welcome back

bootcamp is kicking my butt, but i am loving it. i look forward to going to the sessions after work, being sore for days after, and my competitiveness pushes me to be the best in the class. josh sometimes asks me how a workout went and i reply (singing) "all i do is win".

"death by wall ball" workout

the workouts are tough but fun, and i'm contemplating signing up for more at regular price (i'm currently going on a groupon). however, they sorta keep me from running as much as i would like to be. sorta. in all honesty, it's more like the not-getting-up-at-5am that is keeping me from running as much as i would prefer.

over the weekend i did get up and out for a "long" run. i've been stagnant lately, running 3-5 miles at a time, and not following any sort of plan to build things back up. i forced myself to go long - 7 miles! i saw 9 ladies running and 0 men (slackers). i ran partly on my old long run route and i suppose things have gotten more 'hood since the last time i did a long run (uh like a year+ ago) because i passed an older woman carrying two huge things of mace as she walked. thankfully she realized i was not a threat and did not mace me.

title reference.

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three little speckled frogs

time for some long-lost daily run action. a few days late, but i thought i should actually talk about running for a change.

saturday - i was out of town in a ghetto area also known as gamecock country. shudder. i managed to make it out alive and without anyone keying my car.

(just kidding carolina fans. slightly. i am a clemson grad after all)

anyway, when i woke up saturday morning i hopped on the hotel treadmill and ran 10 miles. i had forgotten socks, so i ran 'barefoot' in my shoes. the weird part was i wasn't tired in the least afterward.

saturday (4/2) am run - 10 miles, 1:28:32 (avg pace 8:51)

photo from the halfway point

perhaps it was just delayed though because sunday morning i was slug to the ish for my 20 19 miler. i headed out around 8am; it was a little chilly in short-sleeves (about 41 degrees) but i knew it would warm up.

it took me 6-7 miles to convince myself to run - i spent that hour arguing with myself over whether or not to turn around. i downed a gu (espresso love) somewhere between miles 7 and 8 and started fantasizing about starbucks.

somewhere in mile 11 nature put me on speed dial. this wasn't that alarming as i did not have a pre-run-movement (prm). i was actually surprised i made it so far. the downside of having efficient bowels is that you can't clench cheeks for long. luckily there was a walgreens nearby, and i took a second gu (mint chocolate) shortly after the pitstop. i need to check the expiration on that box because i started hallucinating about three little speckled frogs. the kind that sit on speckled logs, eat the most delicious bugs, jump into pools, etc.



yeah i don't know where that came from, but somehow it helped the last 7-miles pass by. i don't remember when, but at some point my right hip/glute something-or-other started aching a little. i've been rolling it with my foam roller and tennis ball and (so far) assume it's just achy from a 29 mile weekend.

sunday (4/3) am run: 19 miles, 2:59:43 (avg pace 9:28), 41-61*

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bringing the heat to michigan

one of my good friends got married this weekend. in michigan. brr. hence why i needed the shoe advice. i was amused how the red shoes won by a landslide. no need to recount votes here. thanks for all the input fashionable friends.

course by this time the shoes were long gone

i informed my mitten-dwelling friends of my travel plans and although someone forgot/ignored me (and then tried to blame it on me) the redhead did not let me down. morgan drove about an hour to run - that is some serious dedication; i don't even like driving 5-10 minutes to run. the weather was supposed to be a high of 19 degrees, but by the time i arrived the forecast changed to a high of about 30 degrees. heat wave; you're welcome michigan.

my old running buddy had guilted me into running a few miles with her as well, so we went out for 5 miles around 7am, had just arrived back at the hotel and morgan arrived a few minutes later. i scarfed down a yogurt since i hadn't eaten anything yet (and dairy products are always good before running) and headed back out with morgan.

neither of us knew the area so we drove part of the route first and realized we were just gonna have to deal with running 4-lane highways and narrow shoulders for part of the run. this wasn't a big deal to me as south carolina roads rarely have a shoulder so i'm used to running in ditches or having to stop and let cars pass. morgan kept apologizing for putting our lives in danger and making comments about death (we may need to stage an intervention).

she never did apologize for sprinting up all the hills and leaving me a half-mile behind though. her hill workouts are definitely paying off although it still doesn't make me want to do them myself. i told her she can brag to everyone that she was faster than me. seriously, she's the friggin' redheaded energizer bunny! :)

i had joked about running by michigan's finest scenery (closed down factories) and morgan managed to route us by the chrysler plant and test track. it was hard to see through the trees and 27403 feet of snow but technically we did run by it. we also ran by my future home, josh and i are hoping to close by the end of the month.

there will be plenty of room for everyone to visit

the snow/ice made it slick in a few spots but we made it. surprisingly i held up well considering i was jamming in 19 miles. morgan was kind enough to bring me a bottled water and spare power gel as i forgot to pack mine. it was a confidence boost to see i could handle the mileage and a decent pace with practically no food (yogurt + 1 gel). it was also nice to not have a bathroom emergency either.

the front of my right ankle was sore for the majority of the run so i'm not sure what's going on there. i'm hoping it's just from a few too many slippery steps on the snow. it's not swollen or bruised, doesn't hurt to point my toes, does ache when flexing toes back towards shin, aches when making circles with toes... and of course this was before wearing the heels, so i can't blame it on them. it doesn't hurt bad, just bothersome.

any ideas of google search terms i can use?
"front part of ankle hurts" isn't giving great results.

