Riding the PR Train, Eating PR Cake

I started racing almost exactly 12 years ago. I had been a treadmill runner for years, but I didn't discover racing until my 5-year college reunion in 2005, which had a two-mile race. I was the first female finisher and I had a blast. One of the other runners suggested I run a 10K the following weekend in DC, so I did it and once again loved it. I ran my first half marathon in September of 2005 and my first marathon in May of 2006.

I've been training consistently ever since, with my longest breaks being my two bouts with mono in 2012 and again in 2016. Throughout all this time, I've never had as much of a "breakthrough" season as this spring. Typically runners see the most improvements when they first start out-- during the first 3-4 years of solid training. While I did see improvements over that time, I pretty much plateaued from about 2009-2013. PRs during that period were few and far between. I think it was a combination of dealing with injuries, and doing the same type of training runs over and over. I didn't have a personal coach who was focused on developing me and tailoring a plan to my needs. 

The past two years have been a "running renaissance" for me, and the PRs have been fast and furious! I know that I will reach the law of diminishing returns and the PRs will become smaller and more rare. So I am savoring my PRs now. Literally savoring them:

10K PR in February 2017

Marathon PR in March 2017

10-Mile PR in April 2017

5K PR in May 2017

Greg has been PRing like crazy too. I'm extremely grateful that we are both healthy and able to train together. With all of this PR celebrating going on, I have maintained my mindset of running being about so much more than PRs. I'm enjoying the training and putting in the hard work. When I set a PR, it's not so much the time I am happy with, but it's that I'm learning how to execute on race day, and that my training has been consistent.

Here's a more technical look at my racing history, since I started using my training log in 2008:

10K Pace over time

5K Pace over time

Now that my spring races are officially over, my plan is as follows:

• Run 3 short summer races between now and July 4th
• Early July: Take a little time off so I am rested for marathon training
• Late July: Go on a running cruise (more on that in future posts)
• August: Kickstart marathon training the first week of the month
• September: Run a half marathon
• October: Run a 10-miler
• November: Run the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon 

Finally, here is a recap of this week's training.

Monday: 5.8 miles easy @ 8:38 average

This was the day after the 5K. My legs didn't feel sore or tired or anything! I credit that to the flat course and the fact that my legs are used to running fast from all the speed work I have been doing. I should mention that I got soaked on this run. I was completely drenched from the pouring rain.

Tuesday: 7 Hill Repeats

Cool down after the hill repeats

I asked my coach if he intended to put hill repeats just two days after a 5K. He responded yes, this was intentional to see how much my legs could handle. Ok! 

I warmed up for 2.1 miles, and then started the workout. The plan called for 6 to 8 hill repeats at 5K effort. Each repeat was 75 seconds each. Whenever my plan calls for a range I try to be right in the middle. If I am feeling absolutely amazing I will do the high end of the range. If it's a tough day I will do the low end. Anyway, I climbed about 30 feet during each 75-second repeat. My paces were: 6:53, 6:54, 6:41, 6:42, 6:48, 6:31, 6:32. So my legs ended up handling it just fine, but they were very tired at the end. And admittedly, I ran the last two repeats harder than 5K effort without intending to. I ended with a cool down of 1.9 miles.

Wednesday: 6.9 miles easy @ 8:40 average

Greg and I ran to the track to see if they were done with the maintenance that had prevented us from using it the week prior. Unfortunately, the track was still closed, so this meant we'd have to go to a different track for our upcoming workout.

Thursday: 5.3 miles easy @ 8:25 average

My plan had a track workout scheduled for this day, but the forecast was calling for thunderstorms so I figured I should stay close to home and do the track workout the following day. It poured heavily, and I was drenched again, but there ended up being no thunderstorms.

Friday: Track workout

Greg and I drove to a different track, which we immediately discovered was the home of a gaggle Canada geese. About 30 geese were lounging around in the center of the track while we were warming up. As we started our workout, they decided that it was time to migrate to the outside of the track!

The workout was 200m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m, all with 90 seconds recovery jog. What made this workout difficult was the short recovery jogs, particularly during the 800-1000-800 stretch, where I typically get twice that amount of time to recover. Thankfully, the geese were smart about making their moves and there was only one close encounter as they walked across the track to the outer field. My splits were 0:42, 1:31, 2:18, 3:10, 4:01, 3:12, 2:18, 1:29, 0:41. It was a tough workout with the sun shining right into my face when turning the corner, and I wasn't wearing sunglasses. 

By the end of the workout the geese were safely gathered on the outside of the track. We cooled down for 1.3 miles, which included the jog back to the car.

