And a LOT of them were novice or non-runners, so there were walkers, sometimes four across.  I had to do a lot of swerving and dodging.  It didn’t help that I got stuck in the middle of the pack at the start.

Other than that though, it was a blast.  Lemme ‘splain.  The Katy Trail is lovely, and there were lots of lovely people running this race.  It’s a younger crowd for sure.  And the post race party was right on.  Free beer, free food, repeat.  Tons of restaurants were handing out free grub, while the title sponsor was handing out free suds.

Human pyramids are the perfect cool down exercise.

Score!  We also found our way into the VIP tent which had craft beers and wines.  No offense to Mick Ultra, but you ain’t got much flava.  I many much prefer the crafty brews, which led to even more human on human climbing.

The we’re holding up has two heads. It’s a rare defect.

I might like to do this race again.  Like I said, the post party was spot on.  I forgot to mention it was on a school night, and took place in the early evening – a nice little shake up to the normal Saturday morning 5k’s.

Next time though, I’m going to force my way to the front of the starting corral…that way I’ll avoid most of the walkers and get to the post party post haste!

Peace homeys!