anyway, both runs were great and it was super sweet to 'hang out'/girl talk with morgan for 2 hours. after the run we went to tim horton's where i was tempted to eat the whole rack of donuts. i saved those calories for an extra piece of wedding cake instead.

saturday (2/5) am run #1: 5 miles, 44:40 (avg pace 8:56), 16*
saturday (2/5) am run #2: 14.10 miles, 2:07:34 (avg pace 9:03), not much warmer

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life=risk

photo by a team parent

over the past three years i've helped on-and-off with a local high school cross country team, and this weekend was the county meet. the varsity boys lost the county title for the first time in 8 years placing 2nd, but the varsity girls, jv girls and jv boys all won their respective divisions (once again). watching the high schoolers always motivates me, but by the time i get home i am tired and lazy. the same was the case this weekend. luckily this "30-minute" goal is working for me, and i am enjoying the variety of exercise choices i have everyday. sometimes i feel like i am 'cheating' on running though since i'm not running 6 days a week anymore. i am doing well at not being anal about it - you have to admit i've come a long way! (can i apologize once more for being such a whiney brat back then?)

i do still run though of course, and today i got in my long run - double digits! umm the last time i did 10+ miles was september 10th, sheesh. i set out without water or gu with the intent of toughening up mentally. i planned to take it easy for the first 5 miles and then pick it up a little in the second 5 for a negative split. do you ever "black out" in the middle of a run? in mile 4 i was running up a long hill, and then i don't remember anything until i was at the top of the hill and checked my pace and noticed it had slowed dramatically. i was successful with the negative splitting though -- averaging a 9:15 in the first half and an 8:02 in the second. depending on how the coming week goes, those faster miles may have to count towards my 4mi tempo goal.
(eta: by "black out" i mean more of a "zone out". i didn't pass out on the side of the road or anything)

sunday (10/24) am run: 10 miles, 1:26:29 (avg pace 8:39), 71*

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i've seen this before somewhere (probably from my dad), but saw it again on running free and had to re-post:

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bright ideas

sometimes i get these brilliant ideas that seem fun, until it's actually time to do them. like once i talked my best friend into getting up at 2am to drive to the beach to watch the sunrise*, or the few times i talked her into running a marathon without sufficiently training, or most recently - this past friday afternoon when we decided to meet up with her bootcamp class at 4am on saturday morning for a long run. her bootcamp class that meets a good 30-40 minutes away from my house...

good morning to me!

needless to say when i went to bed around 12:30 and woke up at 3, i wasn't quite thinking that this idea was that fun anymore. i made it to the meetup spot and we were off on the run. about two miles in i needed a pit stop, the only thing open at that hour is waffle house... yeah. we overheard some cops discuss setting up a perimeter and scoping out a place before they took off with their siren wailing (we're assuming a drug bust of sorts).

about a mile after the waffle house stop, we regrouped and played touch football (this was a bootcamp class after all). it was 4:45am and dark, so that was interesting. no one got whacked in the face with the ball but we did all leave with wet socks and shoes, which is always good when you still have 13 miles or so to go. we ran by a bar that was still open (most bars here close at 2am) and drunkards were stumbling out, pointing their keys in the air to find their car. why yes, we'd love to run on the road with you behind the wheel. we had a stop for snacks/water at a (manmade) waterfall, and didn't follow the directions properly around mile 13 so we ran our own route back to tack on some extra miles.

quick stop for bananas, oranges and grapes

my brain wasn't operating well enough at 3am to remember to grab gu's

in the end, a long, slow 17-miles done. slower than i would have liked, but the last time i ran double digits was 5/29 (12 miles), a solid three months ago, i'm sure i haven't lost any stamina since then right?

saturday (8/28) am run: 17 miles (2:56:12), avg pace (10:21), avg/max hr (149/173)

there were two walk breaks in there; at least i got my "easy" heart rate back under control

7/17: 8 miles
8/22: 8.15 miles
8/28: 17 miles

this is totally normal long-run progression, right?

*the sunrise trip (2007)

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grounded

week in review (8/16 - 8/22)
total miles: 28.89 (33 planned)
time spent running: ~ 4 hrs 26 mins
avg hr: 171, aka through the roof
avg pace: 9:06/mile
off days: 1! victory.

the michelin 5k went pretty well on saturday. i've lost a lot of speed, but hopefully it'll come back... it was warm (low 80's) and humid. i was a solid 2 minutes off (slower than) my pr, but surprisingly i had consistent splits. i caught up to a kid as tall as my hip and we sprinted in to the finish. we passed all the adults in the last .1-mile and he was pushing hard; i didn't have the heart to beat him at the last second.

there were over 800 people in the race - i finished 10th female overall and 1st female for my company (it was a "corporate shield" event). too bad they don't give out raises for this. josh pr'd by about a minute, i guess he just needed a rabbit to chase. :o)

saturday (8/21) michelin 5k: 23:02 (avg pace 7:25), avg/max hr (185/209)
for some perspective/grounding - i've run a half-marathon at faster pace than that, haha. i have a long way to go.

with fresno a short 11-weeks away, i need to get a lot of time on my legs. i haven't ran longer than an hour in over a month though, so i have a bit of building to do there as well. on sunday i got a late start on my long run, and the heat (+ my out-of-shapeness) cut the run a little shorter than planned. about halfway through the run i *finally* hit 1,000 miles for the year, only 6-weeks behind last year.

