This past six months has been a whirlwind of running events – but not without intention. I just want to start by saying that you don’t have to be one “type” of runner. I truly believe that if you set a goal, and focus on that goal, you can achieve anything.
Over the past 5 years I have been in the rhythm of running fall and spring marathons, taking the summer off from heavy training. In between races I would get really excited to try a shorter 5k just to see what I could do. I was setting PR’s, but I wasn’t feeling great doing it – meaning, my body was more fit, but it was ill-trained for the distances I was racing. Well, after qualifying for the Marathon Olympic Trials last December, I made a pact with myself that this year will be the year I focus on shorter races and get my times down. This meant no races longer than 12k (Bloomsday), and no scope creep! That means you, half marathon – I will not be coming for you until the fall!
I started the season with an early indoor mile to gauge where I was at in terms of fitness and speed. I came just one second off of my college PR, running 5:00, but I finished the race feeling like a marathoner, not a sprinter. This was something I needed to work on. I transitioned back to some road races, running the Shamrock 5k, Tenacious Ten 10k, and Bloomsday 12k (all PRs this season!) and I was getting really motivated and excited about the upcoming Portland Track Festival. The 3k and the 5k were on my race calendar and I was aiming for some big PR’s…and my body was ready.
This season gave me a new challenge to work on – breathing outside my comfort level. With marathons comes patience, which means running a pace you can sustain for a very long time. Typically your muscles fatigue before you hit your aerobic threshold, which I find is the exact opposite of what you feel in a 5k or a mile. Because I was not used to this feeling, I worked with my coach on training me to and through that aerobic threshold point, so when the time came, I knew what it felt like and knew I could work through it.
I started track season with the 3k. This wasn’t your typical ‘every man for himself’ kind of race; instead, it was a battle of the cities! Vancouver BC vs. Seattle vs. Portland! Teams were made up of men and women (14 total per team), and the top 10 finishers from each team scored. In order to make it interesting, the men were started 1:21 after the women, making the men chase the women to the finish. And - to sweeten the deal, each member from the winning team was awarded $100! I went out with the lead woman and held on as tight as I could. I was tapered and fit, and I was feeling competitive. I had never run a 3k before, but my training was focused on the 5k, so I was feeling confident about the distance. Tactically, I ran really well and didn’t get passed by the men! I placed third in this race, second for PDX, and the PDX team took the crown! It was a really fun way to race and took a lot of pressure off of the day. My final time was 9:42, exceeding my goal of sub 9:45. Photo courtesy of @PDXTrack.
Next up on the race calendar was the 5k – just 6 days after the 3k. These doubles get tricky. There is a tendency to want to throw in another workout between races like this, but ultimately, I made the confident decision to forgo another workout and count my 3k as the workout for the week. I needed to feel rested for this 5k and I was not going to risk feeling tired or my legs feeling depleted. I wanted to feel FRESH! This was a much smaller race than the 3k, and very low-key. There were only 9 women in my heat, but they all posted times between 16 and 17 minutes – my PR was 17:11, and I had a goal to break 16:30, which was lofty. I set this goal because I wanted to be gutsy and didn’t want to limit myself. I feel like with marathon training it is so easy to limit yourself because you are focused on pace and time – but with a 5k, it’s about the thrill of the chase, and going after the next person in front of you, not paying attention to your watch (I always take mine off for track races). This race was no exception. I was going after a PR and I didn’t want to limit myself. I ran the race perfectly - 16:46 - a 25 second PR!
Coming off of the 5k I was feeling like I had raced a great season, but I wasn’t quite ready to be done with the track. I had the opportunity to race the inaugural Rose City Track Club Mile two weeks after my 5k, so I decided to go for it. The mile is a different beast compared to the 5k, but given how my workouts were going, I felt like I was due for a huge PR. I was able to fit in one solid workout and one tune-up before the mile, and the rest of the week was recovery – easy runs and some strides to keep me from going flat. As a tune-up, my coach had me run 3x [200 (33), 200 (33), Mile (5:42)]. This was a great workout because it helped solidify my comfort with the mile, but at the same time left me assured that 200 splits at 36 second pace would not feel foreign.
Going into the mile I knew I was seeded quite a bit faster than the rest of the heat, so I had to make the decision early on to lead the race and run it per my race plan. Normally in this situation I would stay back with the pack until it was time to kick in the third lap, but I wanted that PR, so I needed to run my race from the start. I started out with a 73 on the first lap, followed by 72’s for the second and third; when I crossed the finish line with 400 to go, I was on it – “give it all you’ve got!” I thought to myself. I knew I was in for a PR, the question was, how much… as I turned the corner with 100m to go, I was racing that clock to break 4:50. I was feeling the lactic acid in my entire body, but I wanted the time so badly. When I crossed the finish line, I was certain I had run my goal time. I met with my coach after the race and he confirmed it – I had just run 4:50.61 – a 9 second PR for the mile (from over 8 years ago). I was thrilled!
This six-month journey from the marathon race distance to the mile has been eye-opening. A year ago I felt certain that I was no longer a sprinter and that I had really lost my fast-twitch muscle speed, and I began to accept that. After experiencing what I did this spring, I never want to lose my turn-over again. I am so happy I took a chance on speed work again, because it is now my goal to transfer this speed to the half marathon, and hopefully the marathon, taking minutes off of my PR’s at those distances. Photos courtesy of Stephanie Norris, Rose City Track Club (@stephanie_meg) and Jerry Taylor of the Portland Running Company Race Team.
This summer will be spent building up my mileage and keeping my speed work up, and as I head into the fall, my goal will to break the 1:16 barrier at the Victoria BC Goodlife Fitness Half Marathon! Happy training!