Side Stitch Fix

I know Mondays are usually dedicated to training check-ins, but I have been trying to resolve my side stitch issue and wanted to share some of the things that I have been trying. I'll try to get my training update up on Wednesday. I don't usually get side stitches during training runs, so it has been a bit hard to nail down possible fixes. The side stitch that I got during the Charlevoix race left me with abdominal pain for the next few days and any moderate efforts in the next two weeks gave me a side stitch. So hooray for pain, I guess.

Poses I'd like to avoid during my next race!

I had two long runs where I got side stitches. Since I was less focused on my time during these runs I ran until the side stitch became unbearable and then tried to figure out the best combination of walking and running that would let me transition back to full on running. I found that alternating 1 minute of walking with 1 minute of running for a couple rotations while I focused on keeping my breathing steady seemed to work. Once I could make it through a minute of running without any issues I reduced the walking breaks to 30 seconds and started extending the running portion to whatever time felt comfortable. One thing that I learned is that if I am fighting a side stitch downhill running will make it worse. I think it is the added force from landing.

I also had a close call with a side stitch during a 5 mile tempo run. I started to notice the pain creeping in about 3.5 miles into the tempo. I really, really wanted to make it through all 5 miles without stopping so instead of letting the pain get worse, I immediately started working on my breathing exercises.

I've noticed that when running my breathing tends to be a bit shallow. I don't think I am utilizing my diaphragm correctly. So I try to focus on taking a slow, steady breath in while expanding my diaphragm, then I sort of forcefully exhale. This was a tip suggested to me by Dolly. I also have been timing my breathing so that I am landing on my left foot when I begin to inhale/exhale. The combination of these two things seems to do a pretty good job at keeping the stitches at bay. During my tempo run I only saw my pace slip a tiny bit during mile 4 and I was even able to pick up the pace for the remaining mile (mile splits for that run were 7:49, 7:43, 7:45, 7:54, 7:13!!!).

Unfortunately it takes a lot of concentration since I seem to naturally want to inhale/exhale with my right foot striking the ground. I do worry that at mile 12 of a half marathon I won't have the capacity to really focus that closely on synchronizing breathing and left foot landing. I have been trying to practice these two breathing exercises during most of my runs so hopefully by the time my next race gets here it will be a little more intuitive. 

In a race I would like to think that I will utilize the second method described here for as long as I can. My goal of course would be to run as much as possible without needing to take walk breaks. But, I can't guarantee that the breathing techniques would be able to fight off a stitch, so I guess it is good to have the run/walk intervals as a back up plan.

Grand Rapids Marathon - 13 weeks to go!

Was it scorchingly hot for you this weekend? The temperature starting rising on Friday and it never seemed to stop! I had a 10 mile run with 6 miles at half marathon pace scheduled for Friday. As I monitored the temperature throughout the day I watched the heat index climb from the 70s to the mid 90s. There was no way I was going to make it 6 miles at HMP in those temperatures. I waited as late as I could to start my run, but even with plenty of shade, it was miserably hot. The slight breeze felt like opening an oven. I ended up running 10 very easy miles with a walk/water break after each mile.

I had 5 miles planned for Saturday, but it was also the hottest day of the weekend. There was a heat advisory from noon-midnight due to the heat index reaching 100-105 Fahrenheit. I was up at 5:30 to start my run, but my legs were pretty tired since it had only been 10ish hours since I completed my 10 mile run. I ended up only running 3 miles.

Finally, the weekend of hellish temperatures came to an end with a 20 mile long run on Sunday. Again my alarm went off at 5:30 and I was out the door at 6. Even with this early start, it was already in the 70s when I started my run. I knew that my run would end up taking around 3.5 hours to complete and that temps would be well into the 80s by the time I finished (the heat index was 95 when I finished my run).

In my mind this run was split into three sections: 6 miles to the park, 8 mile loop through the park, 6 miles back home. I made it through the first two sections of the run without any issues, but when I realized how far away from home I was and how hot and miserable it was becoming, I kind of lost it. It doesn't take much to make me cry, and knowing that I had no other option but to keep running, no matter how awful I felt, really did me in (my husband was out of town this weekend so I couldn't call for a ride).

With 4.5 miles remaining in my run, I stopped my watch and ducked into a Panera to grab some ice water and try to compose myself (and also, AC!). I wouldn't normally take advantage of a restaurant in this manner, but I decided it was okay since I am friends with the manager. After texting my husband a bit I knew I needed to get back out there and get home! I walked for about 1.5 miles while I waited for my stomach to stop feeling sloshy and then managed to run the last three miles with just a couple short water breaks.

Training Log

Monday
Supplemental Training: Strength training and foam rolling

My hips were feeling rather tight on Monday so I focused my workout on stretching and foam rolling them. Since I hadn't foam rolled in a while I also did a quick once over on all of the major areas (calves, hamstrings, quads, IT band). I felt like a new person after this workout.