sunday (8/22) am run: 8.15 miles, 1:17:30 (avg pace 9:30), 80*/79% humid

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approaching turn

after being a *bit* lazy friday, i summoned myself out of bed this morning for my long run. it was about 66 degrees but muggy and humid. i've been blessed with a mini-cool front all week in kentucky with temps in the 60s and not humid. i guess it's about time i get used to the good ol' heavy, sticky air.

about 8-9 miles into the run it started raining. thank god. if it's going to be this humid anyway it may as well rain and keep me cool-ish. unfortunately previous experiences have taught me that my garmin is a diva and does not enjoy the rain. i have no idea what happened but at one point i looked down and there was a compass on my screen. erm ok. i turned it back to the regular time/pace/distance screen and periodically it would beep at me and flash "approaching turn". most of the time this happened at points where there was a street to actually turn on to, but a few times it wanted me to go off-roading.

where's my manual... apparently i have a lot of learning to do.

super slow 12+ miles overall, just couldn't get the legs to turnover today :-/ but i'm little miss positive thinker lately and am just glad i got out for a long run, no matter how slow.

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the beginning of the end

well last week was not much to talk about. i rested hardcore, saving up for an attempt at one last long run, and actually started to feel better.

week in review (10/12 - 10/18):
total miles: 39.24
time spent running: ~ 5 hours 45 minutes
avg hr: 159.33
avg pace: 9:00/mile (excluding walks; avg temp: 55*)
off days: 1

monday - easy 30 minutes on the treadmill, theory being i wouldn't have to twist around to check for traffic. i was finally starting to feel better after a few visits to the chiro and was a bit robotic for fear of "undoing" the adjustment. i know, that's not how it works, but i was still a little stiff-neck.

tuesday - 30 minute walk on the treadmill. look at me! taking it easy. i took it serious - it helps that nausea/dizziness is the worst feeling ever. i wanted to feel better for good.

wednesday - easy 45 minutes on the 'mill. feeling a little better each day.

thursday - 30 minute walk on the treadmill. yes, the walks were definitely tallied up in my mileage.

friday - off; loooong day of work + driving.

saturday - big day. easy 60 minute run outside! a whole hour, and not on the treadmill. felt alright, other than the fact that it was freakin' freezing.

sunday - even bigger day. 20 miles easy. was not pretty. it was a little disheartening to see a slow pace and feel the way my legs felt later in the run. i'd had a very light week and my legs couldn't have been much fresher, but i definitely got tired/achy around mile 16. i was glad to have pulled out one last 20-miler though.

it'd been 3 weeks since i had done laundry, so all my 'fancy' running clothes were tied up sunday. i threw on some old soccer shorts from like 1998, a long-sleeved under armor shirt, and a (cotton) t-shirt from high school (circa 2001). it was kind of nice to go "back to the basics"; like lance and his bike, it's not about the clothes.

it seems like the training plan has gone from being crumpled up on the desk to the bottom of the cross-cut shredder. however, it's officially taper time; i can do easy! less than two weeks to go; i've never been good at countdowns. do you count the present day? do you count the day of the event? oh the confusion.

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a little sweat ain't never hurt nobody

yes, i just quoted beyonce.

saturday's long/quality run was excellent! i was overdue for a long run and preferably a good one. i sure didn't disappoint. (garmin on the other hand... died before mile 20. that's ok, i like wearing $350 blank watches for fun.)

after some craptacular long run attempts previously, i headed out for today's run with positive thoughts. due to the lack of remotely lit-streets here in kentucky, i waited until just when the sun was rising to head out. i didn't want to be hit by a car, especially since i was going to be running on a 4-lane divided highway. finally, a little before 7am, i headed out.

ah, the exciting road before me.

throughout the run, i had various thoughts and songs enter my mind as i chugged along, but two songs that continually came to mind were travis tritt's "great day to be alive" and phil vassar's "just another day in paradise". i was definitely working the positive vibes! (i never listened to country music before, but these ridiculously early commutes require something less headache-inducing than my usual hip-hop jams. plus, something about the sticks of kentucky give me a country vibe i guess.)

i took my fuel belt hand-held water bottle, 4 vanilla bean gu's (ate 3), a pack of orange gu chomps, $10, iphone, and some mace. (i don't run with my phone normally, but j wasn't comfortable with the idea of me running along a highway alone. i took the mace after reading about the woman who was attacked down in georgia not long ago.)

the plan for the day was: 8 miles easy, 8 miles marathon pace, 1 mile threshold, 4 miles mp, 1 mile threshold, 1 mile mp; 23 miles total. i had a super slow start with mile 1, but then my body remembered how to run. marathon pace is still kind of in the air, but i am getting closer to figuring it out. when i began nyc training 18-weeks ago i was *way* too ambitious. i think that hurt me a little with training harder than my body should be pushed at times, but i'm going to settle in with my reassessed goals for this final phase of training.

all went well and according to plan - until mile 11. then garmin beeped "battery low". what the crap. that mile was a little too fast as i as mad at garmin for making a product with piss poor battery life. it continued to beep at me as i ran along. i'm glad it lasted for almost 9 more miles after the first "low battery" warning, because i don't know that i would've had the mental toughness to continue with the goal paces. it's too comforting to be able to look down and see what your pace is and know what adjustments need to be made at any time during a run.

i kinda messed up the plan for the run -- i ran 9 miles mp (instead of 8) and then 1 mile threshold, but i don't think that's a bad thing. then i got in two more miles at mp before garmin kicked the bucket. thankfully i had my phone on me so i checked the time when garmin died and again when i got back to the hotel for a rough estimate of how long the last 2.7 miles took (mapped out upon return). based on the estimate i was in the slower end of goal mp range, but who knows.

saturday (9/19) am run: 22.71 miles, 3:04:23 (avg pace 8:07), avg hr (161), 64-70*

thank goodness i switched it up and did my long run saturday as sunday i woke to pouring rain and t-storms all morning. when the storms let up mid-afternoon, i headed out for a short recovery run in the 900% humidity. not quite as pleasant.

