To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)

It's been mostly normal food for me. I've had oatmeal, eggs, chicken sandwich, pasta/mushrooms, popcorn, and dinner (don't know yet). But with Maurten this has been the easiest WA protocol attempt yet. The water burden was clearly the problem in other attempts.

if you get a chance, could you give an assessment of how this worked? i'm gonna try a limited version of this for my race this weekend.
 
Way to go!!!! You Killed it!!!!!!!

Thanks!

I watched you cross the finish on live stream, but got too excited while trying to screenshot and I shut my phone off and missed the shot!

I also saw @roxymama! Way to goooo gurlllll!!! So exciting to see fellow Disers and trainees!

LOL! Now THAT'S funny!

Congrats!! And thanks for hobbling with me after the race.

It was my pleasure. Congrats marathon finisher!

Congrats!

Thanks!

if you get a chance, could you give an assessment of how this worked? i'm gonna try a limited version of this for my race this weekend.

An assessment of the results of it? It's one of those things that may not be easy to prove one way or the other. The goal of Carb Loading prior to the race is to make sure you've got enough (or as much as you can) in the tank to finish at near peak pace. So glycogen storage is important, but so is pacing. It's my belief that Carb Loading won't make you faster, but will enable you to run at the correct pace for longer. But going into this race I had no idea what the correct pace was. I just ran what I felt like was the right pace the whole time with no GPS feedback. So did it work?

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The black line is the Chicago Marathon. I used the official splits from Chicago because the GPS is notorious for being wonky (and my instant pace graph shows that to be true as it jumps quite a bit). In the non-Disney races I had a goal time in mind. But you can see a pretty similar curve across the board. With the exception of Lakefront 2015, the fade has almost always started at Mile 16-19 for me and this race wasn't much different. Arguably up to mile 22, it was my second best paced race (when comparing the % difference from average on a per mile basis). I know from being in the moment that up to about mile 22.5 I was doing ok. But the wheels really fell off in mile 23.

So, did it work? Only way to know is to not have done it and see what happens. But I'll keep doing it because I'm not sure I want to put in 18 weeks of training to prove the opposite. To be fair though, I believe the only race on this chart that didn't have a carb load was the Lakefront 2015. So does that mean I should stop doing it? Well, not quite because it's arguable that I left on lot on the table given my HM PR set a few months after Lake 15 showed I might have been capable for a M about 7-15 min faster. And running below peak pace tends to allow a better pace graph (because you don't succumb to fatigue late).

But as the data was shown in that one paper, anything less than 7 g carb/kg bw is probably no different than just making sure you've got 100% storage.
 
So, did it work? Only way to know is to not have done it and see what happens. But I'll keep doing it because I'm not sure I want to put in 18 weeks of training to prove the opposite. To be fair though, I believe the only race on this chart that didn't have a carb load was the Lakefront 2015. So does that mean I should stop doing it? Well, not quite because it's arguable that I left on lot on the table given my HM PR set a few months after Lake 15 showed I might have been capable for a M about 7-15 min faster. And running below peak pace tends to allow a better pace graph (because you don't succumb to fatigue late).

ok then. that helps. i wasnt expecting this to be a magic bullet but this puts it in better perspective. i haven really been as detailed in monitoring my diet as i could have been so if i can ensure i dont start with a deficit, then its worth trying. i'm flying blind in terms of pace for this effort as well so i'll keep the likelihood of a fade in the last phase in mind. thanks for the detailed reply.
 


The black line is the Chicago Marathon. I used the official splits from Chicago because the GPS is notorious for being wonky (and my instant pace graph shows that to be true as it jumps quite a bit). In the non-Disney races I had a goal time in mind. But you can see a pretty similar curve across the board. With the exception of Lakefront 2015, the fade has almost always started at Mile 16-19 for me and this race wasn't much different. Arguably up to mile 22, it was my second best paced race (when comparing the % difference from average on a per mile basis). I know from being in the moment that up to about mile 22.5 I was doing ok. But the wheels really fell off in mile 23.