Saturday: 14 miles @ 8:30 average

It took a while for this run to start feeling decent. The first three miles were a struggle in that my legs had no pep. My energy level was decent, thanks to taking a serving of UCAN before the run. The middle portion of the run felt okay, but not as good as previous long runs this spring. I became mentally exhausted during the last two miles and really wanted to call it quits at 12 miles. But I hung in there and was happy that I completed the full run. If I hadn't re-arranged the schedule on Thursday/Friday, my legs would have had an extra day to recover from the track workout. In the afternoon, I got a massage that was painful at times, but much needed.

Sunday: 3.4 miles recovery @ 8:46 average

Greg and I ran a different route than what we typically do for 30 minutes, and it ended with a huge hill. There's a monster of a hill very close to my house but we usually run in the opposite direction because it leads to more residential areas that are easier to run in. But since it was the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, there were very few cars going the other way.

Total mileage for the week: 49.4.

I'm on day 58 of a running streak, which makes me tied with my longest streak ever. If I run tomorrow, I will set a new streak PR.

I'm looking forward to another month of hard speed workouts and racing! The weather is certainly heating up, so I'm definitely not expecting any more PRs. Course PRs, however, are another story.

20:17 in 2017

This morning I ran the Semper Fi 5K in Washington, DC.  Over the past six weeks, I've been focused on increasing my speed at shorter distances and this race was one in a series of several that I had signed up for.

I had run this race last year, and even though the weather was miserable, the course itself was flast: flat and fast! In terms of a time goal, I was hoping to shave about 10 seconds off of my 20:38 PR from the GW Parkway Classic three weeks ago. I thought it would be a nice milestone to be in the lower half of the 20's.  This seemed like realistic goal because when I ran the Parkway Classic, I felt a bit "off," and for whatever reason, I didn't have the usual pep in my step that I typically do. This morning, I knew I would have to work really hard, but I thought I would be able to PR.

My goal for the year was to run a 20:17 5K in 2017, and I had been targeting my fall Turkey Trot as the race to do it. These spring/summer races would give me an opportunity to work on my pacing and the mental aspect of pushing really hard. I had also developed an entirely new respect for the distance. My 10K PR pace was only 4 seconds per mile slower than my 5K PR pace. I also started reading up more on 5Ks and coming to the realization that maybe I just couldn't push my body as hard as other people could. I could run for a long time at a hard pace, but trying to run even faster was a hurdle.

Being a data junkie, I conducted some predictive analytics prior to the race. Last year, I ran the Mother's Day 4-Miler followed by the Semper Fi 5K. I did the same thing this year. My average pace for the 4-Miler last year was 6:58 and my average pace for the 5K was 6:47. A difference of 11 seconds per mile. This year, I ran the Mother's Day 4-Miler at an average pace of 6:44, and subtracting 11 seconds per mile "predicted" a pace of 6:33. I realize this method isn't foolproof because you would need to look at as a percentage and not raw seconds. But the times are close enough that I was able to avoid more complicated math.

Last year's race in the pouring rain

Of course there are all sorts of other considerations to keep in mind like the weather, the possibility of an "off" day, and the fact the races were only one week apart this year, but two weeks apart last year. Even still, I had a ballpark pace to target.

Speaking of being a data junkie, the company that I work for, MicroStrategy, had a team at this race. (The company sells enterprise analytics software.) It was awesome to see some of my co-workers before the race and get a team picture afterward.

Before the Race
Greg and I woke up, ate breakfast, and left the house at 6:50 for an 8:30 start time. We drove into the city, parked easily and jogged to the start line. I generally prefer to pick up my bibs in advance, but that hadn't been feasible for this race because packet pickup was in DC, which would have eaten up a good portion of our day. The line to get our bibs was quite long, but I figured it would probably move quickly. As I stood in line, I drank my UCAN while anxiously watching the time get later and later. The line wasn't moving.

They were assigning bib numbers through a computer system and I heard that they had lost their internet connection, which is why the line wasn't moving. There were actually four lines in total, and everyone had already registered; they were simply picking up their bib and shirt. Thankfully, they opened up more lines with more computers, the system seemed to be working again, and Greg and I were able to get our bib just in time to pin the bib on and warm up. I hate cutting things that close on race morning, and a huge sense of relief came over me once I had my bib in hand.

Greg and I warmed up for two miles and returned to the start line at 8:20. But nobody was lined up. We found our friends Allison and Cheryl, who told us that they had announced a delayed start. I was definitely annoyed by this, as were the other runners who had timed their nutrition and warm-ups for an 8:30 start, but there wasn't anything we could do. My plan was to get back on the course and run some strides, but before I knew it, the Marines had lined up and were doing something special with the flags. And it didn't feel right to run by them. Then the national anthem came, and it didn't feel right to be doing strides during that. So I settled on jogging in place at the start line and hoping that would keep my legs loose.