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eighteen miles; seven traits

welcome long run, quality workout sunday. i was motivated saturday evening, but that faded overnight. i went to bed rather late (~midnight, ooh what a rebel) and "slept in" til 8:00. after a bit of wallering around in bed (laying there, being lazy) i pulled myself up for some breakfast. i then used food-in-my-belly as an excuse to put the run off a little longer, but finally put on my shoes and gear a little after noon.

with "wednesday's" quality run moved to friday, i didn't have the freshest of legs for today's workout. i survived for the most part, and even tweaked it a lot less than i thought i'd have to.

planned workout: 2 miles easy, 2x(2 miles threshold w/ 2 minutes rest), 1 hour easy, 3 miles threshold, 2 miles easy; total 18 miles
actual workout: 2 miles easy, 2x(2 miles threshold w/ 2 minutes rest), 1 hour easy, 2 miles threshold, 3 miles easy; total 18 miles

seriously jack, what's with all the threshold runs? ya killin' me here.

as you can see i conveniently traded one of the later threshold miles for an easy one. i'm pretty good at pulling back and running easy if i'm not feeling the harder pace, but as long as it's just the typical hard-effort struggles i try my best to duke it out. average threshold pace today - 7:32. a tad slower again, but i'm content with the effort. part of marathon training is strengthening your body and mind to continue to fight when you are tired, i chalk this up to a win in that on-going battle.

sunday (7/26) lunch run: 18 miles, 2:32:40 (avg pace 8:28), avg hr (170)

[ooh sweet. just checked the workouts for this coming week, a mini-vacation from threshold!]

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i was tagged awhile ago by beth and kelly on the "seven traits" train. it's taken me a little while to actually come up with seven not-totally-boring things, but here we go.

1. i'm afraid of failure. of course, i have obviously failed plenty of times in my life thus far but yet i still let it take control sometimes. it doesn't matter how big or small the fail is, i will worry about it.
2. i am big on saving. i save up for something i want, but when i have enough saved i have a hard time taking that money and actually spending it. for example, i put a little aside each month for my home owner's association fees (ok, not quite something i "want") and when that bill comes due i have a mini-complex about taking it out and writing the check.
3. i am lazy. i often have a hard time making myself get things done when i'm not quite in the mood to do anything. sure i may run 60+ miles a week, but i have skipped meals before because i was too lazy to get up and get something to eat. i'm sure if there was a way to avoid using the bathroom i'd probably be too lazy to get up for that too. (sorry, not going to use diapers)
4. i am an excellent procrastinator. everyone and their brother has been hounding me lately about "setting a date". i have a date - sometime next summer, a whole year away. what's the rush? apparently for a wedding you have to schedule some things way far out in advance. i just don't see the big deal because i'm not intent on any particular location; i'm flexible.
   
5. i am an expert non-decision maker. my least favorite question in the world is "where do you want to eat?" just tell me where we are going please; i'm sure the menu will be sufficient. (are you reading j? this is your last warning) :)
   
6. i am a hard-worker. i know, oxymoron what? while i am lazy and procrastinate, i can put my nose to the grind and get the job done when needed. i (and pops and j) did renovate two-bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, dining room, and kitchen after all. ok, so the 3rd bedroom and another bathroom still need work but the majority of the house is done. i'd also like to think the past year of stepping up my running/training is also proof of my ability to work hard.
7. i am the world champion at eating m&m's. that's a given.
   

in tune with #3 and 5, i tag whoever wants to play along. :)

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gone mental

there are days when i allow myself to get too worked up about a run. i worry too much about where i will run (traffic, distance, bathrooms), can i hit my goal paces, should i bring gu/water, etc. the stress occurs mostly on workout days, but sometimes on just plain regular (easy) days too.

i managed to psych myself out over the quality workout i had on tap for thursday. i had to snap myself out of it - i can't keep making excuses for myself, i need to just do it. yes, pushing the pace will probably be uncomfortable, but i'll get used to it. how can i expect to improve if i am constantly allowing myself to cut the workout short or altering the goal paces? it will hurt, but it will also make me stronger. i don't want to open my mollusk shell on november 1st and have a deformed pearl sitting there.

planned workout: 10 miles threshold pace (7:02-7:17); for 15 miles total
actual workout: 9 miles almost threshold pace (avg 7:22); for 14 miles total

i thought about tricking my brain and legs into the 10th threshold mile, but they were pretty dead oh at about mile 4-ish of the threshold miles. it took a lot to get to (and through) threshold mile #9, and i could barely get my legs to cooperate for a couple of cooldown/easy shuffle miles. i'm kind of hoping the meds (for my mouth) could have an effect, but then again i need to quit with the excuses so i'm running through it anyway.

sunday's quality run was just plain un-quality. i woke up late and didn't have time to eat breakfast or prepare myself mentally for the run. i was supposed to churn out 20 miles but only squeezed in 14.5 before having to hurry into the shower and off to lunch. i kind of attempted the workout for ~4 miles but then my stomach let me know it did not have any fuel and would not be agreeable to a long and hard run. i pulled back and made it as long of a run as i could in my little time frame, and pushed myself to work the uphills since i wasn't quite doing the workout.

while i'm struggling to combat my mental pace demons, i'm doing an excellent job of running easy. i can ace the other 4-5 days of the week, how can you possibly fail at running easy?

