Training like an Elite, Volume 2

Two years ago, just coming off a broken leg, I was in Lake Tahoe, California at 6,000 feet above sea level when I started my slow comeback to running. This trip, with its scenery and confidence building steps, gave me the altitude bug. Ever since then, I've kept in the back of my mind that I wanted to head back to altitude to do some serious training. Training and peaking in my milage for Boston seemed like the perfect opportunity, so I booked tickets to Boulder, Colorado to visit a good friend and have the wind knocked out of me.

I was in Boulder for a full week and initially I didn't seem to be affected by being at 5,000+ feet above sea level. A quick shake-out run the first day I was there felt normal, even good. I did burn the chicken I cooked because #bakingataltitude. But my big concern, and the reason I was there, was my impending 20 mile long run on Saturday morning. 20 miles, or for me three hours of running, is mind-numbing and potentially awful on one's own even at sea-level, so I sought out a local running group that I could accompany. I got really lucky that the women I ran with were chatty and good for about 14 miles in the morning. They lead me through the packed dirt roads around the Boulder Reservoir, and thanks to their incessant chatter (one woman was espousing the incredible company that is Uber...like who's never heard of them before?), I was able to soak in the sun and beautiful scenery and forget that I was suffering internally.

No wonder I had a nice run!

In reality, my 20 miler went great! I ran the third hour on my own, and while I did start to get very hungry around mile 17, I didn't hit a wall and was able to keep pace for my whole run. Even more exciting was that this 20 miler was two minutes faster than my run of that distance last year, but this time I was breathing in significantly less oxygen. I had been warned beforehand that recovery at altitude often takes a lot longer, so as soon as I finished my run and returned to the car, I chugged some water and a protein shake, and nibbled on a pistachio muffin (all the sugars and carbs!) as I did some dynamic stretching. Once I got home, I showered, pulled on some compression socks and curled up for a nap.

Of course, my "elite" altitude training wouldn't be complete without some sort of social media interaction with women much faster than I. Heading to Boulder, I knew that many elites were in the area altitude training as well, and I was hoping to at least run into them, if not actually stalk them and become best friends (Kara Goucher, why didn't you respond to my invitation to get coffee together!?). And I did almost literally run into a few. My running team, Oiselle, has an elite training group called Little Wing that at the moment consists of three steeple chasers chasing the OTQ, and coached by the incredible Lauren Fleshman. Halfway into my LR around the reservoir, my group and I ran by another group and I recognized these women by the Oiselle clothes they were in. Later, on my own, I ran by two of the women and waved to them, yelling "Hey Little Wing!" They seemed pumped to both recognize my running top (also obviously Oiselle #flystyle) and realize that I knew who they were. After my run I checked Twitter, and was delighted to find this awesome tweet from them. Once again, day/week/life made:

*praise hands emoji*

And my active altitude training didn't end there. The next morning, I headed even higher up, to about 10,000 feet, to go cross country skiing. Now I am not one to put on any type of snow sport equipment, but knowing that Nordic skiing is such good cardio and non-impact cross training, I had to give it a try. I went with my friend to her local mountain and we explored the pristine trails for about two hours. We worked up both a sweat and an appetite and had so much fun. My parents can't believe I'm saying this, but I would definitely cross country ski again!

Now that I'm back at sea-level and tapering, I'm continuing to get massages from my amazing PT, and today even I ran some easy miles on the AlterG anti-gravity treadmill at 75% body weight. Boston is 11(!) days away and I'm doing the best I can to take care of my body, given how many miles I've pounded them through over the course of the past four months. My training hasn't gone exactly as planned but at the same time I've had some awesome runs. I feel fit, ready and beyond excited to toe the line in Hopkinton and make my way into Boston, with a right on Hereford and left on Boylston. My stint as an elite at altitude in Boulder has prepared me well.

Love,
Rachel "legs up on the wall" Runner

Training like an Elite

Three months to the day that I broke my leg, I started running again. But before I go on about how awesome it is to run again (because it is), I want to reflect on some things that happened to me during my recovery process.