There was a man standing about 10 feet away from the start line on the other side who said in a conversational voice, "are you guys ready?" And a few seconds later he blew the horn. I had been ready, but expected there to be a countdown or something. Regardless, we were off!

Mile 1: 6:32
Because this course is flat, it's easy to get pulled out really quickly and typically I do. I tried my best to start at what felt like 5K pace would be. About halfway through the mile, I looked at my Garmin, which told me that I had averaged a pace of 6:40 from the start until now. This worried me a little. The effort felt hard, and I was trying to run that first mile at a pace of 6:32. I briefly considered that this might just be an off day, but then I quickly told myself to just push harder and try to run that 6:32 mile. And voila! I did! Often times in a race when I wish I was running faster, I try and I try and I just can't do it. But this morning, pushing a little harder in the second half of that first mile worked. During this mile, I also saw my friend, Cristina, cheering for me (and others) on the side of the course.

Mile 2: 6:35
Even though this mile is flat, I had slowed down substantially during it last year. So I told myself not to worry if I slowed down a little, as long as I maintained the effort level. At the turnaround, I could see that only two women were ahead of me. Unfortunately, though, I remembered the website said that only the "top 2" finishers would be recognized in the awards ceremony. I cruised through this mile and it wasn't nearly as painful as I remember it being last year. I should mention that last year, it was 50 degrees with very, very, VERY heavy rain. Torrential downpour. Those conditions were challenging, but today I was dealing with an abnormally wind-free, rain-free, sun-free day. It was a tad bit warm for me to call it the "race weather jackpot" of last weekend, but it was pretty darn close.

Mile 3: 6:25
Once I knew I had only a mile left to go, I started putting on the gas. As the mile progressed, I ran faster and faster and faster. It was as if the closer I got to the finish, the more motivated I became. It

was extremely painful however. It felt as though someone were scooping out my guts, scoopful by scoopful. I had to constantly fill my brain with words of encouragement. During the last mile of a 5K, your brain is receiving LOTS of signals from your body to decrease the effort. The muscles, the heart, the lungs-- they are all telling the brain to stop running so hard. So that's why the mental strategy becomes so important. You have to fill your brain with messages that combat what the body is saying. I felt insanely strong during the last mile but it hurt so, so, so much.

The Last 0.13: 5:45 pace
I love the finish line of this race and others that are held in this park in DC. You can see the finish line from about a 1/3 of a mile out, and it's pancake flat. I saw Greg finish with the clock reading 19:xx. Yes! He ran his first sub-20:00! And as I approached I saw that I had the opportunity to run under 20:20. I gave it everything I had and crossed the line in 20:17.

I was absolutely exhausted as I walked toward Greg and then we watched for our friends to come in. I cheered loudly for them when they did, and they both looked strong and focused.

After the Race
Greg and I cooled down with one of my co-workers who I actually had just met at the race (it's a large company). And then we waited for the awards ceremony. I turns out that I was the third female finisher, but they only recognized the top two finishers overall. So instead I placed first in my age group, winning a certificate with photos of the 2015 race on it! And a towel with the race logo. It was actually nice to have a towel to wipe my face with!

Final Thoughts and Takeaways
The biggest takeaway from this race is that truly, some days you "have it" and some days you don't. When I ran the GW Parkway Classic 5K three weeks ago, I didn't have it. Even though I set a PR, I knew that I was in shape for a faster time. The fact that I was able to shave 21 seconds off of that time in just three weeks is telling. I should note that the GW Parkway course had two hills and a modest

headwind, but nothing that would account for a 21-second difference. My sports psychologist told me many times that "performance is dynamic." I had seen this concept in action before, but never exactly like this. This lesson makes it easier to accept when you don't run a race as fast as you expected to. It may not be an indicator of fitness or how hard you pushed, it could just be an off day.

After reflecting on the first mile, I think it felt hard right out of the gate because my warm up had been over 20 minutes earlier. A 6:40 pace felt like a 6:20, and that was probably because my body had to adapt to moving again, unlike an ideally-timed warm up which ends 5-10 minutes before race start. Hopefully I won't encounter another late start anytime soon, but if I do, I should try to do an additional warm up so it won't feel as hard at the beginning.