This seems to be a recurring issue for you in nearly all of your recent races. I know you say you don't want to train for 18 weeks to prove an opposite, but the data clearly says your current approach isn't working. Not sure if you need to change your training plan, your nutrition, your pacing strategy, or some combination of all of those, but you need to change something. Maybe it's as simple as running more even splits in the first half of the race by looking at your watch, or maybe it requires something more complex. Whatever it is, I hope you're able to figure it out for your next race. :)
 
ok then. that helps. i wasnt expecting this to be a magic bullet but this puts it in better perspective. i haven really been as detailed in monitoring my diet as i could have been so if i can ensure i dont start with a deficit, then its worth trying. i'm flying blind in terms of pace for this effort as well so i'll keep the likelihood of a fade in the last phase in mind. thanks for the detailed reply.

Unless you're really in tune with your body, be very careful attempting to run blind for a marathon. The shorter distances carry somewhat less risk for blind racing. But the marathon can quickly become a disaster with poor pacing. So I'd be wary of doing it unless you've practiced blind pacing quite a bit in training. For me, I mostly do it for the mental aspect more than anything.

This seems to be a recurring issue for you in nearly all of your recent races. I know you say you don't want to train for 18 weeks to prove an opposite, but the data clearly says your current approach isn't working. Not sure if you need to change your training plan, your nutrition, your pacing strategy, or some combination of all of those, but you need to change something. Maybe it's as simple as running more even splits in the first half of the race by looking at your watch, or maybe it requires something more complex. Whatever it is, I hope you're able to figure it out for your next race. :)

Certainly can't argue. My hope in this past training cycle was to make the change I felt like was going to be the one - adding in a significant amount of long distance M Tempo runs. I was aiming to increase that duration from 60-70 min up to 80-100 min, but simultaneously reducing the training load by dropping to 2 hard days per week. The hope was an increased focus on M Tempo would help me go further for longer. But the injury late in training stole my chance at getting in some of those really long M Tempo runs. So it's kind of hard to say whether that would have helped or not.

I did attempt to remove the blind and run by paying close attention to splits at Lakefront 2017. But that went poorly for me as I really got into my head early in the race. Because prior to the race I had set a pace that based on training was the right pace (7:01), but come race day it just didn't feel right to get down there early on. So I stopped paying attention to pace relatively early on, but as far as consistency and even splits it was between a 6:57-7:17 for the first 17 miles, with 9/17 between 7:04-7:11. But that was slower than the pace I thought was appropriate heading into the race (7:01 based on training).

For Chicago, other than the pain in my shin which started fairly early in the race, the main culprit for the late fade was my quads (the ankle held up). After reviewing how the last 30 days of training went compared to coming off the stress fracture in March, it was clear to me I made better gains in March. Which is telling me that the combo of light running, McMillan Core, and a regimented biking routine was providing a better stimulus than was solely running and a non-regimented bike routine. I need to get healthy first, but at the moment the plan is to either get a new trainer or the Peloton. And to use that in addition to either McMillan Core or 80-day obsession (Steph is doing that at the moment and wants me to join her for a second round). I think I need to get physically stronger in other muscles that the sole running has been ignoring. Possibly this other supplemental training will help build deficiencies that are hindering the late phases of the race. But I don't disagree that I still haven't gotten it figured out yet.
 
Buying a new smart trainer will certainly help bring structure and consistency to your indoor cycling workouts. Right now, the one to purchase looks to be the Wahoo Kickr Core, a unit with pretty much the same features and silent operation as the Kickr for several hundred dollars less. DC Rainmaker has reviews of the Core and a few other new trainers up on his site, and you can also get a discount by ordering through the links he provides. If you're serious about being serious with your biking, a smart trainer is the way to go. The Peloton is certainly a cool piece of tech, but there's something about riding on your own bike that's hard to beat. Plus, the monthly fees for Zwift or Trainer Road or Sufferfest are less than the ones for the Peloton.