Tuesday
Distance: 7.08
Pace: 9:37 average with 6 strides

Wednesday
Distance: 12.4
Pace: 9:02

Thursday
rest

Friday
Distance: 10.15
Pace: 9:44

Saturday
Distance: 3.0
Pace: 10:05

Sunday
Distance: 15.68 + 3
Pace: 10:06 (18.68 miles in 3:08:45, which includes time spent refilling water bottles and walk break towards the end)

Total: 51.31 miles (My biggest week ever!)

So that's another week of training completed, another week closer to the big race. The insanely hot temperatures this weekend definitely added an awful twist to this week's training. But, I'm not sure that I can blame all of my issues this week on just the heat.

In May I started following an 18 week marathon training plan found in Pete Pfitzinger's Advanced Marathoning. This training plan starts with 33 miles/week and peaks at 55 miles. My mileage prior to starting this training plan was right around the 30 mpw, so I thought that this plan would be a great fit. Now I am starting to wonder if the plan is slightly too aggressive for me. In the past two weeks I have really struggled with the final miles of my long run. At this point I think it would be smart to take a step back.

Fortunately I have two things going for me. First, the next two weeks in my training plan are already a step down from this week. Second, I have 10 weeks left in my training plan, but 13 weeks until my marathon. If you recall, I decided to start my training plan a bit early in an attempt to get ready for the Charlevoix Half Marathon and to build in a cushion in case of injury/illness. I'll spend some time this week making adjustments to my training plan.

Charlevoix Half: Critical Thinking

The disappointment of the Charlevoix Half Marathon is already starting to feel like a distance memory. I haven't decided if I will attempt another half marathon in 2015, but when the time comes, I want to avoid making some of the mistakes I made for Charlevoix.

Not the clock time I was hoping for...

Timing
This spring I focused solely on racing my best 5k ever. Speed work was my training focus. I still managed to run one "long" run each week (long compared to 5k, short-ish compared to half marathon!). Following my goal 5k, I had only 7 weeks until my half marathon. That really only allowed for 6 weeks to get myself ready for a race over 4 times longer than a 5k (the race was week 7).

Although I put in some really great runs in those 6 weeks, it was just not enough time to prepare. For future PR attempts I need to put in a standard 12+ week training program.

Endurance
My half marathon PR was set while I was training for a marathon. Leading up to that race I was running some serious long runs every week. Two weeks before the race I nailed a 20 mile training run with a fast finish (9:40 average pace with the last two miles at 8:44 pace). The race took place shortly before I would have started my taper. I was in great shape!

Leading up to Charlevoix, I think I was (am!) in great shape, but not necessarily the right shape for a long distance race. During 5k training my weekly long run was typically 9-10 miles. Not a terrible base for a half marathon, but not like it was in 2014. Take a look at the long runs I ran in the 12 weeks leading up to each race:

	CC River Run	Charlevoix
12	6.3	0 (sick)
11	8	9.7
10	6.24	9.8
9	10.89	0 (injured)
8	13.06	10.13
7	12.63	0 (5k race)
6	15.08	12.18
5	17.1	13.1
4	11.58	14.2
3	18.42	0 (5k race)
2	20.42	15.25
1	10.3	16.36
Total Miles	150.02	100.72

That is a 50% decrease in long run miles logged from Fall 2014 to Spring 2015. Better endurance might have allowed me to finish the race without getting any side stitches. Due to the missed runs this spring my long run average for the 12 weeks leading up to Charlevoix was only 8.4 miles. For Capital City River Run it was 12.5 miles.

Positive Splits
The main cause of my huge positive split: side stitches. This was a curve ball during the race that I wasn't expecting. When they hit I didn't have a strategy in place for how I would deal with them. For my next race I plan to go into it know what I will do if/when a side stitch hits. I have been practicing a few things during my training runs these past few weeks, so I hope to have something worked out in time for my marathon this fall.

I can't let the blame fully rest on the side stitches because I know I started to slow down slightly before that. I think I started too fast. I don't necessarily think that averaging 7:48 in a half marathon is out of the realm of possibilities for me, but I think it was too fast for the first mile. I tend to run most of my runs with the first 1-2 miles around 30 seconds slower than the rest. For the 5k, I do an easy jog to warm up for 10-15 minutes and then a few strides to get my legs ready to run fast. For the half marathon, I did a few dynamic stretches to warm up because I was afraid I wouldn't have the energy for a half marathon if I wasted some of it on a warm up mile.

I really need to do a proper warm up before trying to race a half marathon. It was stupid to think I could go from 0 to sub 8 pace without a proper warm up. I won't be making this mistake again. I think in addition to a warm up mile before the race, I will try to run the first few miles slightly slower than my goal pace. Once I am fully warmed up, I will start kicking the pace up.

Last thoughts
I know that addressing these three issues is not going to guarantee sub 1:45 in my next half, but I do really hope that if I keep putting in the work and keep making slight adjustments that I will get there soon. While it is disappointing to have missed my goal, I am trying to get the most out of the experience by learning as much as I can for the next round.