Group Track Session, 40th Birthday...and Goodbye!

In the prior post, I said I don't believe birthdays are a reason to be "princess for a day."

But I have to say, I had one great long birthday weekend. Apologies for this long account! I'm letting myself indulge since this is The Last Post on BQ by 40.

It started bright and early on Saturday morning when I went to Boulder to join up with the Boulder Striders, a running group led by Colleen De Reuck. Darren put their track workout on my schedule, reversing his prior stance of not allowing me onto the track. Since my last attempt at a group run didn't work out (which is to say, I wimped out because it was cold), I was glad to get one in before closing the blog.

Needless to say, I was one nervous introvert, and the fact that this was the workout added to my nerves:

Warm Up 15-20 min/Stretch/4 x 100m strides
Start 2,400m @ Half Marathon Effort 3 min active rest
Then 1,600m @ 10 km Effort with 2 min active rest
Then 3 x 800m with 2 min active rest as follows:
--1st One @ 10 km Effort//2nd One @ 3-5 sec faster than #1//3rd One @ 3-5 sec faster than #2
End 1,600m @ 10 km Effort
Cool Down 5-10 minutes

I know many of you do speedwork that's tougher than that, but that's a big one for me.

There wasn't a lot of talking when I arrived. Everyone looked fit, but not scarily so, and Colleen has a way of putting people at ease. We set off on a warm-up jog, then did some stretching and drills together and then the strides. Cynthia, who had told me she was coming out to watch, take photos and then have brunch with me, arrived about this time (very nice of her to watch in the chill!). She asked me if I was nervous. I nodded yes.

But then there was nothing for it but to start. The slowest group went first. I asked them how fast they expected to do their 2,400 meters in, and they said at an 8:15 pace. So I went with them. My sea-level half-marathon in October was at 8:09, so I figured I'd give back a few seconds for the altitude.

Before I could think about it any more, off we went. I stayed behind a group of four women. The day was beautiful, chilly but on its way to warming up to the 50s, and I was comfortable in a thin race T-shirt, arm warmers and tights. The 2,400 was over before I knew it, and we were at about an 8:00 pace. We jogged a little, drank a little Gatorade...and then it was time for the first 1,600. Bam! Over even more quickly. And well under 8 minutes. I had looked down at my watch in disbelief at one point. Was I really going that fast? Was it really true that running with others is all it takes to make paces that are laborious alone....do-able?

Big thanks to Cynthia for taking photos. Not a bad view for a high school track! That's me in the white shirt.

And that's the way it went the rest of the time. The rest periods were so short I had no time to dread the next interval. And the intervals felt much easier than they should have for the paces my Garmin recorded. By the time we finished the final 1,600 I was hooked.

That's Colleen in the blue jacket cheering us on as we wrapped up one of the intervals.

I hope Darren puts more of these track workouts on my schedule. Next weekend I'm going to try to hook up with the other group that I bailed on last weekend. This time it will be for a long slow one, and I think I'm going to like that, too.

Cynthia and I left quickly and went to watch a nearby 4-mile cross-country race. Colleen had left the track workout early to do this one, so we go to see her as well as numerous other fast Boulder-area runners in the women's race. The winner (at a blistering 5:29 pace, finishing in 22:29) was Brianne Nelson, whom Kathy and I had met in the airport when we were headed out to the Olympic Marathon Trials and the Houston Marathon a year ago. Colleen took 9th. The top ten were all under a 6-minute pace on a hilly grass course. Amazing!

After a giant piece of quiche at brunch with Cynthia, I spent the rest of Saturday hanging out with my family, including my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and nephew who are visiting from the East Coast. Dan made homemade pizza on Saturday night, and all weekend I broke with my standard practice and let myself eat dessert whenever I want. I'll be back on the wagon starting tomorrow, after all.

Sunday was work, but it didn't feel like it since I found a sheaf of birthday cards and treats waiting for me.

Today I woke up early and started the day as I usually do: with a run by myself. It was 45 easy minutes with five strides at the end. I took in the clear view of the mountains to the west, the fresh air, the thwack-thwack of my feet, and I enjoyed every one of those strides. And then it was time to get ready for the party!

Here's a photo of the cake:

Chicking the Grim Reaper since 1973!