As for improving your overall muscle tone, I'm going to say the same thing I always say (@Ariel484 would be disappointed if I didn't): yoga, yoga, yoga. The core strength in particular is hard to get anywhere else, and you get plenty of stretching thrown in as a bonus.
 


I definitely agree that yoga could be beneficial for you! In addition to the benefits that @FFigawi mentioned, I always found a mental benefit. One hour to just be quiet with myself and focus on breathing (plus crazy stretches and whatnot). The focus on breathing is really relaxing and, I think, beneficial in everyday life as well.

EDIT: i sure did say “benefit” or some form of that word a lot... :upsidedow

I’ll also throw in a mention for full-body strength training. I know you have the med ball routine but it sounds like you didn’t for this training cycle (haven’t been able to follow along, turns out having a newborn is pretty time-consuming). But then how do you fit it all in - Running AND strength training AND biking AND yoga and family work etc. Let me know if you figure that part out...

Great job with your race, I hope you get the fade figured out. :)
 
Unless you're really in tune with your body, be very careful attempting to run blind for a marathon. The shorter distances carry somewhat less risk for blind racing. But the marathon can quickly become a disaster with poor pacing. So I'd be wary of doing it unless you've practiced blind pacing quite a bit in training. For me, I mostly do it for the mental aspect more than anything.

what i mean by blind is i have trained focusing on strength and stamina but not so much for speed. i have a pretty good feel for what my race pace should be but, since the goal is completing the race, i'm 100% ready to pull the plug and settle for whatever effort gets me to the finish line with a sustained effort.
 
THE 2018 Chicago Marathon: Part 1

The 2018 Chicago Marathon occurred on October 7th, 2018. But in reality for me, it really started just about a year earlier on October 1st, 2017. It was the 2017 Lakefront Marathon. Summer training had gone really well. Tons of splits within the desired ranges. The M Tempo workouts were spot on. After 1922 days and 8511 training miles, I was ready to achieve a BQ standard and in addition break 3 hours. But it didn't happen for me. Something wasn't right on race day and things just never clicked. I ended up with a still PR of 3:14:05. So I was disappointed with not achieving a sub-3, but had still garnered a PR in the process. It wasn't too long after that race that @CheapRunnerMike had reached out and had suggested running the Chicago Marathon. If I was in, then Mike would run it as well. The goal was to both run under the 3 hour mark and with the appropriate training in a year's time I felt a sub 2:55 was reasonable.

Winter 2018 training for Dopey went about as well as any training cycle to date. I was in peak physical shape coming into the Dopey Challenge. I was ecstatic with the results with a new 5k PR, 10k PR, HM PR, and only about 2 min from a M PR. It was arguably my best race sequence. But right after returning to running in January, it was clear something was wrong. Eventually it was determined to be a stress fracture. Time off, McMillan Core Routine, Indoor Biking, and a slow return to running was the spring training cycle. Finally in late July, I ran a training run that at least put me on the same level as pre-Dopey. But come early August, another injury this time to my ankle. An undetermined diagnosis of tendonitis led to some more time off, more biking, and another slow return to running. But by the time Chicago came up, my fitness was not where I wanted to be a year ago, and I was still dealing with an ankle/shin injury. So while nearly 365 days earlier I had dreams of another BQ attempt, because of the rollercoaster of training experiences over the last year I was relegated to a survive the Chicago Marathon goal.

Thursday (10/4/18)

The prep for the Chicago Marathon itself started on Thursday. Because of the traveling and goal for this to serve as a family vacation as well, I decided to do the Western Australian Carb Loading procedure early. So I consumed 8 packets of Maurten Drink Mix 320 (632 g carbs), eggs/oatmeal (97 g carbs), chicken sandwich and pasta leftovers (100g carbs), and pasta (75g carbs) equals a total of 905 grams carbs. For my assumed body weight of 75kg, that means I consumed about 12 g carbs/kg bw in reality. The beauty of the Maurten carb load is it was extremely easy and didn't feel challenging at all with the reduced water burden.