Robyn was the one who pointed this out to me. After I texted her about setting up an appointment to run on an anti-gravity treadmill, she observed that I’ve essentially been training like an elite runner, minus the whole running part. And she’s right; I’ve run on both an underwater and anti-gravity treadmill, machines that your average runner doesn’t normally have access to. More on that later. I’ve also been working with a physical therapist (read: trainer) on strengthening my legs and working on those inequities that developed from 6 weeks in a walking boot. But what Robyn doesn’t know is that I’ve also formed some pretty solid connections with a couple of my favorite (actual) elite runners.

First, I was driving on Comm Ave in Newton a couple of weekends ago, looking yearningly at the runners out for their long runs and Boston Marathon build up runs, when I noticed one runner running with traffic. That’s annoying, I thought, any real runner knows to run against traffic. I looked closer and realized that there was a reason this runner was running with traffic. Clearly she was training on the exact path of the marathon, instead of sticking to the safer sidewalks. There was someone biking next to her, protecting her from traffic. She was blonde and she was going fast. Could it have been…it must have been Shalane Flanagan! Perhaps the best American female distance runner and the top American woman in last year’s Boston Marathon. I didn’t stop or roll down my window to say hi, and this may very well end up being one of the biggest regrets of my life because seriously, how cool would that be? I was still only 99% sure that it was Shalane (a Massachusetts native as well—twinsies!) so I casually tweeted at her when I got into Boston and put my phone away. Little did I expect a response. Day/week/life made:

Meanwhile, Shalane’s longtime best friend and training partner, Kara Goucher, also had some great recent news. After running for Nike in Oregon for 12 years, Kara ended her contract with the athletic goliath and moved back to Colorado to train with her coach, legendary Mark Wetmore. At the same time, Kara needed a new sponsor and after a lot of deliberation she signed with Oiselle! I’ve written about them here and there on our blog before, but it’s an awesome women’s apparel company that makes comfy and fly clothes and champions women’s running. I have loved every article of Oiselle clothing I get and I’m so glad that Kara and I will now be twinning in our neon strappy bra and rogas. Kara has been my favorite runner/role model/hero/motivation for years, so now we’re basically best friends.

Aside from Shalane and Kara, I follow a lot of other professional and elite female runners (Lauren Fleshman, Jordan Hasay, Alexi Papas, Mary Cain, Brenda Martinez, etc) and one thing that they do often with their coaches and training programs is to train at altitude. Training at altitude is all about putting in the hard work now to reap the benefits later. At altitude, the air is much thinner so you have to work harder when you breathe to absorb enough oxygen. It takes a while to acclimate but training, or simply being, at a high altitude will allow you to maximize your oxygen intake when you come back to sea level, likely for competition.  Although this was not my intent (I won’t be racing for a while still) I headed up and out to spend a long weekend in Lake Tahoe, California with one of my best friends for spring break. The trip was so fun and Tahoe is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It’s an active place so I did as the Romans do and hiked, walked, paddled and ran. Yes, I actually ran this time! My first real run back I was very careful and ran on a flat and clear bike path. I did 2 minutes running/2 minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes, plus a long walking warm up and cool down. Look at me getting after it. Even though I’m sure I was going at least 10-minute mile pace and probably looked ridiculous, I felt awesome (must have been the Oiselle apparel I was wearing) and elite-worthy. I snapped some pictures during my walking intervals to document my return to running in this beautiful and altitudinous destination.

So even though I’ve only run a total of 3 miles, maybe, since being cleared to run, you better believe that I’m out to get it. Rubbing elbows with elites and using elite-worthy equipment has motivated me to keep after it and hopefully I’ll be able to enjoy a true run outside, just in time for Spring! Stay tuned for my anti-gravity treadmill recap, since you’re probably not even reading this anymore. And if you just read this whole post, thanks and you should probably stop and go for a run.