I was confident in my ability to PR this morning, but I didn't think it would be by more than 10 seconds. Even though my special analytic formula predicted a 20:21, it would have been quite a leap from my 20:38. I honestly thought that the 20:17 would be a fall goal. And now, of course, I am eyeing a sub-20:00 for the Turkey Trot. That said, I will have just come off of a marathon training cycle, which doesn't necessarily correlate to a faster 5K.

Quick stats:

• I placed 3rd out of 402 women
• I beat my time from last year by 48 seconds
• My Strava 5K time was 20:06 
• This is my third 5K PR of 2017
• This is my seventh PR of 2017 (the three others were the 4-miler, 10K, 10-miler, and marathon)

I'll be running a 5K three weeks from now, and I am not sure what my goal will be for that race. It's almost certain to be a scorcher, and the course is slightly more challenging. I'm really just enjoying doing new types of workouts and seeing how I handle them.

But YAY! I ran a 20:17 5K in 2017. That's pretty damn cool.

Team MicroStrategy

Boston Bound's Birthday and the Story Behind the Story

Exactly one year ago, I published my first book, Boston Bound. I never expected it would sell so many copies; I simply thought it might be helpful for someone to read so I put it out there.

How It Started
I had wanted to write a book since the age of 10. I was actually quite serious about being the youngest novelist ever. I asked my parents to buy me the Writer's Market book so that I could send my

manuscript around to publishers. As I child, I was a prolific writer. I kept a diary, but I also wrote many short stories, which were actually more like sagas.

In college, I majored in English with the goal of becoming a professional writer of some sort. I initially explored journalism through an internship after my second year of college, but I quickly realized that it was too boring for my taste. I often didn't care about the stories and I wanted to be more creative. The following summer, I interned at a public relations firm, which I found far more strategic and interesting. When I graduated college in the year 2000, my first full-time job was a Marketing Communications Associate for a technology company, MicroStrategy. In this role, I wrote web site copy, brochure content, press releases, and other marketing materials.

The notion of writing a book was always in the back of my head, but I never felt "ready." I continued to keep a detailed diary of my life, which turned into a less private MySpace blog, which transformed into a very public running blog. When I started to go through the process of changing my mindset toward running by working with a sports psychologist, I kept track of everything on this blog, Racing Stripes. I began to think about my races differently, and my race reports became less about attaining a time goal and more about the process of running the race. I blogged about everything I was learning, and writing it all out helped solidify the ideas in my head.

I had a breakthrough moment in 2013, and from there, everything started to change for me. With the help of a sports psychologist I transformed myself from a highly obsessive perfectionist who was always worried about how other people me, to someone who was more relaxed and truly confident. I became a happier person in all aspects of my life-- all because I learned to change my mindset toward running.

Greg noticed a huge change in me, and he was the one who encouraged me to write a book shortly after I qualified for Boston in the spring of 2015. For a while it was something that I was going to do at some point, but then we had a serious conversation about it during our European cruise the following August. We talked about how I could actually make the book a reality, and I thought about how I might structure the story. On that cruise, I decided I would start working on the book when we returned home. Boston was less than nine months away, and I figured I could write the book as the marathon drew nearer, like a reflective crescendo to the big day. So at the end of August, I sat down at my computer and began writing.

The Writing Process
I didn't tell anyone I was writing this book except for Greg and my mother. It wasn't that I was trying to be secretive, I just wasn't sure if I would actually publish it or if it would go anywhere. Also, I wanted it to be my own private, personal project. Writing the book was extremely therapeutic; it was my "me" time to solidify the seven-year transformation in my own head. The act of writing it was a deeply personal experience and I wasn't ready to talk about it.

Perhaps the most difficult part of the writing process was determining how to structure the story. I ultimately settled on six parts, with three chapters each. I wanted the book to be approachable-- something that could be read in quick, digestible pieces, just like a blog. But I also wanted to take the time to lay out the entire story so that the reader would feel like he or she was "with" me. From being so active in the running community, I knew that I wasn't the only one struggling with race anxiety and the feeling of having to "prove" myself in running. I wanted to reach people who were holding themselves back without even realizing it, just like I had been doing.

While writing the book was a personal experience, I kept my audience in mind with every word that I wrote. And to me, that's the fun of writing. The ability to tell a story or communicate an idea in a way that truly touches people is a beautiful thing. I wanted to connect with my readers on a personal level.

Once I had finished writing the book, I gave the first three chapters to five trusted friends and asked for honest feedback. They all came back to me with similar comments regarding the chronology of events. Some were confused by the timeline and others had ideas on how the first chapter could be more impactful. I spent a good amount of time determining the best way to incorporate their feedback, and I ended up restructuring the first chapter completely. This was a hugely important part of the process because the first chapter is what draws the reader in.

