Chicago Marathon Training Week 4 and WFG Xtreme 10 Recap

I am back from my Vegas vacation and completed another 10 mile race yesterday at the Waterfall Glen Xtreme 10 event. The "official" training for this week was mixed, as I enjoyed some fantastic hiking in Vegas, while also trying to keep my legs fresh for the race yesterday. I loved that I was able to still stick with the training plan, while choosing to keep my mileage lower.

 Here was what the week looked like for me:

Sunday: Vegas - Cross training - Hiking in the Valley of Fire
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 5 easy miles
Wednesday: 4 easy miles
Thursday: 3 easy miles
Friday: Jasyoga - Full Body Recovery
Saturday: Race day! 10 miles
Total: 22 miles

As you can tell, I kept the cross training to a minimum and focused on easy miles. My legs were a bit sore after the hiking I did in Vegas, but it was well worth it.

Red Rock Canyon

WFG Xtreme 10 Race Recap:

The Waterfall Glen Xtreme 10 race is one of my favorite local races, which is made better by the fact that I run this trail quite often, and it is where I primarily trained for my ultra marathon. You can read my recap from last year here. 

This was by far the smallest the event has been, and even with 3 start waves, the trail never felt congested. I was rarely passed by anyone, and water stops were easy to get in and out of.

My race strategy was to try to beat my time from the previous year, while still running a consistent race. I exceeded this and then some. Not only did I beat my time from 2016 by 2 minutes, but I also ran a very consistent race. I had a few faster and slower miles which were driven by the terrain, but I stayed within a 10 second range for about 7-8 miles of the entire race. I felt fantastic, and the miles seemed to fly by. I carried my Ultimate Direction handheld with Nuun and sipped this every 2 miles, while supplementing with water at a few of the aid stations. I took a Huma Chia gel around mile 3.5 and again at mile 7.5. I felt well hydrated and was able to maintain my intensity to the very end. I tried to slow down a little right before the final mile as I knew it would be through high grass, and this part always zaps my energy. I was feeling great, but about a quarter mile to the finish a girl fell pretty hard right in front of me. I knew I had to stop and help her. In the back of my mind I saw the time ticking away, but there was no hesitation from me to stop and make sure she was ok and help her up. During my ultra marathon I fell so many times but there was always someone there to help me up. I could tell she was embarrassed, but she had no idea that she was looking at someone who fell at least 10 times during her last race.

Once I was on my way to the finish, I gave it an extra push. This was the first race that I felt like I could actually vomit after, but once I was able to breathe again and sip some water, I felt great. When I saw my final time and realized I probably would have had a bigger PR had I not stopped to help, I really did not feel any regret. I'm not someone who is going to win the race so I'd rather pass on the kindness that has been shown to me than have left someone laying in the grass while I ran on to a 3 minute PR. 

Overall, I was so pleased with my performance. I went out a little hard and had a few moments where I wondered if it would backfire, but I kept my focus and intensity up the entire race, and ran my own race. I was racing against myself, and proving to myself what I have learned since last year. I mention a lot how the ultra marathon taught me a lot, and it is was never more evident than in my performance yesterday. I felt strong, confident, and when I felt pain, I knew I have felt worse and pushed on. When others ran up the hill and I walked, I passed them on the downhills. I watched runners fade in the later miles, and I still had a reserve to pull from. In the past I never carried anything but water, yet I stuck to my schedule of fueling and Nuun like it was second nature, and I really am so proud of how far I have come over the years. That is the fun part of running the same race every year - you can really see the improvements. Since I have started running the WFG Xtreme 10, I have taken 6 minutes off my time. I am really proud of that.

Strengths

• I held a consistent pace the entire race
• I ran my own race, practicing what I have learned over the past year
• Fueling and hydration were on point
• I maintained positive self talk the entire race
• I chose to help someone at the risk of achieving a PR
• My strategy took into account the long grass at the start/finish and I focused on taking quick, small steps

Improvements

• Still went out too fast (of course)
• Continue with core and strength training. I could tell that my posture and stride were changing for the worse the last 2 miles

Overall, I had a great week of hiking in the desert, and achieving a new 10 mile PR. Racing really is a celebration of hard work, and while I don't do it as often as some, when I do, it really reminds me of how much I enjoy the experience.

Week 5 of Marathon training will be a mixed bag again, since we are headed off for camping. Thank goodness for easy base building weeks of training as these are easy to miss without impacting the overall experience.