Friday (10/5/18)

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We started our drive from WI to Chicago at 10:00am. It was mostly uneventful and we arrived in Chicago around 1:30pm. Parking was a bit tough to figure out at the McCormick Expo center, but we eventually figured it out. We headed into the expo and found @roxymama, @ZellyB, and @Chris-Mo. Nervousness was abound. Mostly everyone was concerned about the weather and more so the shakeout run on Saturday morning at 6:30am. We split after a few moments of chatting and headed in different directions. Checked out the Nike gear, the runDisney medals, and ate a small lunch (pizza and banana). After some time walking around the expo, we made our way back to the car to head to the hotel.

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We were staying at the Chicago Athletic Association right off Michigan Ave and right next to the Chicago Marathon start line. Just an FYI for anyone staying there in the future, the valet parking for the CAA is not off of Michigan Ave, it's off W Madison St. When it comes to doing laps around the hotel, it added quite a bit of extra time. But we figured it out eventually (3rd times the charm)! It was a very trendy hotel. Nice views and a nice clean room.

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We settled into the hotel room, and then we headed out towards dinner. We first hit up the Disney store (obvi) and did some shopping. Then it was off to Rainforest Cafe. Steph thought G might enjoy all the animals and such. Not quite. The "thunder" noises in the jungle freaked her out. The food was "meh" as well. So overall, everything about the trip to Rainforest Cafe was not a repeat for us. Well expect for the t-shirt I saw in the store. "I'm into Fitness. In to fit-en-nis taco in my mouth!". It was pretty funny. We headed back to the hotel and called it a night.

Saturday (10/6/18)

Saturday morning at 6:30am was going to be the DIS meet up at shakeout run on the Lakefront trail. Mother nature didn't like that plan and totally through it threw a loop. Lightning was a problem and was forecasted to occur right at 6:30-7:00am. So we unfortunately had to cancel. It was such a bummer as this was our best chance for everyone to meet up. Once the weather cleared, the three of us headed over to Wildberry Pancakes. Great choice! Seemed like we had perfect timing too because minutes after we arrived, so did everyone else in the city. Wait times jumped dramatically right after us. I had some delicious pancakes and oatmeal.

After breakfast we headed over to Stan's Doughnuts. I decided to hold back and only get 4 doughnuts (LOL). I got a PB/Banana doughnut, PB doughnut, apple fritter, and apple cinnamon doughnut. Lots of great choices. As we were heading out of Stan's we ran into @cburnett11 on his shakeout run. It was nice to chat even though we didn't get a long opportunity. We decided to take the doughnuts back to the hotel and then make our way to the aquarium.

It was only a 1.5 mile walk to the aquarium so we decided to do that instead of some other transportation.

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Arrived at the aquarium not long after it opened and was able to walk right inside with no line. It was a great experience. The giant Japanese spider crabs were insane! Like I've never seen a crab so large and so darn creepy. They had penguins, beluga whales, dolphins, crabs, sharks, etc. etc. etc. It was a nicely spent several hours to the morning. When we left, it was a sigh of relief because the line to get in the aquarium looked like it was now an hour long. So we timed this arrival really well again!

We made our way from the aquarium over to Sienna Tavern. Steph wanted to try this restaurant because it was established by Fabio from Top Chef. So we arrived and got seated next to a really weird group of people. On man, hey there @roxymama! LOL, what are the odds. I knew she was headed there for dinner, but I wasn't expecting to run into her and her family at 1:30pm. It was fun meeting her family again as well as chatting via text message during a few funny moments. We went with meatballs, gnocchi, pizza, pasta, etc. The meal was top notch and I highly recommend it for those in the Chicago area. Said bye ti @roxymama and we got a Lyft back to the hotel. I just settled in and rested for the rest of the day preparing for the big race. After about 8 miles of walking throughout the day, I needed to take some rest.