Everyone arrived at 10 a.m. and we took off on our 4K run at about 10:20. Most of the guests brought their kids, so the lead pack (which included Cynthia, Caolan (who I met in person for the first time today!), and my old friends Erin and Amy) also had to function as de facto sitters-on-the-run for a bunch of eager under-8 cyclists (thanks for that, you guys!). I ran in front for a bit, then slipped back to chat with some slower runners and the walkers...and of course Dan, his sister (my awesome sister-in-law Kate) and my little nephew Sam (who was a bit baffled by the whole proceeding...he preferred the playground at the park). I also got to run for a bit with my friend Josie's eager black lab, Summer. Summer's ordinary pace is my 800-meter track pace, though, so I didn't run very far with her today (have a hill workout tomorrow!).

Waiting to run!

Caolan, Cynthia and Amy, ready to lead!

The pack hits the park.

It was about as perfect a day as Colorado offers in January: temperatures in the 50s, brilliant sunshine, no wind. We all finished back at my house with bright eyes and rosy cheeks. With the help of a friend, I lit a literal 40 candles on the cake and then we feasted.

With Cynthia and the remains of the cake.

I said it last year, and I'll say it again: birthdays are not a reason to feel sad or stressed about the passage of time--and that's just as true of the ones with 5s and 0s on your new age. All of my friends tell me the 40s will be the best decade yet, and I do not doubt them. Be glad to be alive! It's a gift and a blessing.

And with that, I'm signing off. I didn't BQ by 40, but I'm planning to BQ as soon as I can. I hope I still know many of you in 10 years, when I plan to celebrate my 50th birthday by running 50 miles.

We have lots of time to train. Care to join me?

Wrapping Up!

On Monday I'm hosting a bunch of friends for my birthday, which lucky for me falls on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday this year. Everyone's arriving at 10 a.m. and we're going out for a 4-kilometer run around my neighborhood before we down some bagels and cake.

Today, with an easy run on the schedule, I mapped out the route.

After a trip through my neighborhood, the run takes in this park

and then winds up back in my driveway. Four kilometers is almost exactly 2.5 miles. I'm hoping kids and spouses will come, too, and that those who don't run will want to walk or bike or push strollers. I plan to spend time with everyone out there, jogging back and forth, walking when I feel like it, just soaking in the day. I don't believe in being "princess for a day" on my birthday, but I do believe that birthdays should be an occasion for gratitude and celebration.

I'm not good at writing inspiration, and while I do like reading the wise thoughts of others, I prefer to do it at certain times when it's really needed (like, say, the night before a race). And I don't think I'm particularly wise when it comes to running. But since this is my second-to-last post, I also wanted to share with you guys a few things I've learned through this sport. Apologies if some of them are platitudinous. I'm writing this for myself as well, because these are things I need reminding of.

1. The major thing that running and life have in common is that they rarely offer straight paths to any destination. Outside circumstances will interfere in some things. In others, you will change, and so (often, though not always) will your goals. You'll know the difference between when you're giving up on something and when you're simply moving on from it, in both running and life.

2. You can draw motivation from negative forces. It's no fun to live knowing you quit something you shouldn't have. But it's also a powerful thing to use that as fuel for another challenge, one you'll see through. Along the same lines: be aware of your faults (one of mine is laziness), and use that awareness to push you in the opposite direction from where those faults would take you if you let them control you.

3. You won't accomplish everything you want. Sorry to say it, but it's true. I am not a believer in "If you dream it, you can do it." At some point, all of us will bump up on the ceiling set by our innate abilities and other factors outside our control. But I don't think we should allow that to make us sad or sullen (at least not for very long). You can accomplish a lot more than you think if you put in the work. Be patient.

4. Your running will give you moments that are sublime. You don't have to be fast to have these moments. These moments have nothing to do with talent. They have to do with you recognizing and satisfying your in-born human need to move. So don't be jealous of others. You're getting the best part of running simply by doing it.

Thanks again to all of you for reading this! Remember that if you want to receive the race reports that I plan to write as I continue my quest for a Boston qualifying time, please email me at terzahbecker [at] gmail.com.

I am the Fastest......

The first image that comes up in Google Images for "fastest"

I have just a few more days to post here, so I figure I might as well have a little fun.

