Sole (sic) Sister

Medical school is exhausting. From the schedule to the constant stress, plus the looming knowledge that you have almost a decade of training left to go before you are a “real” doctor, it’s not always a great environment in which to be an athlete. Some days, you’re lucky to get your running shoes on. That’s why I was thrilled to come across this article, about a bunch of fast “sole” sisters out in San Francisco. If I’m ever out there for a rotation, I’m looking these speedy ladies up!

In between studying kidney function, I’m keeping my eyes on all the cross country championships going on today, including Club Nationals in Bend, Footlocker and Junior Olympics. I’m starting to formulate a dream where I’m back in time to race Club Nationals next fall…

Big News (for me)

I’ve had a pretty darn good set of years recently including getting into medical school and getting engaged to a really great human, plus some serious PRs along the way. Besides these milestones, one of my greatest joys over the past two years has been coaching at MMU. As I’ve been planning a wedding and getting ready for medical school, the only thing clicking around my mind for regret was not returning to MMU to coach another year. I am rarely happier than when I’m standing at the end of a cross country race waiting for my girls to finish or laughing til I cry at some story they rush over to tell. One of the big pieces of advice that everyone gives incoming med students is to hang on to something that you love so that you can remain human despite the studying and exam pressure. After careful review of my fall schedule, a little soul searching and the willingness of my almost-husband to volunteer to make dinner and walk the dog every night, I committed to return to MMU for another year of coaching. Squeeeee!

We had our informational meeting last night and in addition to lots of returning faces, I was thrilled to see almost a dozen freshman girls coming out. It’s going to be a great year!

What They Don’t Tell You

I imagine that being a coach is in some ways like being a new parent. Although you have a vague idea what it might be like because you’ve been coached and you’ve observed coaching, much like that first year of parenthood, you really have no idea what you’re doing. Like new parents, you have moments of joy, of being overwhelmed and of being convinced that you are actually the worst coach alive.

They also don’t tell you that when you coach, your team will become your life. You won’t sleep before big competitions, you’ll cry after them and the sense of loss at the end of every season can be crushing. I spent Saturday night after States sitting on my couch almost paralyzed by sadness that the season was wrapping up. Fingers crossed, I will be in medical school at this time next year, so it suddenly hit me that everything was a “last.”

So some “last” pictures from the State meet:

Lean on me, when you’re not strong…

Spirit matters as much as heart and muscle

What an amazing group of girls

 

Who All Seen a Leprechaun?

From Derby to Thetford (twice)

Through good weeks and bad weeks

With injuries small and large (and two banged up cars)

With tons of laughter and a few tears

Plenty of excitement and a dash of disappointment

Five months of hard work and sore legs comes down to this

Happy States Eve. We are so so so proud of you. Chase that rainbow, girls.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Running Shorts

There’s no doubt in my mind that I would not be successful at and love running like I do without the women I’ve trained with over the years. From my teammates in high school to my training partners now, I am surrounded and supported by amazing female runners who push me along.

Watching the Women’s marathon yesterday was a blast. The definition of “ain’t over Til it’s over,” the best women in the world came to play and put on a gutsy show on a rainy, technical course.

I had to laugh as Shalane and Kara finished, however, because it was reminiscent of Christine and I after VCM. Both in a bit of a fog, I crossed the line where Christine was waiting with an impatient official who wanted her to keep moving. Through my pain I heard her say, “no! I’m waiting for my friend.” Our hug was pitiful and hunched over, but the only reaction after countless training runs and a 26.2 mile test. When I saw Kara pick up Shalane today and wrap her arms around her, I knew just what they were feeling.

Shalane and Kara, we are all so proud.

A Followup About Adventure Racing

In December, I asked a question about the proliferation of “obstacle races.” Then in May, I watched Emmy do Tough Mudder and was impressed with the physical requirements of that race. Apparently, I am not alone in my curiosity about the phenomenon, as the Journal of Exercise Physiology took on the topic in a recent issue.

It’s a fascinating Sunday read and great for anyone who is thinking about taking on an obstacle course or for people looking to learn more about designing training plans based in physiology (which is a good idea.)

Happy Sunday.

Saturday Smarts: Training Intensity

Article here.

One of the classic tools used in training athletes is the rate of perceived exertion (RPE from here on), which is a qualitative measure for coaches and athletes to use both to describe pace and to assess training status. Some scales go 1 to 10, some 1 to 20. It’s not a tool that we’ve used extensively at the high school level with our girls because they don’t have enough experience to know what the difference between a 12 and an 18 is, but we certainly approximate it when we describe tempo as “comfortably hard.”

As an athlete myself, I often struggle with what different intensities mean. Comfortably hard, for example, is somewhat close to “the pace you could run for an hour but no more.” Not actually that helpful.

The researchers attempted to give a little more substance to the intensity scale and evaluate how well athletes did at accurately assessing their training intensities. They used RPE, blood lactate testing and a heart rate monitor to collect data. The sample size was very small and subjects were all collegiate runners.

What they found was that in general, the athletes did a good job of assessing their training intensities and that their perceived exertion was corroborated by the physiological data collected. However, they did note that athletes were most likely to be off at recovery paces; athletes reported a low RPE, but blood lactate levels were inconsistent, indicating that the athletes were working too hard during recovery.