Once I was comfortable with the manuscript, I drafted up a pitch and shopped it around to a small number of select publishers. They all turned me down. One of them told me that there are so many running books out there, that publishers will only accept books written by professional athletes. As a marketer, I knew that this actually created a huge opportunity for me. If the only running books being published today are by elite athletes and coaches, then my book would stand out as being different and probably more relatable. Winning the olympics is a goal that few people have. Running the Boston Marathon (or simply getting faster) is a goal that hundreds of thousands of people have.

"Go" Time
So I set out on the self-publishing path which really wasn't all that difficult. I learned how to format the pages in good ol' Microsoft Word and I had a cover professionally designed. I researched stats on self-published books and I found that on average, a self-published book only sells 150 throughout its life. To me, the largest benefit of having a professional publisher is that they market the book for you. But I had been in marketing for over 16 years, so I didn't really need help there. I figured I could do all the marketing and PR myself.

As I ran the Boston Marathon in April 2016, I thought about the book. It was fully written at that point, except for the last chapter, which would be a recap of the race itself. What would the final punctuation mark of the book look like? I actually wasn't even sure if I wanted to include my Boston experience. One of the major lessons of my book is that the journey is more important than the destination, so Boston as a destination really doesn't matter. But then I realized that it did matter, particularly since my experience of Boston was made 1,000 times more special because of all the struggles I had to overcome to get there.

When everything was ready I asked myself if I truly wanted to put the book out there. After all, it contained many personal details about my life that could be ready by anyone. And maybe the book sucked. I didn't know! I couldn't be an objective judge. Greg and my mother told me they thought it was good, but those were obviously biased opinions.

Once it was out there, I wouldn't be able to "undo" it so I needed to be sure. Ultimately, I realized I had nothing to lose, so why not publish it and see what would happen? I sent everything to Amazon and within just a few days, the book was available in paperback and on Kindle. The official launch date was May 16th, 2016-- exactly one year ago!

I announced the book's launch on my blog and posted about it on my personal Facebook page. Almost everyone was surprised, as I had only told about 10 people about it prior to publishing. I also created a Facebook page for the book and built a website for the book. Perhaps the biggest promotion channel was Instagram, where I had been trying to grow my following in anticipation of publishing the book. I think I had around 900 followers at the time, most of whom were runners.

The first person to purchase the book and read it (to my knowledge) was my friend Rochelle. She downloaded the Kindle version and sped through it within 24 hours. Her feedback was glowing and she found the book to be relatable and honest.

Life As an Author
The sales started to trickle in. I had a dashboard that reported how many books were sold, but I had no idea who was buying them or how they had heard of the book. A few weeks after publishing, a stranger reached out to me on Facebook telling me how the book changed her life, and that she had highlighted certain portions of the book and was planning to read it again. I was deeply touched. Knowing that I had made a difference in someone's life was extremely rewarding.

The book started to gain momentum and within one month the book had sold over 150 copies, which is more than most self-published books sell in their lifetime. Before I knew it, I was scheduling book signings and being interviewed for podcasts and magazine articles. Of course, I was doing all of this on top of having a full time job and training at high intensity in the heat. That's when the mono struck and my body shut down for three months.

Even through my illness, I continued to promote the book on Instagram and Facebook. People started reaching out to me on social media telling me that the book really helped them, not just in terms of running, but in terms of other things they were going through.

To date, Boston Bound has sold well over 2,000 copies. The book is still being purchased on a daily basis and has taken on a life of its own. As I said earlier, I would have been happy just to reach the 150 mark, with half of those being my friends. I never expected the book to be so popular. I definitely plan on writing another book, but I am not sure when or what exactly the topic would be.

In the meantime, I will continue to promote Boston Bound and capture my ongoing running journey here on this blog. Special thanks to Greg for encouraging me to make the book a reality, to my mother for editing the book three times, and to everyone who has allowed me to touch their lives through my words.

I Hit The Racing Weather Jackpot

That's right. This morning I, along with about 800 other people, were given the gift of perfect racing weather in Mid-May for the Mother's Day 4-Miler. It was unseasonably cool (50 degrees), there was no wind or rain, and it was mostly sunny with a few clouds.

Greg and I had run this race last year for the first time. We decided to return because the course offered a unique pacing challenge. The first mile features a net incline of 70 feet, and most of the rest of the race is downhill, with a few hum-dinger up hills for extra thrills. The Washington DC metro area actually offers a few four-mile races throughout the year. If I'm counting correctly, I had run 7 four-milers prior to today's race. So while it's not a widely common distance, I've run enough of them for a PR to be meaningful.

