Road Apple Roubaix

It took almost 5 years, but my friends finally cracked me and talked me into coming back to Ohio for a visit.  

Race day I had enough time to ride the course backwards, out and back for the last 6 miles and scope out the Headwaters trail.  I counted 3 wet/mushy spots but more importantly it was down hill to the finish.  

I found Joe and Tom at the start and they reassured me they weren't going out at a crazy pace (Joe mentioned something about "patty cake pace") but I had my reservations.  They were riding the 25 and I was doing 50.  It would be a long day if I blew up early.  We lined up about 1/4 of the way back and whoa was it a fast start.  I didn't even bother to look at my HR because I already had that metallic taste before I vomit in my mouth. The first climb was less than 2 miles in and that immediately separated the front group from the rest of the field.  I started to fall off  Tom and Joe's wheels on the climb and I looked back, but no one was on my wheel.  That forced me to burn a match to catch back up to them so I wasn't in no man's land.  The down hill allowed some of us to regroup a little and for the next 6 miles I held onto Joe and Tom before Tom's chain dropped and Joe slowed to check on him.  

Not sure what my next move was going to be, but then a woman who I later learned was from Pittsburgh and her name was Robyn came by putting down just enough power to go after a group ahead.  I hung on her wheel thinking maybe I would have to hitch rides to the finish from here on out.  We closed on the group and I was relieved.

Unfortunately, it was short lived. It was her and I with a bunch of guys and one of the guys tried to break away and a few gave chase and the group exploded.  This proceeded to be the case for the next 5 miles or so and then I realized Robyn and I were pretty much on our own.  The men were not going to help us.  We started taking pulls and waiting for each other if one dropped off.  We turned onto Hosmer and the headwind was brutal.  I just kept shaking my head dropping the F bomb and pedaling.  We managed to pass a couple men and when we finally turned out of that God forsaken headwind and it turned into a crosswind, I stopped dropping internal F bombs for a bit.    

With about 15 miles to go we hit a gravel road called Agler.  Again there were a handful of guys around us, but the group blew itself up.  I was kind of surprised no one was working together and it was every man for himself for places that didn't matter.  Then one of her teammates/friends also riding the 50 had caught up to us  and did work with us.  I was so thankful for all the pulls he took. I was tired and I just wanted it to be over.  I had only taken 1 gel which I'd eaten about 20-25 miles in and drank about a bottle and a half of fluids which had 0 calories in it. 

The skies had darkened and light rain had started intermittenty.  We heard sirens as we we hit the steepest climb of the day up Alpha and thought "Is that a tornado siren?"  The siren was getting closer and we realized it was an emergency vehicle and a tornado was not yet part of the day thankfully.  

Rolling down the last few miles I finally recognized Asbury and a spark reignited my legs.  I yelled to Robyn as we turned onto the Headwaters Trail "it's all down hill from here ... WOOOOO HOOOO!!"  I went into my drops and just started pedaling with everything I had.  The trail had definitely gotten more rain since the warm-up.  There was more and more wet soft sections but I didn't care I just kept pedaling and stayed in the middle.  Robyn decided to go left on the moss/grass at one point to test it, but I knew it was even slower from the morning warm-up.  We regrouped and kept hammering for the finish.  We crossed the last road section and I told her I was getting tired and asked if she didn't mind taking us in.  I'd watch this woman fight hard and work with me all day, she deserved to take us in and cross that finish.  

I peeled off and that's when the skies opened up and I shook my head and dropped probably the 50th internal "motherf*cker" of the day in my head.  We were soaked within seconds but she kept pedaling, towing me to the end, not slowing for the downpour.  There was no backing down that close to the finish. We crossed the line together and high fived - 3:12:46.  (5/18 Women - 80/190 OA)

I was disgusting as was my bike so we stopped at the bike wash and I sprayed not only my bike off but myself.  We headed to our cars to change and regroup.  Not having raced for almost 5 years I was mentally and physically exhausted.  I sat in my car for 20 minutes trying to get dry, change clothes and get it together for the after party.  

Walking into the bar I heard my best friend on the mic calling women up for the plank challenge and heard her say my name, but my legs were toasted and I had an 8.5 drive home in 2 days I wasn't about to destroy my arms too! ;)  I found Robyn and we switched numbers in hopes of riding in WNC soon.  

I then started self medicating with some wine and braved the foot down contest with the men's class and the women's.  I won women's and then in the finals against the guy who had won the men’s final the judge had ruled the guy the winner.  I did have a few people come up and say they thought he fell first or it was at worst a tie.  I was just happy to be able to do something that didn't require me to breathe through my eyes.  

I managed to make it unitl 5:30p before I headed back to Janet and Joe's to check on Cash.  I took some of the race necessities back to the house and unloaded and took a nice long satisfying shower.

Joe and Janet came home a little after me and decided the trailer unload was going to wait until tomorrow.  Joey laid down on the couch and I said to him "How did we ever stay up unitl midnight back in the day?" to which he replied "I have no idea Beth." He then fell asleep... it wasn't even 8:00pm. 

