A (Very) Happy April :-)

We are now in May and marathon training is in full swing and I have to say that I am very surprised and very happy with how things are going right now and so long as I can avoid injury and I don't overdo things, I am feeling optimistic about a good run in San Diego next month.

Looking back to April, it was a pretty awesome month - not only did I have some good races but I also had some good training sessions which have given me a huge confidence boost. It hasn't been easy with Andy working away so much, but I have managed to fit in some decent quality runs in between walking the dogs and keeping them entertained, and looking after myself.

I recovered surprisingly well from Whiskey Basin and within a couple of days, my legs were back to normal and I was ready to run again - so much so that I sneaked in a little 3-mile run a day earlier than I should have done! But I felt great and having taken it easy, I knew it wasn't going to do any harm. I also got a couple of runs in with Wilson which made exceptionally happy, including an early Sunday morning trail run with the AZ Traileggers. Wilson was so well behaved despite all the new people around him, and it was so nice to see that he was waggy tailed and happy to see Cary and Adam again having met them on previous occasions.

Wilson leads out the AZ Traileggers on a beautiful Sunday Morning :-)
Photo Credit: Jon Christley

That weekend, I decided I wanted to do another marathon and so to help determine a target time, I signed up for the Dam Good Run 13k to see how fast I could run these days when putting in a bit of effort. Being a shorter race than I am accustomed to, I had no idea how I would get on but it would give me a benchmark on which to base my marathon training.

It was unfortunate that Andy was away that weekend so I knew I would have to go to the race on my own. No big deal, but I felt awfully guilty about leaving Wilson and Brandy at home on their own for a few hours. To make up for it, I took them to Prescott on the Saturday and did the loop around Lynx Lake. It was much cooler up there compared to Phoenix that day, and being at around 5,000 ft, the air felt much fresher and cleaner. I love the lakes and pines of Prescott and the dogs had a fabulous time swimming and paddling in the water before sitting down and sharing a picnic with me. It was a beautiful day spent together and after 2 hours at the dog park when we got home, they were suitably tired and spent the remainder of the evening and the following morning fast asleep.

Fun in Prescott at Lynx Lake with the Pups
Photo Credit: Me!

Dam Good Run was on the Sunday morning, and on arriving at Lake Pleasant at around 7am, it was already feeling rather toasty. The forecast called for a high of close to 100 degrees and I was glad that I was only doing 13k rather than one of the longer races.

Lining up at the start, I was still unsure as to how I should run the race and decided that the best plan of action would be to run just outside of my comfort zone so that I was working hard but not going flat out. I had no idea what that meant pace wise and decided to just run based on feel. I knew the first 2 or 3 miles were on road with the remaining 5 miles on trail with a good climb to the finish at the end and I figured that I would just keep the pace going for as long as possible and hopefully avoid fading at the end.

I was extremely surprised when my first mile came in under 7 minutes and when my watch beeped for the second mile, I had somehow done a 6.48 - where the hell did that come from?! I was feeling good too which also came as a surprise considering it was only 2 weeks ago that I had raced an 88k.

When hitting the trails, I looked up and realized I was gaining on the lead lady and a couple of minutes later, I passed her. I hadn't increased my pace, if anything it had slowed slightly, but I was still concentrating on trying to maintain the same level of effort.

I consider the Dam Good Run course to be a fast one - yes there are climbs but they aren't too bad, and apart from some sandy sections through washes, the trails are smooth and non-technical. I was flying along those trails and I was absolutely loving the feeling of pushing harder than normal, and I held onto the lead until around about the 6-mile mark which is when the real climbing started. I slipped back into 2nd place and I found that I did have to alternate between running and walking up the hills over those last couple of miles - I was feeling fine, but I just didn't have the power there to push up. The gap between the lead and myself widened but I knew I was still having a good run and I really didn't mind what position I finished in - this was about something else today.