The other day a Facebook friend of mine--a woman I know only because we're both named Terzah--put a question about running apps on the Newsfeed, and I answered it. I then turned to Dan and told him turns out one of the other Terzahs I know is also a runner and isn't that cool?

How many Terzahs are there? I'm not sure, but I'm aware of eight or so others in the USA, many of them part of my family or friends with my family. This particular Facebook Terzah, who is not a relative, is a really impressive person, and her story of how she got the name is much more interesting than mine. I inherited mine from my great-grandmother; as with all inheritances, the jury's still out on whether I'm really worthy of it.

Anyway, when I told him that the other Terzah is a runner, Dan asked this question: "I wonder if you're the fastest Terzah."

We both thought about that. It's a given that I'm not the fastest of much of anything.....there are millions of faster women, faster pushin'-40-year-olds, faster librarians, faster moms of twins, faster graduates of Rice University, faster Boulder County residents, faster people in my family (Dan's 5K personal record from his high school cross country days will probably stand until/if one of the kids decides to run)....I could go on and on.

But you know what? I just might be the fastest Terzah.

I didn't want to seize the title without doing a little research. I started with Athlinks.com. But that didn't turn up any other running Terzahs. I then Googled "terzah run", "terzah 5K" and "terzah marathon." No one came up but me. I admit it wasn't an entirely exhaustive search. But I think I found another privilege that comes with an unusual name, along with easy-to-claim email addresses and priority in Google searches for yourself (my blog is the first hit when you Google "terzah").

So I am staking my claim: I am the fastest Terzah! Anyone out there want to challenge me? Maybe my Facebook friend will.....Hmm, she's a pretty strong person. Maybe I should be frightened.

It's tough here at the top.

Still Learning....

Do I really know how to run a marathon?

The answer to that (I'm pretty sure) is no.

I have now run six of them, and I've learned many things. But the main thing I've learned is how much I still have to learn.

The major thing I'd like to be better at is how to pace myself in a marathon. Here's a look at the paces for my last three 26.2s, mile by mile, according to my Garmin data (I don't have this data for the first three I ran, and because of Garmin discrepancies these numbers may not add up to my official finishing times or match the official race data exactly):

Top of Utah--September 2011
Mile 1--8:29
Mile 2--8:11
Mile 3--8:15
Mile 4--8:28
Mile 5--8:28
Mile 6--8:44
Mile 7--8:38
Mile 8--8:27
Mile 9--8:35
Mile 10--8:53
Mile 11--8:30
Mile 12--8:28
Mile 13--8:31
Mile 14--8:34
Mile 15--8:21
Mile 16--8:40
Mile 17--8:31
Mile 18--8:54
Mile 19--9:30
Mile 20--10:03
Mile 21--9:14
Mile 22--10:36
Mile 23--11:10
Mile 24--10:36
Mile 25--9:41
Mile 26--9:40
Final .2 pace: 8:35
RESULT: 3:59:11

Houston Marathon--January 2012
Mile 1--9:26
Mile 2--9:01
Mile 3--8:33
Mile 4--8:25
Mile 5--8:19
Mile 6--8:36
Mile 7--8:31
Mile 8--8:36
Mile 9--8:46
Mile 10--8:46
Mile 11--8:47
Mile 12--8:49
Mile 13--8:45
Mile 14--8:29
Mile 15--8:36
Mile 16--8:46
Mile 17--8:47
Mile 18--9:00
Mile 20--8:59
Mile 21--9:04
Mile 22--9:08
Mile 23--9:12
Mile 24--9:08
Mile 25--9:19
Mile 26--8:57
Last .2 pace--7:50
RESULT: 3:53:28 (my current PR)

California International Marathon--December 2012
Mile 1--9:19
Mile 2--8:57
Mile 3--8:39
Mile 4--8:51
Mile 5--8:56
Mile 6--9:00
Mile 7--9:07
Mile 8--9:01
Mile 9---9:00
Mile 10--8:47
Mile 11--8:45
Mile 12--8:59
Mile 13--8:51
Mile 14--8:53
Mile 15--9:00
Mile 16--9:06
Mile 17--11:36 (bathroom stop)
Mile 18--9:04
Mile 19--9:14
Mile 20--9:17
Mile 21--9:05
Mile 22--9:12
Mile 23--9:18
Mile 24--11:40
Mile 25--11:08
Mile 26--9:57
Final .2 pace: 9:02
RESULT: 4:06:32

What do these races have in common? If you said, you hit the Wall, Terzah, and right around the same time in all three races, well, you'd be right.