Before I get into this race report, I'd like to give a shout out to blog reader Kate. Hello Kate! I went to the Reston Town Center yesterday to pick up my race packet, when I was approached by someone who asked me if I was Elizabeth Clor. I replied yes, and she told me that she read my blog. We didn't talk long, but it was a nice surprise to meet a blog reader and Instagram follower.

Goals and Strategy

Greg and me

Last year I ran this race in 27:51. The weather was also seasonably cool (in the 50's) but quite humid. Not the "racing weather jackpot" that we had this morning, but pretty good considering the time of year. This year, my goal was to break 27:00, but I wasn't sure by how much I could do it. On one hand, my 10K PR from February is a 6:42 pace, and that was on a hilly course. On the other hand, my most recent 5K PR is a 6:38 pace on a flat course! My stretch goal was to average a 6:38 pace or faster, but that would mean beating last year's time by over a minute, and it assumes that I wasn't running to my full potential two weeks ago at the 5K. My strategy was focused on not going out too fast on the first hill so that I could really hammer the last three miles.

Before the Race
Race morning went smoothly. Greg and I had retrieved our bibs the day before, which meant one less logistical thing to worry about. We arrived 45 minutes in advance of the start time, drank our UCAN and warmed up for two miles. We warmed up on the course, which was a good reminder of the tricky hill profile. The first mile is a net 70 ft climb, but there is also some downhill, which means that the total climb is actually greater than 70 feet. I felt good during the warmup and I was ready to run fast.

After the warm up, I realized that I needed to go to the bathroom, but I'd never make it through the porta-potty lines in time. So Greg and I found a path that led into a secluded woody area, and I was able go pee there among nature! We then met up with our friend Hannah and chatted with her for a bit at the start line. Just by looking around I thought that Hannah would probably win the race. She had just run Boston and she didn't want to over-do it, but regardless, I thought she was poised for first. My father and step-mother had come to the race to cheer us on, and Greg told them where to go to get the best viewing.

Mile 1: 6:58

Race start

The race started inside of a park, and we ran down a hill to get out of it. As I exited the park, I ran by my dad and step mom and began to settle in. As I ran up the long hill, I repeated over and over again, "Relax up the hill. Relax up the hill." I wanted to run strong, but without straining myself.  There were five women ahead of me, one of whom I passed at the top of the hill. I was optimistic about passing at least one more of them, but I knew I needed to be patient. Greg was also still within my sight, which was encouraging. I had planned to run this mile in 6:55, and ended up with a 6:58 which I was fine with. Last year I had run this mile in 7:04, so I was already on track for a PR.

Mile 2: 6:38
Now that the hill was over, it was time to start racing. After so much uphill, I felt like this mile was all downhill, even though it was only a -7 decline. I was neck-and-neck with two other women and there were a few men around us as well. I didn't want to surge too soon, so I reminded myself to run my own race. I also reminded myself that I had been running 50+ mile weeks and that even though this pace felt hard, I would be able to maintain it for the rest of the race. I'm pretty sure I passed one of the women at the end of this mile, but I was still very close to the other one. I thought that there were only two women ahead of me, but I couldn't be entirely sure. Last year I ran this mile in 6:54, so I was now way ahead of 2016 Elizabeth, which was what was most important.

Mile 3: 6:47
This mile is deceiving. Before the race, I had looked back on my Strava data and noticed that mile 3 was a net 21 ft elevation decrease. So it should be fast-- faster than mile 2. But last year I had slowed down substantially, and had run a 7:04. As I started the mile, I surged on a long downhill. This is when I passed the woman who was next to me and didn't expect to see her again. I looked at my Garmin halfway through the mile and it read 6:35. But with about a quarter of a mile to go, there was a huge hill. I had remembered this, but I thought that since most of the mile was so fast, it wouldn't cost me too much time. Wrong. This hill took so much out of me and it took all the mental and physical strength I had to keep pushing. When my Garmin beeped 6:47 it was a little disheartening, considering I had banked so much time early on in the mile.

Mile 4: 6:33

Approaching the finish line

Once I got to mile 4, I expected everything to be rainbows and unicorns to go along with my perfect racing weather. I remembered this mile as having been mainly downhill, and my Strava data from last year supported that. I had totally forgotten that there was still quite a bit of uphill in this mile. At this point, I was letting out quick screams like I do when I'm struggling for oxygen. There was a guy next to me who heard me and encouraged me on. It hurt soooo much and I was so exhausted from all these hills. It seemed like the actual downhill that I remembered would never come. But finally it did, and I milked it for all it was worth. I think I'm a good downhill runner and I was able to really nail it during this last quarter mile. But. . . the race was not over. I saw my dad and step mom again as I turned back into the park. I ran up a hill, with several speed bumps to watch out for, and approached the finish line. I looked at the clock: 26:54. . . 26:55. . . 26:56. Seeing how close I was to NOT getting my 26:xx, I gave a final surge and crossed before the clock struck 27 minutes. As I crossed, the announced called out "And our Third Place female is Elizabeth Clor!" I threw my hands up in the air when I heard that and I was so thrilled!