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week in review (7/13 - 7/19):
total miles: 63.05
time spent running: ~9 hours 2 minutes
avg hr: 156.14
avg pace: 8:47/mile (avg temp: 75.67*; somehow july is cooler than june)
off days: 0

thanks for keeping the wisdom stories horror-less. however, my sister did tell me about a girl who discovered the hard way she was allergic to the meds in the anesthetic and didn't quite make it home. yikes.

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a taste for suffering

week in review (7/6 - 7/12):
total miles: 53 (cutback)
time spent running: ~7 hours 41 minutes
avg hr: 157
avg pace: 8:42/mile (avg temp: 84.25*)
off days: 1

i didn't realize that last week's 64+ miles was a new weekly mileage pr, beating out a 62-mile week from late in my goofy challenge training regime. this past week of training hasn't been the greatest, but i slogged through the miles and survived.

i started the week with a head cold which made the rest of my body tired, and my legs were disagreeable all week. the motivation was not flowing as freely as it did last week while on vacation. luckily all these hindrances fell during a cutback week anyway, so i was 'free' to slog along. hopefully my brain and legs are done whining. we have work to do.

sundays are always one of my "quality workout" days since that's the day of the week the nyc marathon falls on. they're also "long run day", because who doesn't want to run some threshold miles during a long run. today's quality workout was easy to remember - 18 miles easy pace. (not all quality workouts involve speed, some are just long). for whatever reason, i was more motivated to do this run on the treadmill than outside. (yeah don't ask.) so, 18.25 miles on the 'mill it was. slightly masochistic?

my blister situation is still present, over 3 months later. wtf. i drained it way back when, it seemed to be doing better for a couple days, and then came back with a vengeance. i quit running in my asics (toebox felt tight), started running in tech socks, occasionally try to put a band aid or tape on it... nothing works. it just wants to grow. saturday's 8 miler turned it into a blood blister, but today's 18 miler self-drained that and made it a regular blister again. i really don't know what to do about it, and you know i'm not going to take a few days off for a stupid blister. maybe in another 9 months i'll get to throw a birthday party for it at boston.

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and so it begins

ooh boy, today was my first "quality workout" of nyc training. i was slightly dreading it this morning when i got up at 5-something. i've been running easy for about six weeks now, and the thought of breathing hard and having tired legs was psyching me out a bit. nevertheless, i laced up and hit the road around 6:30am. it was already 83 degrees and 75% humid, but it didn't really bother me. i knew i've already been running in warm temps for a couple weeks now and that i could handle it.

i'm following one of jack daniels' marathon plans from his book "the daniels' running formula". today i thought i may need to befriend the other jack daniels' in order to survive this training plan. sad, i've only done one workout so far.

today's workout was supposed to be something like - 15 minutes easy, 30 minutes marathon pace, 5 minutes threshold pace, 25 minutes marathon pace, 5 minutes threshold pace, 5 minutes marathon pace, 15 minutes easy. (yeah how am i supposed to remember all this? run with a notebook?) i ended up modifying it a little, but i'm telling myself it's ok because hey it is my first real workout-run in awhile. plus i ended up doing 7 miles at marathon goal pace which i feel is pretty decent for the first attempt. (right?)

my actual workout was: 2 miles easy, 4 miles marathon pace, 1/2 mile easy (thanks to phantom pee break), 3/4 mile threshold pace, 3/4 mile easy (lazy...), 3 miles marathon pace, 1.5 miles easy. really all i did was cut out the five minutes marathon & threshold pace and throw in a few minutes of easy running in the middle.

though i was overwhelmed before hand about hitting my marathon and threshold paces, i found myself hitting both of them without the imminent feeling of death. what a relief. (hey, i've been chugging along at close to 9min miles for awhile now.) the marathon pace was easier (obviously) to hit than threshold but i got a boost of confidence when i continued to clock marathon pace miles up until mile 11. maybe this won't be so bad afterall.

sunday (6/28) am run: 12.5 miles, 1:37:29 (avg pace 7:47), avg hr (173)

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you get what you asked for

the skies heard my pleas, and held their storms until later in the night for the remainder of the week. unfortunately, the evening rains did not lower the humidity or temps. from one extreme to another, it's been a hot, sunny and slow finish to the week. (at least i got to run outside though!) i justified my snail's pace with the heat. i've also ran 11 days in a row for 85 miles and maybe my legs are a little tired. i'm good at making excuses, though my mind isn't falling for them.

thursday (6/18) pm run: 10.10 miles, 1:30:54 (avg pace 9:00), avg hr (166), 81*
frustrating day at work; feeling quite ready to move on. needed a good "long" run to beat out some of the frustration. got holla'd at by some people in the ghetto area and honked at once. rrrrr.

friday (6/19) pm run: 6.62 miles, 1:00:34 (avg pace 9:10), avg hr (164), 91*
after running around town with the "traffic" thursday, i hit up my peaceful and quiet farm road. shade would have been nice. i felt each of those 91 degrees. a bit too hot in my opinion.