Watched the first half of the Badger game, and then I settled in for bed around 8pm.

THE 2018 Chicago Marathon: Part 2
 
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Buying a new smart trainer will certainly help bring structure and consistency to your indoor cycling workouts. Right now, the one to purchase looks to be the Wahoo Kickr Core, a unit with pretty much the same features and silent operation as the Kickr for several hundred dollars less. DC Rainmaker has reviews of the Core and a few other new trainers up on his site, and you can also get a discount by ordering through the links he provides. If you're serious about being serious with your biking, a smart trainer is the way to go. The Peloton is certainly a cool piece of tech, but there's something about riding on your own bike that's hard to beat. Plus, the monthly fees for Zwift or Trainer Road or Sufferfest are less than the ones for the Peloton.

I checked out the Wahoo Core and it looks like a solid choice. So it'll come down to that vs the Peloton. The deciding factor will probably be Steph. Because I'm positive she'll never use a trainer for aerobic exercise. She needs some other type of stimulation. So if she wants to get a indoor bike workout, then it'll end up being the Peloton. Definitely agree that in the long term the Wahoo Kickr Core is way cheaper. Would you agree that for my purpose, the only thing in addition to the Wahoo Kickr Core would be clip-in shoes, cassette, and clip-in pedals? So I'm looking at another $300-400 for those items in addition to the Core (Peloton would need shoes as well). Still much cheaper than the Peloton price tag. To be fair, I've got a crummy bike, but hopefully with a wheel-off trainer and only planning on indoor biking I can make the crummy bike work. But we'll see what Steph says.

As for improving your overall muscle tone, I'm going to say the same thing I always say (@Ariel484 would be disappointed if I didn't): yoga, yoga, yoga. The core strength in particular is hard to get anywhere else, and you get plenty of stretching thrown in as a bonus.

Yea, we'll see. Any recommendations on yoga plans?

I definitely agree that yoga could be beneficial for you! In addition to the benefits that @FFigawi mentioned, I always found a mental benefit. One hour to just be quiet with myself and focus on breathing (plus crazy stretches and whatnot). The focus on breathing is really relaxing and, I think, beneficial in everyday life as well.

Haha, quiet... been a while since I've heard that noise.

I’ll also throw in a mention for full-body strength training. I know you have the med ball routine but it sounds like you didn’t for this training cycle (haven’t been able to follow along, turns out having a newborn is pretty time-consuming). But then how do you fit it all in - Running AND strength training AND biking AND yoga and family work etc. Let me know if you figure that part out...

ACK! CONGRATS ON THE BABY!!!!

I'm hoping the 80-day obsession and McMillan Core Routine can fill this gap. I wasn't able to keep the MCR or MBW this training cycle and it showed.

Yea, finding time is certainly difficult. With a reduction in running, about 7-9 hours per week, I'll definitely have more time to fit other things in for the next few months. Hoping life calms down soon, but it's been crazy the last year.

Great job with your race, I hope you get the fade figured out. :)

Thanks and thanks for the advice!

what i mean by blind is i have trained focusing on strength and stamina but not so much for speed. i have a pretty good feel for what my race pace should be but, since the goal is completing the race, i'm 100% ready to pull the plug and settle for whatever effort gets me to the finish line with a sustained effort.

Sounds good!
 
We made our way from the aquarium over to Sienna Tavern. Steph wanted to try this restaurant because it was established by Fabio from Top Chef. So we arrived and got seated next to a really weird group of people. On man, hey there @roxymama! LOL, what are the odds. I knew she was headed there for dinner, but I wasn't expecting to run into her and her family at 1:30pm. It was fun meeting her family again as well as chatting via text message during a few funny moments. We went with meatballs, gnocchi, pizza, pasta, etc. The meal was top notch and I highly recommend it for those in the Chicago area. Said bye ti @roxymama and we got a Lyft back to the hotel. I just settled in and rested for the rest of the day preparing for the big race. After about 8 miles of walking throughout the day, I needed to take some rest.