I crested that final hill and attempted a sprint to the line, finishing 2nd lady in 1 hour 3 minutes and all top 3 ladies finished inside the old course record. I was over the moon with my run - I expected to run anything between 65 and 70 minutes, so to run 63 was extremely satisfying. It made me realise that whilst I likely won't run any sub 6 minute miles these days, I can at least inject a little bit of pace if I want to - yep, I was happy :-)

2nd lady at Dam Good Run 13k and VERY happy :-)

A couple of days after the race, my marathon training kicked in properly and I had a couple of tempo runs to do that week. I knew I was going to find these tough, not just because of having to run a bit quicker but also because unless I'm racing, I find it very difficult to run hard for anything more than a mile or 2 if I don't have company.

The first one was 6 miles and as with the race, I didn't really know how to pace the run. I tried to keep things relaxed and focus more on how I felt rather than hitting a pace but I was happy to say that the legs felt good and whilst the old body resisted the heavy breathing and burning lungs a couple of times which caused me to stop, in the main I kept things going.  I was excited to check my watch post run just to see how I had got on and seeing an average pace of 6.43 miling left me speechless. Had I really just ran that kind of pace for 6 miles?!

The following day saw another tempo, but this time it was only 3 miles with a few miles extra added on at the end at a more steady pace. Once again, I was doing sub 7 minute miling, getting close to 6.40's - what was happening?!

With two days of faster paced workouts behind me, my legs were starting to feel it a little so I was happy to have a nice and easy run scheduled in on the Thursday. I was racing again Saturday and I had been instructed to treat the Sinister Night Trail Run 27km as an easy training run. All day long I felt relaxed about the event, knowing full well there was no pressure and I could just relax and enjoy running in the desert at night.

The Sinister Night Run takes place at the San Tan Mountain Regional Park in Queen Creek south of Phoenix. I hadn’t done this race although I had raced the San Tan Scramble in January - that was a good race despite taking a wrong turn that cost me the lead, but I wasn't about to let past experience affect things today.

I love the Aravaipa Running Night Series Races. The atmosphere is so friendly and relaxed and yet everybody is having such a wonderful time as the music pumps away at the start and finish line. The Sinister Night Race consisted of 3 x 9km loops on twisting, rolling, non-technical trails and it feels like the first half of the loop is all uphill whilst the second half is a gradual descent. I was excited about running this race and was feeling happy because Andy and the dogs would be here this time - they had missed my previous two races and it was so nice to have my little support crew with me even though I wasn't taking the race seriously tonight.

WE arrived at the San Tan Mountains as the sun was going down, and what a beautiful evening it was! The temperature was just nice, and despite a brisk wind which I would come to curse a little mid-race, the conditions were pretty much perfect for running. 

It was great to see so many familiar faces and we had a little fun posing with the dogs on the podium before we set off.

The 27k started at 7.30pm and we needed the head torches pretty much straight away. I started off nice and steady, not bothering to look at my watch and just making sure I stayed nice and relaxed. From the off, I was already with the lead group of men along with another lady who was just a few strides ahead of me. But I wasn't here to race and I let her run her own race, not minding if she pulled away into the distance. 

I wouldn't call this course exactly hilly, but the first few miles are a gradual climb with some short but steep ups and downs through washes as you head out to the aid station at around 3 or 4 miles. I wasn't really putting in any great deal of effort, but by the time we'd reached the first mile or so in the race, I had taken the lead. I really didn't want to get into a race tonight so tried to stay calm and in control, making sure that I didn't go into race mode and avoiding the urge to up the pace.

After the aid station, the trail narrowed and there were a few more climbs with more twisting and turning. By this time, I was running pretty much alone although I could see a couple of head torches ahead whilst a stream of lights was still following behind. It was so peaceful out there in the desert - not a sound except for my own breathing and my footsteps in the sand. I became so entranced with the darkness around me and the trail in my immediate vicinity as I ran along that I started to gain on some of the men. It really wasn't a conscious thing, but I was feeling good and thought that I may as well keep it going.

As I came into to start my second loop, it was so nice to see Andy there for once whist the shouts of support I got as I passed through was tremendous and I felt a little overwhelmed.

Some of the men stopped at the aid station as we came through and I found myself starting lap 2 on my own without anybody nearby. I was still making sure to stay relaxed - OK, I was probably running a little faster than the easy pace I had intended, but my legs were feeling great, I was feeling great, and apart from desperately needing a drink (I'd dropped my handheld as I hate carrying things), I was still managing a good pace.