My official time was 26:57, and I was so relieved that I managed to get in just under the wire. Third overall female was a nice surprise, too, as this race tends to draw a competitive field. Last year I was the 12th female, and second place in my age group.

After the Race
I met up with Greg and Hannah and we started our cool down. Hannah had won the race and Greg had set a PR in 26:21. I had to stop twice during the cool down because of a side stitch, that was actually more like a front stitch. This usually never happens to me, and I was extremely thankful it didn't happen during the race. Ultimately the cramping subsided and I was able to do a proper cool down jog.

Top 3 Women: Me (3rd), Hannah (1st), Meredith (2nd)

When we returned to the finish line area, I ran into my co-worker's husband, and he told me that she had run the race. This was the same couple who lived in Old Town Alexandria and who had cheered me on during the 5K two weekends ago. It was a nice surprise to "run into" them again. We chatted for a bit and then I met back up with my dad and step mother. The sun was now high in the sky and perfect for just standing around as opposed to running.

Finally, they began the awards ceremony. I won a $50 gift certificate to Potomac River Running. Being third overall also gives me lots of points for the =PR= Race series. Greg won third place in his age group.


Final Thoughts and Stats

• I'm very pleased with my performance in terms of my pacing strategy and my mental toughness at the end. 
• I set a PR by 54 seconds; my previous PR was from last year on this course.
• There were 634 women in this race, but only 220 men. I wonder if this has anything to do with the Mother's Day theme.
• Both Greg and I find it odd that neither of us were able to run this race at a faster pace than our 10K from February. Even though I am not in marathon shape anymore, I've been consistently running track workouts since February with only a few weeks of post-marathon. I have a new respect for people who can run really fast in the short distances. 
• I enjoy the experience of new races, but it's also nice to run the same ones each year to see year-over-year improvements.
• I'm running a 5K next weekend and it's supposed to be a hot one! Running yet another PR will be a challenge, but I'm going to go for it.

Training Update: Springing Ahead

It's been awhile since I posted a training update. My current focus is building speed for shorter distance races. To recap, I set a PR in the 5K in mid-April (20:44), and then beat that PR a week later (20:38). Over the next two months, I plan to run three 5Ks and two 4-mile races. I really enjoy

training for speed, and in many ways it's more challenging than marathon training. The time commitment is less, but the effort level of the workouts is more intense. I'll write more on that idea in a bit.

Springtime in DC
The weather has been all over the map (typical for the Washington DC metro area) and oddly, it hasn't impacted me much. When I ran the back-to-back 5K races, I observed that I felt stronger and more energized during the warmer race: 70 degrees and sunny as opposed to 50 degrees and windy. This is a first for me. Historically I have felt drained by the heat, as most runners do, and I had always viewed it as my #1 running obstacle. It's premature for me to say that the heat is no longer problematic for me, but over the past several weeks, my best runs have been in the warmest and most humid weather. On the cooler days, I have struggled a bit. SO ODD!

One thing's for sure, I absolutely love how early the sun rises. It gets me out the door earlier and I don't have to rush as much in the mornings.

One of my goals this year is to be included in the RunWashington Runner rankings again. I was ranked 6th in 2015 and 5th in 2016. To qualify, I need to run 3 "ranked" races in the first half of the year and 3 in the second half. After my bout with mono last summer, I struggled to get 3 in the second half, but I managed to squeeze them all into November and December. Currently, I have already met the requirement for the first half of the year: For the Love of It 10K, Cherry Blossom 10-Miler, Crystal City Friday 5K, and GW Parkway Classic 5K. But they only use your best three times to determine your rank, so I have an opportunity to run a faster 5K to influence my ranking.

I've decided that by the end of 2017, I would love to run a 5K in 20:17 or faster, and for the summer, I'd like to get it down below 20:30. Here is a snapshot of my training for the past month. I've run every day since April 1st (at least 3 miles) so I am on a 37-day streak.

Week of April 24th: 52.3 Miles
Because I had run a 5K race on Sunday, I didn't have a track workout on Tuesday. Instead, I did a medium long run. Whenever I race on a Sunday, I typically use that as the following week's speed work and then run long and slow on the following Tuesday.