The fact that I markedly slowed down in Houston, too, albeit more modestly than the other two drama fests, surprised me. In each list, I italicized the mile where I think the Wall came. Each race had its own unique reason: Top of Utah killed me when the screaming downhill turned flat; CIM killed me due to the headwind and my stomach...and even Houston, a race I am still mostly proud of and felt good for the entire way, featured a noticeable point where my pace slowed. In that case, I don't really know why. Poor fueling, maybe? Hard to say, because I was enjoying myself.....

These data also show me that in each race I put in some early miles that were faster than what I was ready for. Top of Utah--which lures you in with a screaming downhill for almost 15 miles--is understandable. But someone like me shouldn't have been doing an 8:11 mile that early in any marathon, for any reason, and especially not in my first marathon in six years. In Houston, I started too slow (9:26?! really?!), but I made up for that with too-fast times in miles four and five. And for that day at CIM, knowing the worst of the headwind was still ahead, I shouldn't have run Mile 3 in 8:39. I was trying too hard to keep up with a pace group that, on that day, was too fast for me.

So here's my homework for April's Eugene Marathon:

1. Be honest about my possible pace, and not only that but be honest about my possible pace for the weather and health Mother Nature deals me on THAT day, NOT necessarily what my pace could be on a perfect day. Darren can help with this, but Darren isn't going to be with me in Eugene on April 28. In the end, I have to know my own body and be honest about the weather.

2. Aim for an even pace, tilted toward slightly slower in the first half and slightly faster in the second half. This will be the hardest part, I think.

3. Fuel properly. Practice this in training. Truth is, I hate eating while running. I barely ate anything during Top of Utah or CIM, and I may not have consumed enough calories in Houston, either (though I'm less sure about that). Time to get over that. This cycle I plan to experiment more with sports drink and Gu-type things. Shot Bloks work well for my gut, but they are bulky and cumbersome to carry and after 13 or 14 miles, my mouth just doesn't want to chew them.

I'm in good company in cultivating true humility in the face of this distance. In my weight training sessions with her, Colleen has said a couple of times that the marathon must be respected, no matter how talented a runner you are or how many you've done (she told me she's lost count of her marathons, but I know they include four Olympics and at least one Olympic Trials victory).

Any other advice? How did you run your best marathon: even paced, or negative split, or positive split? Has anyone really mastered the marathon (maybe Meb has....but anyone less, um, gifted)?

Embracing the Treadmill

I thought of calling this post "wimping out," but even though that's what I felt like I did, it's unfair to some real badasses out there who I know have to train on treadmills.

So yep....the group run didn't happen today. It was 5 degrees with a windchill of -13 when I woke up, and the sidewalks were icy. I decided breathing that for 90 minutes, and slipping around while I was at it, wasn't worth the tough-girl points. Instead, I drove to the YMCA and did my slow long one on the treadmill. It wasn't so bad. It wasn't so great either, and I still want to avoid that whenever possible....but it was better than being bone-cold for an hour and a half or more.

Plus, when I was done, the gym was right there for the 60 minutes of weights and core work that I also had on the schedule.

My friend Keith says we can try again in two weeks for the group workout. Not sure if Keith and his wife joined the group today, or waited until later....I hope they ran inside too. It's now 10:40 a.m. and it's still only 16 outside. Here's hoping it warms up for my next run on Monday!

Stay warm, everybody.

Introverts and Group Runs

Have you ever taken the Myers-Briggs personality test? It's one of the few "psych" tests I have done, or at least I've done knock-off online versions. Here's a decent one--at least as far as I can tell it's decent. I sometimes wonder if these are just more-elaborate versions of a women's mag quiz.

One thing I'm fairly sure these tests do get right: they always peg me as an introvert. I remember a long time ago being at a crazy post-college New Year's Party and ducking into an empty office because big crowds tire me out. At almost every party I go to I'll do this after a while: find an empty room, a bookshelf or even a bathroom where I can go be alone for a while. In the case of this party, a friend of mine found me in that office and said, "Ah....taking a break from the party! You must be one of those introverts who can pass for extroverts sometimes."