Are you sure you weren't taking "Watching....always watching" to the next level by sitting next to us at lunch?

Funny how things work out. Our reservation goof actually made that day work out better for me by having that late lunch anyways. And at least roxykiddo and gigi had a chance to compare stuffed animals which is always important :) Next time I'm ordering roxykiddo the ginormous meatball.
 
Any recommendations on yoga plans?
I know I wasn't the one you were responding to, but personally, my recommendation is to find a studio. :) At least to start maybe.

I am just not a fan of DIY yoga with videos, even now that I kinda sorta know what I'm doing after taking yoga classes on and off for the last 5 or 6 years. The instructor feedback and instruction is very helpful (modifications or props or adjustments), my studio has a bunch of different styles that I can sample from, and there are no distractions there. I don't zone out at home and get the kind of session that I'm looking for from yoga when I'm doing it in my house.
 
Any recommendations on yoga plans?

Also not the target responder, but I have plenty of experience AND opinions. I am on board with @Miranda that finding a studio that you can deal with and afford is a great start. I cannot deal with hot yoga, I cannot deal with someone who is more suited to be a drill Sargent or spinning instructor, and I cannot deal with some of the prices. If you have access to University facilities, there will be lots of cheap options and at least in my Big10 town it is not all sorority girls. Also cheap is the YMCA. (Because you need $$ for your house and a bike trainer, right?). These are not always the highest quality options, but I have sometimes had better instructors at the Y than at larger, more respected studios around town. Also, I was irritated that studios that offer RYT training often charge people to take the class with a student teacher and do not tell them that is what they are getting- I would like to believe I was an amazing student teacher, but I would have been irritated to pay thinking I was getting something I was not.

I also want to put out a suggestion of Cosmic Kids Yoga with G. This jives with Ariel484's comment about fitting it all in as I think it is multitasking (but not with an infant!) I believe my girls (5) are a bit older than yours, but they loved it at 3 years old and it is legit yoga with funny kid stories. They do criticize me for not following instructions as I tend to take poses a bit farther, but I do that in a proper class as well.
 
I checked out the Wahoo Core and it looks like a solid choice. So it'll come down to that vs the Peloton. The deciding factor will probably be Steph. Because I'm positive she'll never use a trainer for aerobic exercise. She needs some other type of stimulation. So if she wants to get a indoor bike workout, then it'll end up being the Peloton. Definitely agree that in the long term the Wahoo Kickr Core is way cheaper. Would you agree that for my purpose, the only thing in addition to the Wahoo Kickr Core would be clip-in shoes, cassette, and clip-in pedals? So I'm looking at another $300-400 for those items in addition to the Core (Peloton would need shoes as well). Still much cheaper than the Peloton price tag. To be fair, I've got a crummy bike, but hopefully with a wheel-off trainer and only planning on indoor biking I can make the crummy bike work. But we'll see what Steph says.

Clip-in shoes and pedals would certainly help, but you could get by for a while with the old-school toe cages. They'll provide much of the power transfer pedaling efficiency at a fraction of the cost. The quality of the bike on a smart trainer doesn't make much of a difference. The trainer will control the power and resistance at a given level no matter if you're using an old steel beater or the latest carbon machine.

Any recommendations on yoga plans?

I am the target responder, and I'll echo what was said above - go to a studio or other classes led by a qualified instructor. Learning the proper body position in any yoga pose is important to prevent injury and get the intended results. Online and streaming classes are easy and convenient, but you run the risk of serious injury if you're not doing the poses properly.
 