Monday: 5.9 miles @ 8:28 average. I was amazed at how recovered my legs felt from the 5K. It didn't feel like I had raced at all. I think this could be because the headwind was my biggest obstacle, not my legs. In Crystal City, my legs were dead afterwards.

Tuesday: 10.5 miles @ 8:35 average.

Wednesday: 7 miles @ 8:31 average.

Thursday: 10 x 300m with 2-minute recovery jogs + warmup and cool down. This workout was fun, as I am not used to running 300m intervals. My splits were: 1:06, 1:06, 1:03, 1:03, 1:02, 1:03, 1:02, 1:02, 1:03, 1:03. This was much faster than expected; these paces are in the 5:30-5:45 range, which is the same pace I run my

Thursday, April 27th

200m intervals at. I think it may have to do with the fact that I am much faster on the straight portions of the track, and with these 300's, I had 2 straights and one curve. Whereas with a 200m interval, 50% of the rep is a curve. But who knows, maybe I could be running faster 200's. I'll also note that it was a "soupy" morning with 98% humidity.

Friday: 5.8 miles @ 8:31 average.

Saturday: 12.4 miles @ 8:30 average. This was the magical run! It was 67 degrees and very humid, and yet I felt extremely energized. The entire run felt peppy and refreshing, and I felt like I could have kept going and going. My paces even dropped below 8:20 during the last few miles, unintentionally.

Sunday: 3.6 miles @ 8:26 average. This was supposed to be my recovery run after the medium-long run on Saturday. And typically I am very good about keeping those super easy. But for some reason I inadvertently kept speeding up. It didn't feel that fast but my paces said otherwise. I ended up with 52.3 miles for the week.

Week of May 1st: 50.6 miles

Monday: 5.8 miles @ 8:38 average

Tuesday: 1600m, 1200m, 800m, 400m, 200m, all with 400m recovery jog, + warmup and cool down. I set some track PRs! I ran the 1600m in 6:35, which was right where I wanted to be. I then ran the 1200m in 4:49, which was a PR. I don't run 1200's often, but I think my PR had been a 4:58, so I was happy to see something much faster. I couldn't believe my eyes at the end of the 800m: 3:06! I was amazed! My previous fastest had been 3:09, and I definitely wasn't trying to beat that. I ran the 400m in 1:29, and the 200m in 0:41. I was very pleased with how this workout felt, and once again, it was really humid and 65 degrees. When thinking more about this workout, I realized that because it was so much shorter than my workouts during marathon training, I pushed harder during the intervals than I otherwise would. During marathon training, my focus was to ensure that I would be able to complete the entire workout, whereas now, my focus was to run really fast.

Wednesday: 7 miles @ 8:35 average.

Thursday: 1600m, 1600m, 6 x 300m with 1-minute recovery jogs, 1600m. This workout started strong but didn't end well. I ran the first two 1600's in 6:44, 6:40.  My plan said to run them at "slightly faster than 10K pace" which was difficult for me to interpret because my 5K pace is only 4 seconds faster per mile than my 10K pace at the moment! So they ended up averaging 10K pace. Then came the 300's. I was supposed to run these at 1-mile race pace. I don't know what that would be, so I tried to shoot for a 6:00 pace. I ended running 1:09, 1:08, 1:06, 1:07, 1:06, 1:06. Then I realized that I didn't know if I should recover for 1-minute or 3 minutes, so I ran for 200m, which ended up being 1:38. So, after not having had much recovery, I went into the next 1600m and went

Saturday, May 6th

way to fast. I think the point of this workout is for the last two 1600m's to be faster because the 300's turned on another gear. But because I started out so fast on the first two laps, I pretty much crashed during the final lap, and my split was 6:44. After that, I was toast and decided not to run another 1600m as prescribed. My legs were dead and I was completely wiped out. Ironically, it was "perfect" running weather- 50 degrees and low humidity.

Friday: 5.1 miles @ 8:34 average. When I woke up, I realized I wouldn't be able to run outside because of the thunderstorms. So I had to wait until the evening. By then, it was 73 degrees and sunny. But low and behold, the run felt really good!

Saturday: 13.4 miles @ 8:38 average. This run was very blah. My legs were tired from Thursday's workout and having had run the evening prior instead of the morning before. I also slept poorly on Friday night. I had a packet of UCAN before I started and so my energy level ended up being decent. But my legs didn't have their usual pep. This run wasn't nearly as glorious as the warm and humid one from the weekend before.

Sunday: 3.7 miles @ 8:40 average. A true recovery run!

Overall, my training has been going well. I'm looking forward to some challenging track workouts and seeing how I perform in my upcoming races.