And he was right: I am an introvert who can pretend extroversion. I worked as a reporter for several years, and to be a reporter you have to be able to initiate and carry on conversations with strangers. But I never was comfortable at this. Ultimately I'm much happier as the librarian I am now. I do still have to talk to people I don't know as part of my job, but it's usually one-on-one and cordial (reporters often have to be confrontational).

What does any of this have to do with running?

Well, this weekend I'm going to run with a group. Someone I knew briefly back in college got in touch last fall. Turns out he's a runner, too, lives in Boulder and he'd just run his half-marathon personal record, something he attributes in large measure to group training. He invited me along on one of his group's Saturday runs, and I decided to give it a try.

This scares me. I've run with individual friends, with Cynthia and Kathy and my old friend Angela, and I've always liked how this ups the fun factor. I've run on two 24-hour relay teams. I also enjoy being an anonymous member of the crowd during races.

But in races everyone's focused on his or her own run. Cynthia and Kathy are friends in other contexts--they know me. A training group....that's A LOT of other people, and, well, they chat. I'm bad at chatting. I'm scared I'll be the slowest person out there (Darren's got me doing a 90-minute run, all at a low heart rate). And I'm scared...well, I'm scared of all the other things that scare me in any new social situation: that I won't know what to say, that I won't come across as having a sense of humor, that I'll say something to make me put my foot in my mouth, that they won't see me as a "real" runner or as a very interesting person. (These things have all happened to me, and not just back in middle school. Maybe the other introverts out there can back me up on that.)

But I'm going anyway because it won't be the first time I've done something in running that scares me, and it's always been for the best. I'm going because it was nice of my friend to ask me, and surely he doesn't think I'm a total loser or he wouldn't have issued the invitation. I'm going because I see running with a group, at least sometimes, as a missing piece in my training. I'm going because when this blog goes away, I'll need a support group and because I think it's stupid to live in a place like Boulder County and NOT know more runners in person (and actually run with some of them sometimes!). I'm going because I have a marathon in April, and three-plus hour training runs alone get dull.

I do feel that, given my personality and time constraints, I'll probably still do most of my runs alone (I hope I'll get to do at least a long run or two with Cynthia and Kathy this cycle). But getting a little more social in general can't hurt.Wish me luck! I know this sounds like a lot of drama for something that will hopefully be fun. Even for a consummate introvert.

What about you? Are you an introvert or an extrovert (and what do you think of tests like Myers-Briggs? useful or complete BS)? Do you train with a group?

Avoiding the Treadmill

It's been hard to get outside to run at my preferred time, the very early morning. It's cold,truly cold (as in sub-zero until the sun's above the horizon), and the sidewalks are dicey. Not everyone shovels like they're supposed to.

I also was assigned a hard fartlek workout today for the first time since the California International Marathon. This one was 7 x 3 minutes at a high heart rate with a 90-second recovery after each interval. I've been doing shorter pick-ups embedded in easy runs, but this is the first one where speed has been the entire point.

It was tempting to do it on the treadmill at the YMCA we belong to here. It's warm there--I can wear shorts and a tank. And I don't have to worry as much about pace. If my heart rate drops below where it's supposed to be (this morning between 166 and 172), I just push that little pace up arrow and take care of it. Outside, I actually have to keep myself honest, and that's still hard for me when I'm running fast.

This time, I did not give in to temptation. I DID wait until late morning, when it's much warmer (above freezing), but I'm happy I soldiered outside and took care of it on a nearby bike trail.

Doing these kinds of runs outside whenever possible is, for me anyway, really important. The last few hard workouts I did before CIM were on the treadmill. Even though I always follow the conventional wisdom and set the incline to 1% to mimic outside conditions, something kept whispering to me that I wasn't getting as much out of it because I wasn't being responsible for my own pace. There's only one way to silence that voice, I think--get outside.

Now, I know I'm lucky to live where I do, and to work part-time. Yes, it's cold in the early morning, but at least while my kids are in school, I have a couple of mornings a week where I don't have to go out pre-dawn. This does cut into what I can do with the rest of my day (the laundry doesn't do itself), but I'm thinking I can use the pre-dawn time when I would run in warmer weather to do some of these household chores before the kids wake up. Then I can get them to school, do my run under the friendly Colorado sun...and still have time for things like more chores, paying bills and a nap before it's time to pick them up.