I'm going out on a limb and guessing you may be similar to me in that turning off your brain even in the quietest of yoga studios could be a challenge. I'll play devil's advocate and will say that sometimes at home with some soft tunes playing in my headphones is easier for me to zone out than in a really quiet studio...with other people present around me. I still have a hard time not thinking about all the things in any environment. But much like running, the harder the workout, the more I focus on that and "zone out." Easy beginner yoga...brain overload.

Edit to add: @FFigawi is wise...I did studio first before at home and he has the right reasoning.
 
I did attempt to remove the blind and run by paying close attention to splits at Lakefront 2017. But that went poorly for me as I really got into my head early in the race. Because prior to the race I had set a pace that based on training was the right pace (7:01), but come race day it just didn't feel right to get down there early on. So I stopped paying attention to pace relatively early on, but as far as consistency and even splits it was between a 6:57-7:17 for the first 17 miles, with 9/17 between 7:04-7:11. But that was slower than the pace I thought was appropriate heading into the race (7:01 based on training).

"Feel" can be a dangerous thing, because it's not always an accurate measure. I've read countless race reports from ultra runners, almost all of whom describe a roller-coaster ride of emotions within a race, going from "I feel amazing!" to "I just want to drop out and die!" and back again, all in the same race. Desi Linden even stated that she was initially going to drop out of this year's Boston due to the miserable weather, but only stuck in the race long enough to help out Shalane Flanagan. She told the Washington Post, "To be honest, at miles 2-3-4, I didn’t think I’d make it to the finish line." Obviously, I'm sure she's glad she hung in there a little longer. I've experienced the same thing in my fastest marathons - I've almost always felt just awful in the first several miles, and was strongly convinced at the time today was NOT going to be my day. I just try to ignore those feelings and focus on hitting my splits for as long as I can, and I've usually felt better eventually. Honestly, I thought at the time and still do think that it was a mistake at Lakefront for you not to just get into 7:00 pace in the first three miles, stay there as long as you could, and see what happens. I'm certainly no expert by any stretch, but if you felt like you were in the 7:00 range based on training, then that's what I would've told you to run if I were your coach. I think the more you would've hit those splits, the more your confidence would've been strengthened and hopefully you've had held the pace to the end.

Anyway, yoga is a great suggestion, not just for the enhanced strength and flexibility, but for the meditation/relaxation part. It's so much more a mental game as the races get longer. Congratulations again on finishing Chicago despite your ankle injury, and I hope you're back to full health soon. I have every confidence you'll get a BQ eventually.
 
I'm going out on a limb and guessing you may be similar to me in that turning off your brain even in the quietest of yoga studios could be a challenge. I'll play devil's advocate and will say that sometimes at home with some soft tunes playing in my headphones is easier for me to zone out than in a really quiet studio...with other people present around me. I still have a hard time not thinking about all the things in any environment. But much like running, the harder the workout, the more I focus on that and "zone out." Easy beginner yoga...brain overload.
I am impressed by this! Is there a secret to doing it at home?
I always end up needing to vacuum before I can get in a full sun salutation. And then realize there is a load of laundry in the washer, and that I need to pay bills, and..... all of the things that never end. I would rather go to a studio with a poor teacher who does not speak my language and hide in the corner than practice on my own at home.
 
I started doing Yin about a year and a half ago and at first I thought it was going to be really hard because my brain was always flitting all over the place. The first instructor (I miss her so much, she left this past spring) did not use music or background sounds at all and Yin is all about holding long poses (usually 2-5 minutes, but sometimes as long as 10) and meditating. And I thought meditating meant having nothing in my mind and then I would start thinking about now there's something in my mind while I'm thinking about having nothing in my mind, etc etc. But the option to meditate by allowing your brain to wander wherever it goes is always presented, and that is the type that I always use. You don't let yourself dwell on any one thing for too long, just wherever your brain goes naturally.

It's really relaxing... I know I am thinking about dozens of different things over the 90 minutes of class, but I honestly cannot tell you what any of them are when we are done.
 

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