There's still hope!

So the other night, as I'm getting ready for bed, Dave just happens to mention that the qualifying window for the 50K for the team to Rome wasn't closed.   I said, "WHAT!?!?!"  I thought the qualifying window closed as of the Olympic Trials and thus my hopes of continuing the fight to be on the men's team was over.  But alas!  This is not true!  The qualifying window closes March 20!!!!

There's still hope!

I'm currently trying to find someone to host a 50K race in the US.  I have some feelers out and a few more people I can beg and plead to do it.  If that doesn't work then there is the international 50K in Dudince.  I have no idea if they'd allow me to race.  Luckily I know someone from Slovakia who's a race walker that I'm going to ask to translate for me.  They could say yes, they could say no.  Hopefully I'll find something in the US so I don't have to travel.  But if I do then I can, because I got the prize money from 2015 50K nationals.  Hazzah for prize money! 

There's 20 days before the close of the qualifying period.  I have three more weeks to finish resting from the last 50K and get ready for the next one.  It's kind of crazy, but I've worked too hard for too many years not to give it everything I have.  I do think if the weather had been more favorable I could've gotten the time, so I believe if I have another shot in good conditions, even with having raced a hard 50K four weeks before I can do it.

Time for hardcore recovery and hardcore training!

2016 50K nationals recap

Whew!  It's over.  Weeks and months of training all came down to the day.  There were many, many good things that came out of the race, but of course there's still areas to be worked on. 

First of all it was AMAZING to finally see my sweetie.  Training away from him is always hard, and finally being together was such a good feeling.  He really helps keep me feeling grounded, loved and supported.  I also got to see my parents for the first time since November, so that was great too!

Training went well the few days before the race.  Dave and I did a nice 3K fartlek on Friday at a nice park that Nick and Katie showed us.  I moved great, hitting 14:21 with plenty in the tank.  That was a great confidence booster.

The morning of the race came and we were ready to go.  Warm up went well, I kept myself focused, even though it was at the expense of being social.  Hopefully everyone understood!   The Star Spangled Banner was sung (quite well I might add) and the men were off.  The women started 2 minutes later.  This is for records purposes, because apparently women automatically walk faster when there's men around?  (Please notice my extreme sarcasm....)  What it really meant was that all the people I could've been working with were two minutes ahead of me and I basically walked the entire race on my own.  That's okay, I'm used to walking solo, but I do like having someone to share the pain... I mean the fun with :) 

I started off just exactly where I wanted to be, just a few ticks under 5:30 per K pace, which would get me to the 4:35:00 time that is the World Team Championship qualifying time.  I maintained that pace easily through half way, feeling great and smooth.  I had zero paddles too, which was a  great confidence booster. 

But, once half way hit the temperature started to soar.  I know I went to St. George to train in better weather, and it was!  But really I never trained in anything over 50 degrees while I was there.  I tried to wear layers and stay as warm as I could, but it's just not the same as the ambient temperature hitting 90.  So I started to slow.  My second half was significantly slower than my first, so I finished at 4:44:26.   My 10K splits were as follows:  54:37  -  54:43   -   55:19   -   59:13   -   60:34.    Obviously I slowed down.  I did manage to make my last 5K not my slowest, which was nice, but by that point that wasn't saying a whole lot.  At least getting under 4:45:00 means I have the qualifying time for Pan Am Cup in 2017 if they host another women's event, so that's one thing to check off my list.

I'm also quite happy that I stayed positive the whole race, even when I knew I wasn't going to hit the 4:35 time standard.  I'd really been working for it, really wanted it, and it was quite frustrating to slip like that, especially since I still feel like I could've hit the time if the weather had stayed cooler.  I know I need to be able to race in any/all conditions, and I'm not trying to use it as an excuse.  I know I need to get stronger so I can do those times even in adverse conditions, but for a race as important as this one was for all of us it would've been nice if the weather gods had smiled on us a little more favorably. 