saturday (6/20) pm run: 2.32 miles, 21:44 (avg pace 9:22), avg hr (144), 87*
we all know i have issues getting out of bed on the weekend. i went on this "run" around 8pm... and it was still 87*! i didn't really need to run today because it'd push me over my mileage goal for the week (don't need to have too big of an increase from last week). the odd decimal places in my "lifetime mileage" have been bothering me and i wanted to even it out. j and i ran a super easy lap around the park. after laying around all day it felt good to do something, even if only for 20 minutes.

sunday (6/21) am run: 14 miles, 2:06:09 (avg pace 9:00), avg hr (163), 75*
let me add that it was 94% humid, so that 75* was not as pleasant as it could've been. running in sweat soaked clothing is lovely. i was wringing myself out every mile. yum. i took a pack of gu chomps to bribe myself along and attempt to put a little bounce in my step. a chick out for a bike ride offered me water somewhere around 9 miles, wanted to make sure i had enough. i thought that was pretty cool, and very kind of her. it would have been even better if she had offered to let me ride back on her handlebars.

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huge shoutout to stacey of rbr, working for that ironman title today at ironman cda! stacey is an amazing athlete. she's been training hard and can probably trump any workout you've done. in training for this ironman she climbed 93,984ft on foot and bike! she has a great sense of humor and her posts always make me laugh. go check out her page and leave her some luck!

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heffer, coming through

thursday was a hot one! well, it was "only" 81* but it was the hottest run i've had so far. here in ky they don't believe in planting trees i guess, as i ran along open fields and more open fields. the run was even slower than normal and i felt i could have gone faster, but i intentionally held back. my hr has been creeping up too high (in my opinion) on my easy runs lately and i know you are supposed to account for a 30-60 second decrease in pace on a hot or humid run. i figured it would be more beneficial to keep my hr in the easy zone than run at my easy pace, plus i'm counting on one day (soon?) not being affected by the heat as much. in my last mile i startled some cows grazing near the fence. the calves flinched and started to "run" away, causing the mama cows to moo at me (maybe the boy cows too, i don't quite know how you determine what gender a cow is). guess i need to lose some weight if i'm big enough to scare the cows.

thursday (5/28) pm run: 5.5 miles; 49:17 (avg pace 8:57), avg hr (162)

i really need to photograph some of my runs lately - the countryside has been quite scenic.
this road pictured actually has shade, so it's not located near me,
but it looks similar to the locations i've been touring recently.

after subtly (or not-so) dropping hints about m&m's at work, one of the guys i work with kept stopping by to surprise me with m&m's all afternoon today. so much for losing weight. i actually demonstrated self control and only ate one pack. hey, i had to fuel for my long run. yeah, that sounds good. there's nothing more exciting than a long run, on a friday afternoon/evening, when it's about 75* out. oh and let's not forget the complete lack of trees in kentucky. the humidity was down around 50% though so the weather didn't seem overbearing at all. my goal again was to throw my easy pace into the wind (or lack thereof) and just keep my hr under control. i scared some more cows near the end of this run too, sigh.

friday (5/29) pm run: 12.5 miles, 1:53:36 (avg pace 9:06), avg hr (166)

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13-mile swim

welcome sweet summer time. welcome sleeping with windows open and ceiling fan on. 90% humidity at 6:00 am however, un-welcome.

today's long run wasn't the best, but it could've been worse. it was slower than i expected it to be, but i am hoping the hills and humidity were big factors in that. come on legs, let's get back in an open relationship with hills; the treadmill is getting a little old.

perhaps my eating habits on friday could be blamed a little as well... or a lot. i really need to work on self-control! i brought in krispy kreme donuts for the guys i work with (brought them some last friday so i figured i'd do it again), and another guy decided to bring in 3 boxes too. so, we had 5 boxes of donuts for 7 people... last week i didn't touch a single one, but this week - fail. five donuts. oink oink. needless to say, i went a tad over my calories for the day, sigh. i paid for it friday night as i was reminded why i am not supposed to eat soy products. absolute miserableness.

i needed a good long run to work off my new spare tire, but the humidity was certainly not helping any. i probably should have worn a scuba mask. at one point along the run i went through a warm pocket of air, similar to those warm spots in the pool that you hope weren't just made by some kid.
(image from veer)

thankfully, i had a pack of crack gu chomps to keep me going and i pushed myself mentally to not stop for breaks. i worked each and every hill in hopes that one day they will be easy again. i ran in my sugoi shorts and the quick-fuel pockets worked excellently when i reached back for a chomp. i was never once annoyed by the chomps bouncing around ('cause they didn't).

saturday (5/23) am run: 13 miles, 1:56:28 (avg pace 8:57), avg hr (169)

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yet another treadmill run

so... thursday i was offered an assignment in saudi arabia. one of the first concerns that came to mind was how/where would i run? i also had thoughts flying through my head about missing the sfm and va beach rnr (i am not currently registered for either, just considering), and having to choose between coming back to the states for the nyc marathon or christmas. thankfully/part-unfortunately, it turns out they have rules against women doing pretty much anything over there, so i don't have to worry about it as i definitely won't be going. i'm sure it would've made for a great experience though.

day 1 of rest went well last night/this morning. i woke up way too early (5am-ish) and a few times after that but kept falling back asleep before waking up for real around 8:30. i know, since when is 8:30 sleeping in? it's an extra 4 hours of sleep for me though... sigh. i love working 11-12 hour days, everyday (ok, just mon-fri). it was thunderstorming ~6am so that made sleeping in even easier. unfortunately it was still raining when i was ready to go run, and after a half hour of waiting i sucked it up and got on the stupid treadmill. i am beginning to wonder if i am 'living' in seattle or kentucky.

