What's Next
First up, thanks to all the comments re: last week's post. Very much appreciated!
As mentioned, it appears that the next peak race for me will be the Georgia Marathon on March 20. In between, there will be plenty of other races (including a half marathon in two weeks), but that's where my focus will shift. Once again, I'll be going after my elusive BQ and a 3:20.
That said, it's hardly a given. Georgia isn't considered to be a PR course, with a series of rolling hills and 900 foot of climb (though the same descent). Still, I think it's possible it could work out ok. Thus, in a nutshell, the plan:
1) You are what you do. You want to be better hill runner? Run hills. I've already supplanted a lot of my usual routes with hillier ones, and will be trying to avoid the treadmill-like existence I've adopted in recent years. Truth is, I actually am a good hill runner when I train for them. I just haven't in quite a while.
2) Don't peak too soon. I'm still putting together my plan but in previous seasons, it seems I have a tendency to peak a bit early. I've been reading Fitzgerald's RUN and in it - he talks about using 12 week marathon plans for runners who are at a constant state of fitness, which describes me quite well. At the same time, my marathon PR was on a 3 RUN, 2 XT week from the FIRST plan, with lots of speedwork. Thus, I'm considering trying the best of both worlds: a lot of mileage and mostly running to the end of the year, shifting into. a FIRST-like approach around the start of the year. I'm hopeful that this can get me fast without peaking too soon.
3) Get thinner, somehow. True story: I'm 11 pounds heavier than my marathon PR. The problem: I'm not over-eating. I've started documenting my food and what I feared is how it is. It's not something that I can easily fix with "simply eating less," though I have been cutting out some things, just to see if it would help. (It hasn't.) My thyroid levels continue to run a bit low, so we're bumping up the dosage a bit, but the problem is that thyroid levels and weight don't always track the same way. One person's under-active thyroid can cause them to lose weight while another person's causes them to gain. Still, it's one of the few things I can think to try so that's next. If that doesn't work, I'm going to experiment with even more mileage, but I really don't feel that's the answer at this point.
All of that said, things are great. My A1C was 6.4 last week, and while I know I can snug it a bit lower, it's under the magic *6.5.* Also, I'm running quite a bit, and had a nice 12k PR over the weekend on a course with nearly 800 feet of climb in 7+ miles (mostly because it was my first 12k ever!). And finally, my son and I have had 2 scuba classes already and are having a blast. That coupled with the TeamType 1 news sets me up for a fun fall, and that ain't bad.
As mentioned, it appears that the next peak race for me will be the Georgia Marathon on March 20. In between, there will be plenty of other races (including a half marathon in two weeks), but that's where my focus will shift. Once again, I'll be going after my elusive BQ and a 3:20.
That said, it's hardly a given. Georgia isn't considered to be a PR course, with a series of rolling hills and 900 foot of climb (though the same descent). Still, I think it's possible it could work out ok. Thus, in a nutshell, the plan:
1) You are what you do. You want to be better hill runner? Run hills. I've already supplanted a lot of my usual routes with hillier ones, and will be trying to avoid the treadmill-like existence I've adopted in recent years. Truth is, I actually am a good hill runner when I train for them. I just haven't in quite a while.
2) Don't peak too soon. I'm still putting together my plan but in previous seasons, it seems I have a tendency to peak a bit early. I've been reading Fitzgerald's RUN and in it - he talks about using 12 week marathon plans for runners who are at a constant state of fitness, which describes me quite well. At the same time, my marathon PR was on a 3 RUN, 2 XT week from the FIRST plan, with lots of speedwork. Thus, I'm considering trying the best of both worlds: a lot of mileage and mostly running to the end of the year, shifting into. a FIRST-like approach around the start of the year. I'm hopeful that this can get me fast without peaking too soon.
3) Get thinner, somehow. True story: I'm 11 pounds heavier than my marathon PR. The problem: I'm not over-eating. I've started documenting my food and what I feared is how it is. It's not something that I can easily fix with "simply eating less," though I have been cutting out some things, just to see if it would help. (It hasn't.) My thyroid levels continue to run a bit low, so we're bumping up the dosage a bit, but the problem is that thyroid levels and weight don't always track the same way. One person's under-active thyroid can cause them to lose weight while another person's causes them to gain. Still, it's one of the few things I can think to try so that's next. If that doesn't work, I'm going to experiment with even more mileage, but I really don't feel that's the answer at this point.
All of that said, things are great. My A1C was 6.4 last week, and while I know I can snug it a bit lower, it's under the magic *6.5.* Also, I'm running quite a bit, and had a nice 12k PR over the weekend on a course with nearly 800 feet of climb in 7+ miles (mostly because it was my first 12k ever!). And finally, my son and I have had 2 scuba classes already and are having a blast. That coupled with the TeamType 1 news sets me up for a fun fall, and that ain't bad.