This finding likely resonates with many of us. As runners, we are inclined to go faster, to go longer. Learning to do recovery runs at the appropriate pace and swallow ego, trust training etc is really difficult for runners of all ages. I’ve mastered it by wearing a heart rate monitor and reciting the mantra, “even Ryan Hall runs 9 minute miles.” We’ve approximated it with the girls through our jokingly named “bro pace runs.” Even so, I regularly see my younger runners doing recovery days way too fast as they try to improve faster.

Takeaway: RPE is an effective means to assess intensity as an athlete and coach. Care should be taken, however, to ensure that recovery paces are appropriately easy. 

So Much For Relaxing

I had grand plans to take June off to recuperate from the MCATs, the semester, pulling together my AMCAS application and the marathon, but that plan never came to fruition. Instead, I’m working two jobs, coaching and trying to get back to training, all well trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to keep up with friends and enjoy the summer in Burlington.

The bad news is, I’m exhausted. 70 hour work weeks plus coaching mean I have limited time for all the random things that need to get done, like laundry and coordinating team racing for GMAA. It’ll be worth it, however, to be able to take time off next summer right before medical school.

The good news is, I’m getting back into running and despite still experiencing a lot of fatigue that is out of line with my training load, everything feels good and strong. I did a mile repeat workout last Saturday for my first workout back and despite some seriously awkward form for the first mile managed a 5:54 and a 5:41. It was nice to have the second mile feel much better than the first! I’m aiming for about 30 miles this week and then will settle in at 45 to 50 for the rest of the summer.

My first race is next week too, at the Clarence DeMar 5K on the 4th. While I’m excited to take a crack at a PR, I’m more excited because I get to share the race experience with my sister and aunt who will also be joining for the event. Last year, Clarence DeMar was hot and humid, making for a miserable slogfest. I’m fully prepared for another hot, sticky day but excited to do some short, fast running again.

One of the reasons my training load is relatively low this summer is because I’m focusing on re-building (or perhaps building for the first time) strength in my legs. To do this, I’m hiking and trail running. Both build strength and stability which will come in handy as my miles build again through the fall.

Despite my exhaustion, I’m excited to be feeling recovered and to find that nothing was permanently broken. Now if only I can find a few hours to sleep…

FINALLY

While I’m generally obsessed with the entire series of What Should We Call Me from the brilliant original  to the school specific and career specific ones, my new favorite version is the running version. It’s a little track focused so I don’t find it as funny as if someone did a cross one, but it’s still pretty spot on.

My current favorites? Teamcest.  Toenails. Ice Bath. 

Sorry for sharing the ultimate distraction, but this is one of my favorite things from the past few weeks. Enjoy!

Old Route Relay Review

We had a blast on Sunday running across Chittenden County as Team Skirack. No one got lost (on our team), no one cried and we didn’t even have a team fight. And I worked on that whole toughness issue that I’ve struggled with before.

It was a very chilly Sunday morning (and day), but thankfully the rain held off for most of the run. We all piled into my car at CVU just after 8 am on Sunday after cheering Kyle on over the start line. After a coffee run, we drove along the first leg to cheer Kyle on as he climbed 3 miles up and over to Richmond. At the first transition point, Kyle tagged Eric and established our official team tag-off butt slap. Eric barreled towards Cochran’s and Sarah and I both prepped for our upcoming legs. We raced ahead of Sarah (she had a short first leg) to Camel’s Hump Middle School where I attempted to warm up for my leg.

I came into Sunday on dead legs, after running 20 miles on Saturday. I felt good, but knew it would be a grind to get through 13.6 on hilly terrain. Still, I somehow underestimated the hilliness of my route, despite coaching in that district on those roads. The first two miles were hilly, but manageable. It was the screaming uphill in mile 4 that I completely forgot about and where I realized just how tired I was. I was determined to be at or under marathon pace, however, and ground out a first leg at almost 10K PR pace.

The 90 minutes between my legs passed quickly; I rehydrated and fueled as we wound out of Jericho into Essex and like others in the car, felt pretty darn stiff as I warmed up at Catamount for the second leg. The first mile was a breeze; downhill and flat with the wind at my back. I caught a person dressed as a fox. And then things got worse. With the climb over 89 and the long, grinding hill afterward, I was a cranking teammate. I distinctly remember saying to someone “I’m not really having fun anymore.” Somewhere around mile 4 of my second leg, however, I decided that I was going to work on using the mantra I plan to use both for the MCAT on Saturday and during VCM: I am grateful to be here. 

I reminded myself that I was grateful to be running with friends, that I was grateful for healthy legs and lungs and for the opportunity to explore backroads near my home. Whether it was the mantra or the downhill, the last few miles flew by. My only major tactical error was at 7 miles, where I turned into Lake Iroquois, the transition zone. With the downhill and the finish in reach, I dropped the hammer down and started to push. Only to hear my watch beep for 7 miles and realize that I had half a mile left. Instead of backing off, I decided to push through instead and somehow held on for another unexpected half mile. I managed to better my pace on this leg, finishing firmly under marathon pace.

In the end, we finished 2nd overall (and to an all male high school team, SO unfair) and had a blast. It was refreshing to run in a new place so close to home and to compete as a team in an unconventional way. It was also good for me to practice pulling myself together even when my legs felt horrible. I highly recommend this race for first-timers and experienced relay teams alike.