i was aiming for 10 miles today, and you can probably guess how excited i was about getting on the treadmill. i had some gu chomps with me, and i baited myself with a 'treat' every couple of miles. i must be turning into a 'mill lover (very doubtful) because i actually got in 12 miles on the stinkin' machine. i think it was more that i knew i needed to just suck it up and do a medium-long run. i'm sure the chomps helped a little as well. i also happened to start my run just as "no reservations" came on hbo, and i got sucked into the cheesy, romantic-comedy movie (haven't seen it before). i told myself i was not allowed to hop off the treadmill and run back up to my room to watch the rest of the movie from the comfort of the bed. it turned out to be a pretty cute movie, and aaron eckhart wasn't too bad to look at either.

friday (5/15) am bike: 10.3 miles, 30:00 (a little xt for some variety)
saturday (5/16) am run: 12 miles, 1:45:19 (avg pace 8:46), avg hr (168)

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a sincere thank you to my legs

dear legs,

well, you survived another 20 mile run. thank you for putting up with my insane goofy challenge training these past 20-something weeks. all we have left are a couple 800 workouts and otherwise just some easier running until the big race(...er, races). next weekend's long run is only 12 miles! you've really held it together for me most days and given me some great runs. you should feel honored to have gained so much speed. i think we can really hack off some more minutes and seconds in 2009 and i hope you'll still be willing to work with me.

i know you'd like to thank me for actually training for a marathon for once, and you are quite welcome. after atlanta, i've learned that marathon's don't really hurt as bad if you actually go on long training runs. yes, i know i said we could go get a massage after your bq performance in atlanta, but i'm cheap and haven't wanted to part with $50 for 30 minutes of pain-filled pleasure. you're lucky, joyrun just recently made me jealous of her spa day so stick with me, give me a few more weeks and two great races, and i just might splurge for the hour-long session.

sincerely,
me

oh right, today's run...
yes ladies and gents, today was my "3rd" and final 20 miler in preparation for goofy/disney. (i say "3rd" because technically atlanta was supposed to be a 20+ mile training run, but i have this competitive issue and ended up racing it...) i slept in a little, and took my sweet time waking up and getting ready. i decided to eat a bowl of cereal pre-run (i rarely eat pre-run) so then i had to wait a bit for it to digest so it wouldn't be sloshing around giving me any explosions from either of the emergency exits.

i wanted to do a semi-tough, progression run, especially since yesterday's 10 9 was just an easy run. well the first 10 miles went a lot faster than i thought they would. my hr was still staying low enough, but my splits were faster than i kinda wanted them to be. at this pace i was going to have to basically be running a tempo run (or better) for the last 5 miles. wasn't exactly sure i'd have that much gas in the tank, so i re-adjusted my goals in order to not kill myself. today was just not my day for pacing, but i'm satisfied with the run as a whole. it was about 18 minutes faster than my first-ever 20 miler, after all.

(i know most of you will be bored by all these but i figure i might wanna look back one day...)
mile 1 - 9:28, 158
mile 2 - 9:06, 153
mile 3 - 9:02, 155
mile 4 - 8:55, 162 *popped some fruit-punch flavored sport beans, mmm candy
mile 5 - 9:01 159
mile 6 - 8:49, 163
mile 7 - 8:48, 157
mile 8 - 8:42, 153
mile 9 - 8:20, 152 *more sport beans, still delicious
mile 10 - 8:15, 154
mile 11 - 8:11, 159
mile 12 - 8:41, 166 *even more beans, yum yum
mile 13 - 8:09, 162
mile 14 - 7:48, 163
mile 15 - 7:53, 169 *beans
mile 16 - 7:54, 165
mile 17 - 8:01, 168 *i think i had a few more beans here too
mile 18 - 8:02, 166
mile 19 - 7:56, 172 *into some serious gusts of wind the whole time = not fun
mile 20 - 7:46, 170

am run: 20 miles, 2:48:56 (8:26 avg pace), avg/max hr (161/187)

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somedays i wish i ran 5k's

like today, for example. i had a severe case of negative/i-want-to-quit-thoughts running through my head for the entire 90 minutes of my shorter-long run for the week. i've been trying to think more positively in general, thanks to some motivation from terri at middle-of-the-pack girl. today i didn't do such a great job.

on second thought, i guess i take it back. i don't really want to just train for 5k's. i'd probably be just as whiny if i had to do track work 3-4 days a week.

from the beginning of the run, my legs were heavy and giving me a hard time. the hills in the first mile didn't help too much at keeping my hr in the 'easy' zone, and i just felt pretty junky overall. i fought off thoughts of turning around and quitting, or calling j to come pick me up in the first 3-4 miles. it was a slow run, and i even let myself walk a little. i did end up ditching the last mile and had j pick me up. i'm already overshooting my mileage for the week, and i want to make sure i get in my last pre-disney 20-mile training run tomorrow.

i ran to the airport again today, and took my phone along to take some (grainy and pixely) photos. they're not the best, but i figure some pictures would be more interesting than my babbles. it would probably be in my best interest to not run with a cell phone again though, too easy to call for a ride home. :)

i just thought the sun looked cool here

down this nice hill, up that not-as-nice hill to hit mile #1

my favorite road to run on

the no-shoulder road
but you can run in the ditch which is full of who-knows-what

another hill, also on the no-shoulder road where cars also like to come flying down
(it's supposedly 30mph though)

fountain at the airport

see, huge airport
just like lax or lga

crappy picture, but this is the roller coaster road
j met me a little ways down this road and chauffeured me home

am run: 9 miles, 1:27:17 (9:41 avg pace), avg/max hr (158/178)