After passing through the mid-loop aid station for the second time, I started to bump into the 9km runners who were running the same loop. It was great to see so many people out there having so much fun, and although I had reveled in the peace and quiet of the first loop, it was good to hear so much laughing and chatter from people. These folks were amazing and happily moved over when they heard me trotting up behind them even though I'm sure many of them were hoping for PRs out on the course.

I had been leading the ladies race for over 90 minutes now but being dark, I had no idea how much of a lead I had. With just one loop to go, I didn't really want to lose the lead now and so I decided now was the time to up the tempo a bit and put in a little more effort. I tried to work the hills more so than the previous lap whilst I tried to stride out as I came into to finish that loop and start the third and final lap of the course.

End of lap 2 and heading out onto third and final lap
Photo Credit: Aravaipa Running

The third lap was the quietest of them all and it really did feel like I was out there all on my own. I was also noticing that the beam of my torch was starting to fade and I couldn't see the trail as well as before. I stumbled numerous times on rocks but thankfully didn't trip and fall but I was starting to get a little concerned that my torch may well die on me and I would end up running in the complete dark. The dark didn't bother me - the course was well marked and even in the dark I don't think it would be that easy to get lost - but I was still leading the ladies race, and I know I would be gutted if I now lost out simply due to a dodgy head torch!

The final loop did see me walking a couple of sections simply because I couldn't see very well, but these walk breaks were short and swift and I ran whenever I could. The other thing was that my time for the previous two loops had put me on track for a new course record - if I could run this loop at a similar pace as the others, the course record would be mine. 

It's hard to gauge distance in the dark and even with a headtorch I couldn't really see my watch, but with about a mile to go, I knew that the course record was within my reach. There was one last, long climb that I had to contend with but after that, the trail opened up and it would be plain sailing into the finish line.

I stumbled up the climb, spotted the landmark bench at the side of the trail and that was my cue to go. I could see the lights at the finish line, I could hear the music pumping, and I ran as hard as dared in the darkness down the trail, heart rate rocketing, lungs about to explode, but a mind and body so determined that I didn't dare defy myself. I was feeling amazing and didn't allow myself to relax until I had crossed that finish line.

The time on my watch read 2.27 - I had done it by just under 3 minutes - I was VERY happy! 

The wonderful winner's trophy
Photo Credit: Me!

Looking back on the splits for each of my loops, there was barely any difference between them which shows a consistent effort which did surprise me:

Loop 1 - 48.16              Loop 2 - 47.59            Loop 3 - 48.40

For me personally, I felt like I'd had a good run and I couldn't have asked for a better result.

Of course, even though I hadn't raced flat out, I was conscious that maybe I had put in more of an effort than originally planned and therefore come Sunday, I was very careful to make sure that I did a 6-mile recovery run rather than the steady run that was penciled in. A few years ago, when training for the World 50km Championships, I suddenly lost all my energy and for about 6 weeks, it would take me nearly an hour to do just 3 or 4 miles of running. The weakness came from nowhere and I did nothing but sleep and at the time, I had no idea of the cause. Looking back, I now realise that I was likely suffering from over-training syndrome - training too hard in order to succeed at the Worlds - and as a result, the Worlds weren't meant to be that year.

Since then I have been very careful not to overdo things and I try to make sure that recovery means recovery. With doing more faster paced runs this past couple of weeks in preparation for the marathon, I have felt a different type of muscle fatigue that I don't get from trail running, so now more than ever I need to listen to my body and be sure to communicate to my coach if I run into any problems. The good news is that Sunday's easy run was amazing and I was sure to take my time and enjoy the views as I headed over to Deem Hills and the dog park.

So, with 5 weeks to go and another 27km race in 3 weeks’ time, I'm feeling good, I'm feeling faster already and having lost another couple of pounds in weight and being back at what used to be my racing weight I am noticing the difference and feeling far better than I have done for months.

Of course, being in Phoenix in May means that the heat is already starting to increase and today we had our first 100 degrees day of the year. There is more to come this week before things cool off for a few days, but I know that it won't be long before we see triple digits daily for days on end. Early morning runs are going to become the norm again, along with treadmill running but whatever it takes, I am looking forward to what will hopefully be another happy, healthy and successful summer in the desert.

Happy trails - and roads! - my friends :-)