Today's run outside was gorgeous, and with each interval I gained confidence in my own ability to hold the necessary pace. Plus you couldn't beat the view of the snow-mantled mountains to the west.

What do you think? Am I being too paranoid about speedwork on the treadmill? I'm sure I'll still have to resort to it some this winter....I just want to minimize that.

Race Report: New Year's Day Predict Run

It was a quite a Christmas in my household. I'll spare you the details, but here's the outline:

1. Thursday, Dec. 20: Cancelled flight to Missouri; we end up driving two days instead

2. Saturday, Dec. 22: Dan diagnosed with bronchitis and put on antibiotics.

3. Wednesday, Dec. 26: Will tested and found positive for Influenza A, then put on Tamiflu. Soon after, his sister got sick too. Oh, and so did I, my second nasty one since the California International Marathon. Cough, snot, low appetite, low energy.....

4. Friday, Dec. 28: This was the day we were supposed to drive back to Colorado. We had to delay because Ruth was still feverish. And I wasn't so great myself.

5. Sunday, Dec. 30: We finally pulled into our own driveway back in Colorado. Everyone's on the mend now...just in time for work and school to resume.

I'd really like a Christmas do-over. It was still nice to see my mom and sister and lots of friends and family, but there wasn't a lot of relaxed holiday cheer. I also missed two runs....and we all know what that does for mood and morale, sick or not.

Sometime amid all this, however, I had asked Darren if I could run a 5K on New Year's Day. I am signed up for the 5 by the 5th Virtual Run Series hosted by Laura at See Mommy Run Fast, as well as the related Resolution Run, and wanted to do the latter as part of a real race.

My resolution is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Boring, aren't I?

 
Instead of a 5K, Darren suggested I do an informal and fun little run in Boulder called the New Year's Day Predict Run. It started at Flatiron Athletic Club, where I had a memorable treadmill run two years ago on the same holiday, and I admit that given the location I felt twinges of that old fear of coming in last. But the run appealed to me. For one thing, Darren and Colleen were both running it. And it's an old-school event co-hosted by the venerable Boulder Road Runners. The idea is 1) you predict the time in which you'll finish the course, 2) you run "naked" (no watch, no GPS) and 3) the winners are those who came closest to their predicted time.

So off to Boulder I went. It's a bright and beautiful day here. The frigid fog of earlier burned off, and by the time we started at 10 a.m. it was chilly but perfect (not like the butt freezer I had early in the morning yesterday from home; that was a frozen hair frozen eyelashes outing). Today's course went right through my old neighborhood, a lucky thing for me since there were no mile markers or volunteers out there to direct us. I shuffled along, avoiding patches of snow and frost and ice-skate-jogging on a few portions where the streets hadn't been plowed after last week's snow dump.

I had no expectations for this run, another reason it was good I didn't do a 5K. This was never going to be a personal record day, and I'd really like to smash my 5K PR the next time I do one. I predicted 37:59 for the 4.5-mile-ish course and came in at 40:06. Despite the inaccuracy of my guess, it wasn't a dreadful time given that I'm still coughing and congested (as well as tired from the road trip), and I was happy that I passed two people and got passed by no one (there were only about 75 people total). The winners of the prediction piece each came within 15 seconds of their actual time, pretty impressive considering the watch-free requirement. The person who crossed the line first? Yep, you guessed it....Colleen!

Afterwards I hung out and chatted with a couple of people (including a nice guy from the Road Runners who invited me to their Saturday group run, which it turns out happens not too far from where I live; I may take him up on it!). I also found out from Darren that he himself had been down eight days with the flu over Christmas and hadn't been able to exercise the whole time--which somehow made me feel like less of a wimp. After collecting a new stocking cap and a gift card to a local restaurant, I took a hot shower in the club's amazing locker room and spent some time in the hot tub.

Not a bad way to ring in the New Year! I hope all the rest of you are having a good day, too, racing well if you're racing--and may none of us be sick again for a while.

Now I'm off to tackle another marathon....the one in which we deal with the disaster areas our kids' rooms became over the break from school.....