And I'm very happy to retain my title!  There were super strong ladies out there, with Loretta doing her first 50K ever and smashing an awesome time of just under 5:16.  Susan Armenta, who held the 50K American record for 12 years before I took it, came out of her race walking retirement and looked so strong out there, finishing a solid third.  Katie Grimes, Mrs. Consistent had a strong race, pushing through and being the oldest woman finisher out there.  Carmen couldn't quite make the time cutoff, but stuck it out.  I know there were moments she was thinking of stopping, but she stayed strong.  And thus women continue their streak of a perfect record of no DNFs!

I will say that the prize money is well received as well.  That money will help fund training and traveling expenses.  And who knows, I may do a little something fun with it too ;)

This was the first time I didn't hit my goal time in a 50K that I was really focused on.  This was a real mental blow to me, but I know I gave it everything I had.  I finished the race with zero paddles and am feeling solid about my technique and how that will cross over into 20K speed.   Time to start getting ready for 20K races!

 
The two 50K couples.  Note that the wives came out victorious over their hubbies! 

Count down to the big race! Also known as depression week.

Time is getting near for the big race.  Training is done, tapering is starting.  Less mileage this week.  This starts the timeframe where many times before big races I get super depressed.  I was never sure why, but I would get so down, and couldn't figure out why.   I should be really excited for the race, but instead I would be sad, down, and have no desire to do anything.  With the help of my chiropractor back home last year we figured out that since I'm tapering and not workout out as much I'm not getting the endorphin levels I normally get, that's what throws me into a funk.  It was such a revelation!  So we looked up ways to keep things on a natural high when I'm tapering.  So far this has been a very successful taper.  I warned my hosts that this might happen and they've been awesome at helping me stay busy and entertained. 

Friday we binge-watched Mozart in the Jungle.
Saturday we had a nice little dinner party which was awesome.
Sunday we saw the parade of homes and saw some crazy expensive houses.  Then I went to an art show and got some really fun art stuff for the house.  Some of our first real artwork!

Monday I went out to lunch with my friend. 

Tuesday I went out to lunch and we had dinner with friends.  I spent lots of time reading and relaxing and having fun!  She surprised me with a finish line, but she beat me to it....

I still find times where I'm getting down, but it's much more manageable than in years before.  And Thursday will be the best day!  The day I get to see my sweetie!  I can't wait! 

So I will continue to get ready.  Hopefully by Sunday I'll be rip-roaring ready to go. 

St. George week five done!!! And because I'm behind week six too!

This was an interesting week for sure.  I definitely had to keep the big picture in mind a few times.  But overall it was a solid week and I'm feeling decent for the race.  Here's the overview:

Monday:  Nice recovery day.  8K twice and the aqua class.  Then another paint nite!

Tuesday:  Normally I would've done my speed session this day, but some things got turned around and it was much more important to be with friends.  But I did get in a nice 12K walk where I got moving pretty nicely.


Wednesday:  Double speed day!  Doing my usual 10K fartlek with 800 hard/200 medium.  For the first time in quite a while I broke 50:00!  I never felt like I was going super fast, just strong and solid, and it was so nice to break 50.  And the second half was faster than the first half, which always makes me happy.   In the PM I did the 30x30/30.  Since speed got pushed a day later it was going to push up against Thursday's long one, so I wasn't going to push the second speed session quite as fast.  I was still going along pretty nice.  The sun was going down and along a few of the neighborhood streets the sun was directly in my eyes and even with my sunglasses on I couldn't see anything.  I forgot that at the end of the street was a bit of a depression for water run off.  So as I was going full tilt I took a step and thought my leg was going to hit the ground in one spot but it slammed down lower/later than expected and snapped my knee back.  I didn't think too much about it at the time.  However, later that evening it started to hurt a bit.

Thursday:  Got up and behind my right knee was pretty sore.  I was going to do 33K.  but as I started off towards the path my leg was hurting more and more.  So I turned around and called it quits at 16K.  I then spent time going from the cold pool to the warm bath and took some anti-inflammatories.   I also called the chiro and got an appointment for Friday. 

Arline and I went to see Miss Saigon.  A very interesting production, and a strange choice for St. George.  But I enjoyed it!

Friday:  Went to the chiro.  Hitting the ground wrong had totally thrown me out of whack, and my poplitius was a bit strained.   He suggested that I take the day off.  So a bunch of stretching, yoga, cold/warm baths and rest was my excitement.