Overall I had a blast and making a new riding friend was just icing on the cake!  It's hard to go up to Ohio with the warmer temps and tan lines WNC provides.  The mountains are my home.  I said I'd never come back but after seeing many familiar faces and spending the weekend with my best friend, I'd say I am 50/50 for next year.  The Road Apple Roubaix is a must do for gravel lovers.  The course, the schwag, the after party... My friends don’t threaten you with a good time... they show you! 

Flight of the Vampire 5K

 It's been a minute, but I have still been running about 20 miles a week including walks and lots of zone 2 activity.  

Cash and I ran the Bark & Bolt 5k back in June and managed a 28:27 and then when I was home visiting my parents I ran a solo 28:32 as Cash was on the D/L.

Today we towed the line in hopes of breaking that sub-9min/mile barrier.  We had been going to run club on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I had even started attending F45 a couple times a week.

We had attempted to run a mile at race pace earlier in the week and failed miserably with a 9:12.  I didn't know the course and had heard it was hilly.  Our goal seemed more and more out of reach.  

We arrived a little after 8am.  It was about 42*.  Cash and I did a very slow 2-mile warm-up (12:57/mile).  He did manage to poop which I took as a good sign .... maybe today was going to be our day! 

We lined up in the middle thinking I didn't want to run around all the walkers but I wouldn't be fast enough to be near the front.  The gun went off and  it felt like I was in slow motion to get through the gate.  We ended up having to zig-zag around so many people.  I was working way too hard and Cash was all fired up and bucking like a bronco and pulling excited and trying to catch people.  In retrospect I should have not stayed on the greenway and just run up the street to the first turn.  Unfortunately, the first turn led down the next level of hell to some hills that were horrendous.  One was so steep, I decided to power walk as I was still moving as fast as the runners around me and it allowed me to recover a little so when it was over I was able to pull ahead of those runners and have the whole lane to myself.  I caught 2-3 more runners before the first mile and clipped off a 9:20.  Uggghh, I was so disappointed, we weren't gonna make our goal today.  

Cash was still pulling me along encouraging me not to give up and I could see a little girl and a guy just ahead.  I tried to focus on them and closing the gap.  The second mile had little rollers that did slow me down but nothing like the big ones in the first mile.  Cash and I came up on the water stop and I thought these are usually about half way through and it took me a long time to get to this one.  Another nail in the coffin to keep us from our goal, but less than a 1/4 after that my Garmin beeped for mile 2.  I looked down 8:31 - HOLY SHIT!  Not only had I made up that 20 seconds, but I 'd put time in the bank.

Renewed with hope I focused on just staying the course.  I didn't have to go faster, but I couldn't blow up either.  I had run the last 0.5 mile backwards and I knew it was back on the greenway with a slight incline for about 200 meters and then flat or downhill.  We kept it steady until we hit the greenway and then I started to really hurt, but knowing I was so close and our goal was possible we weren't going down without a fight.  I felt like I was slowing down so I started picking an object about 20 seconds ahead and surging to it then slowing back down to my 5k pace until I could see the finish.  I tried to open my stride.  I didn't dare look back because I was already going as hard as I could.  A young boy came flying by me like he had just started the race and uuuffff that hurt a little.

We crossed the finish and I stopped my Garmin: 3.02 miles in 26:24.  I had run a 8:25 for my last mile with an average pace of 8:45 mile.  I had run the tangents pretty well and courses are usually 3.1-3.2, but this one did seem a bit shy of that distance.  Even if it had taken us another minute to run the last 0.08 I'd still have made a sub-9 pace.  WE DID IT and to boot our friends Treva and Kevin ran too and we all won our age group.  On to the next goal.

In the Zone...Maybe Not

 A month has gone by and I am down 18lbs and I feel so much more comfortable.  I have been riding Zwift about an hour a day and walking or yogging with Cash too. I even managed to pick up a bug in between that knocked me down for a week or so.  I did manage a short ride or walk at a low intensity all but one day while I was sick, but now I am back to my old ass baseline and just in time too. 

I, on a whim applied for a FREE RunDot training program for 2 months and surprisingly was accepted.  It started this Tuesday, so I guess as of 2/18 I am "in-training." I modified it to low for training type as I only want to run 3-4 times/week right now.  It's only been 4-5 years since I really gave up running, but it didn't take long to make a 9:00-10:00min/mile feel like a 100 yard dash.  I am struggling with the  apps zones as zone 2 for pace is about a 10:15-9:25 mile, but the HR is only 108-139 and while I can run that pace it requires my HR to be north of 150 beats per minute.  Hopefully as I continue to run these targets will better align.  

Yesterday I was to run 10 min warm-up (zone 2 which is 11:29-13:05/mile or HR between 108-139) and then 4x6min (zone 4 which is 9:26-10:15/mile or HR of 160-167) with 1 min Z2 recoveries.  My splits were as follows....1 - 10:10/mile, 2 - 10:10/mile, 3 - 9:51/mile and 4 - 9:31/mile, so all average times were in zone 4, but the details tell a bit of a different story here...

PACE ZONES: 

HEART RATE ZONES:

The app doesn't seem to take into account up hills or downhills or "drift" for pace and heart rate.  I was unable to get my HR back down to Z2 "jogging" even walking took almost a minute to get it under 139.  My body is just rebelling with a WTF attitude screaming it no longer makes changes that fast.  I'd like to blame Cash pulling and zig-zagging (less than ever but still an additional variable to deal with) contributing to my poor pacing and HR management but ultimately this is more evidence to my lack of fitness.  

Overall I am enjoying the time on my feet again.  I always enjoy training more than the actual event I am targeting.  I also get to spend time with Cash trying to teach him to run on the leash and that we are a team.  He's getting better every day (not sure about me - this old dog isn't learning any new tricks) and I love to see him trotting along looking at all the squirrels and other things he'd like to sniff or chase.  Hopefully, we can find a few inexpensive races that allow dogs to  jump into together.  One of my goals is to break 30 min in the 5K with him.  We are going to visit my family in Wisconsin and I am hoping to do the Evergreen 5k with him if it's not too hot.  Last year it was 65* at the start but the course was unshaded and even with a water stop at the half way point, he was foaming at the mouth the last 1/2 mile and I forced us to walk.  Hopefully, this year will hold some master's PRs for me with and without the money man.

Jan 13-19th:  Run/Walk  - 21.8M / Ride - 56.87M

Jan 20-26: Run/Walk - 17.62M / Ride - 71.09M

Jan 27-Feb 2: Run/Walk - 14.22 - / Ride - 90.97M

Feb 3-9: Run/Walk -16.84M / Ride - 35.88M

Feb 10-16: Run/Walk - 14.87M / Ride - 68.96M

Feb 17-23 (start of run training): Run/Walk -17.18M / Ride - 73.50M, but getting ready to head out for a bit after this entry

Mission of the Marathon

I can't remember my password to get back into my old blog, so I had to start a new one.

Almost 10 years have gone by since my last entry and man have I let myself go downhill (and not in a good way).  I still love bikes and want to run but a sedentary job, not the best eating habits and aging have rewarded me with the body and fitness I deserve.  

I told myself in my 30s, I'd try to run a marathon in every decade.  I assumed, I would always be active and I would never get fat.  I workout and generally don't eat a lot of carbs or junk food and physical fitness is like breathing to me.  It's part of my normal life.  WRONG! 

I allowed myself to get up to 167lbs, well above my healthy weight recommendations of 130-135lbs, putting my BMI just above 25 in the overweight category.  My clothes are uncomfortable and I even feel "fat."  It's not muscle and I don't care what bullshit excuses about body positivity women try to sell.  Overweight and obese leads to increased cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's and cancer.  Those excuses don't fly with me, basically GTFO.  

I am now 47 teetering on the edge of overweight and nowhere near ready to run even a 1/2 marathon let alone a full.  My joints hurt and my plantar fasciitis in my left foot just rears it's ugly head with any amount of running or walking, but like The Anti-Pedaler says "here I go."  

After 2.5 weeks I have not had any alcohol, have been eating a low-calorie high protein diet and burn about 500 calories a day between the bike and/or gym and commit to 10,000 steps each day just to get my fat ass use to time on my feet again.  Currently I am down 7lbs with about 25-30lbs to go.  

I can barely get through a 5k at a sub-10 minute pace these days.  The pain and suffering feel the same but the pace is embarrassingly slow.  My last race was the Jingle Jog 5k in December and it took everything I had just to finish in 30:22 (9:46/mile).  

This is a far cry from the sub-7 minute 5k I once ran or the fact that I use to be able to run a marathon faster than 8:30/mile.  Not sure how hard or long this road is going to be but people with much less do much more.  Here's to not... being a pussy, making excuses or blaming everyone but myself for why I don't get shit done. 

I have started by just walking 2-4 miles a day with Cash (my 1 year old puppy) for about 20 miles per week.  I am doing daily PF rehab exercises (these are annoying and take less than 10 minutes, yet it's harder to commit to these than to get on the bike for an hour) and  I also joined our local run club on FB (currently only a silent member).  

My plan is to follow the 80/20 method for training with 80% of my runs being at an easy pace, which doesn't exist right now with my PF, lack of running fitness and fat ass.    Looking to target a 12:00-13:00/min mile eventually after a few more weeks of walking.  I'll probably be "Jeffing" for awhile, maybe even in my marathon.

Goal: Asheville Marathon 2026 - Time: Finish 

Target Races: Summit 10 miler Oct 2024 and ??? 

Mileage Rundown

1/1/-1/5: 9.43M (0M run)

1/6-/12: 21.38M (1.05M run at 12:10/mile)

#TilMyLegsGiveOut, #Marathon #Training #Running