Saturday:  I wanted to get in some long stuff, but didn't want to stress the back of my leg too much.  So I did a nice 20K in the morning and 10K in the evening.  I was happy with how it went, only a little pain.  It's feeling much, much better.


Sunday:  Speed day!  I woke up to almost no discomfort, which made me very, very happy!   I did 10K of 3K hard, 1K medium, 3K hard, 1K medium, 2K hard.  I didn't push really hard, more of a pace workout.  Then in the PM I did 10x30/30 just to get my legs going a little. 

So the week ended up being 125K.  Decently done, not my best week, but happy with everything overall.

Week Six:
Monday:  Aqua class!

Tuesday:  The usual speed day!  10K fartlek, this time 49:56, a second time under 50.  Made me super happy.  The afternoon 30x30/30 didn't go as well, I was tired and something I ate made my tummy upset.  But I got to pet the cutest puppy!

(Really cool 3D artwork on the pavement)


Wednesday:  Easy 8K with my friend.

Thursday:  25K in the AM, then 5K at the indoor track in the PM.  I realized that the temperature in Santee wasn't going to go down so I'd better train in as hot of conditions as I could.  So I got a week trial to the big gym here which has a flat 10 laps to the mile track.  I go there and wear a bunch of clothes and sweat like crazy.  they also have a sauna so I've been doing that too.  Then I did 45 minutes on the elliptical too.

Friday:  10K on the indoor track and sauna again.

Saturday:  Half marathon.  I felt awful but actually moved how I wanted to.  Had breakfast and then went in the sauna again.

Sunday:  The half wore me out a little more than I thought, probably some of the nasty hills.  So I took Sunday easy, doing some elliptical, using the sauna, and then walking around the Parade of Homes and an Art Festival.

Total for the week was 117K. 

St. George - Week four done!

I'm a few days late with my summary, but nonetheless, here it is!

The week didn't end up how I wanted it, but I made due with what I could, and still had a high mileage week, it was just more of it was cross training than I would've liked.

Monday I had a nice recovery day, and 8K walk and the aqua class.

Tuesday may have been my single best day of training in St. George.  It was double speed and weight day.  In the morning I did a 10K fartlek in 50:26.  It never felt fast either, I always felt like I was just pacing, so I'm quite happy with that, and my last interval was my fastest by far.  In the afternoon I did 30x30/30 which for me means 30 seconds all out sprint and 30 seconds recovery.  I find when I'm really feeling good my recovery can still be a fairly fast RW.  I did it around the streets of the neighborhood, which is definitely rolling.  For my 30 minutes of intervals I went 6.18K!  I felt like I was really able to push my fast sections very well.  This workout is supposed to really be good for efficiency.  After that I did my usual weight workout and man, was I toasted.

Wednesday was a very needed easy day after Tuesday, going for a nice 8K run and then aqua class. 

Thursday I did a very solid 33K walk.  The last 7.5K was rough, as it was all uphill heading back home.  It still wasn't too fast, but it wasn't at the nice clip I was rolling at.  Had I not been heading uphill for a while at my 30K split it would've been quite close to my fastest 30K workout in St. George.

So that part of the week went super, it was mainly after that things fell apart a little bit. 

Friday I was pretty tired, that 7.5K uphill really wiped me out.  I did a 5K and it was quite slow.  I had a second massage of the week, and she really worked my muscles deep.  I was feeling a bit sore and beat up so I didn't do a second workout for the day.

Saturday I went out for my speed session and just had nothing in my body.  I stopped after 3K just super frustrated.  I decided to go for a hike to get out and clear my head out and enjoy the nice weather and scenery.  It was exactly what I needed.  I was able to put things back in perspective and talk to Dave for quite a while.

Sunday was a long walk, but after starting out at slower than 6:30 per K pace, I wasn't going to beat my body that way.  So I went back and changed and went to the gym and spent 3.5 hours on a combination of the elliptical and the rowing machine.  Then did a really tough 35 minutes of ab work. 

So I totaled almost 100 miles for the week, if you count cross training, which I do.  I'm still making progress and still staying focused.  Three weeks til the 50K!!!!!