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paris mountain 20k "race" recap

for the past few weeks, i've been planning on 'just running' this race. i withheld my end of the bargain for once, with the help of my running pal kt and the unwanted help of the enormous hill. i'd say hills but really there was just one, never-ending hill. this run doesn't really warrant a true race report since i didn't race it but i'm doing one anyway.

pre-race
friday night i went to the track and did 6x800 at a 6:27 avg mile pace. yes, this was somewhat regretted saturday morning. afterwards, i was showering up for dinner and banged my right knee, hard, into the shower door. this too, was regretted saturday morning. j and i then went to a delicious and super filling dinner at the melting pot, and i felt like i gained four pounds. i haven't eaten there in awhile and you know how they say "don't try anything new"... luckily however, this was not regretted saturday morning. i just had to get up extra early to start coaxing my bowels. the melting pot was super yummy and i highly recommend it. who can turn down chocolate fondue???

saturday morning i awoke and checked the weather report. 28 degrees or something, fantastic. i looked to see what it was predicted to be around 9 (the race started at 8:30) and planned my attire around that (upper 30's/low 40's). lets just say it never got that warm, but i was moving enough to keep from getting cold. i ended up wearing the same clothes i wore in atlanta (yellow shorts, long sleeve tech, yellow beanie, gloves).

i arrived at the race site and met up with my pal kt and we did our usual pre-race potty stop and tried to stay warm. with about 12 minutes until race time, a lady asked if we knew where the race started. the brochure online said in front of the pac center (furman university's gym) which is where we were, but there was definitely no start line of any kind there. so we walked over to the football stadium where pre-race registration was, and saw a sign that said "20k race start by the such and such building", aka not near by. i made a pit stop to pick up my carolina running series participant shirt since i've earned 50+ points (i actually sealed the deal on 1st place in my age division a few races ago), ditched it at my car, and headed to the start.

at this point we had maybe 3 minutes until race time, so we were running to get to the start line. we're a few 1/10ths of a mile away and we hear the gun go off. we laughed about it and said well at least we were never planning on racing it. we run by some spectators who had watched the start of the race and they brilliantly informed us that "the race already started". thanks, you are so helpful.

the race
we got in over half a mile before the race started, and as we caught up to the pack i told kt, well at least we can count how many people we pass! i tried keeping count the whole time but a lot goes through my mind in 12 miles and i probably wasn't too accurate. kt, by the way, thought this race was 9 miles, so not only did she have to learn that it was really 12.4, but then we realized we were really doing a half-marathon with our extra running to the start.

i felt like crap in the beginning of this race. my lungs were doing ok and my legs didn't hurt, but my body just didn't want to run. the first mile was alright, mostly uphill but nothing serious. then we turned onto the mountain and proceeded to run up it for the next three miles. i mean check this out:

elevation chart of the first four miles of the race

i mean straight up hill for 3 miles. no slight dip, sort of a "flat", but otherwise, up hill. it was over 1,000 ft in elevation change. this definitely opened my eyes to getting serious about doing hill workouts. i am also definitely not doing the grandfather mountain marathon in boone, nc ever. needless to say, the first few miles were miserable. my calves ached and we were moving slow. around mile 3, i think, they had painted on the road "you made it". as you can clearly see, there was still a bit more climbing to do at this point before we really "made it". i will say, there were some gorgeous views as we ran along the edge of the mountain roads. i wish i had brought a camera.

after going up the horrendous mountain, we got to go down it of course. not the wisest thing to do after your body is already tired from the climb, as it is harder to control yourself going down some rather steep slopes. now my shins ached a little, my right knee was reminding me i banged it yesterday, and my toes were making friends with the fronts of my shoes. at least my body was feeling a little better overall now that i wasn't trying to give myself a heart attack on those insane inclines.

miles 5-7 were mostly downhill with some flat and a few uphills, and after that we were back around 1,000/950 ft elevation and had a couple more regular hills until the finish. (regular = the kind you might normally encounter in a race). in between miles 10 and 11 the course turned onto the shoulder of a four-lane highway. you'd think they'd maybe shut down one lane to make it a little safer, but we just had the shoulder. a little over a mile on that road and we exited off onto furman's campus for the finish. i picked up the pace to give it a strong finish, and afterwards wasn't tired so i knew i'd at least done a good job of taking it easy.

instead of a finisher's medal they handed out ceramic ornaments which was a cool idea. i always appreciate a useful/realistic award over a medal or trophy. the ceramic pottery awards are becoming more popular it seems, and i like them because they are unique, usually cute, and don't make you appear to be full of yourself. (i'm certainly not trying to have a lindsay shrine in my house.) my medals and trophies are in a pile or tupperware somewhere, but the various bowls, cups, plates, and now ornament are acceptable to display around the house in my opinion. now i just need to actually put up a tree so i can hang my new ornament!


20k race: 1:55:57, and somehow placed 3rd in my age group.

would i run this race again?
probably not. on one hand i would like to come back out and smash my time from today because i know i could, but this race seemed poorly organized overall. the start line was not where it was advertised to be and there were limited signs to help you find it. there were numerous cars passing us on the two-lane mountain roads, and the whole running on the shoulder of the four-lane, 55mph highway is a big concern too. water stations were only available around miles 4, 8, and 10. post-race refreshments consisted of some very watered-down gatorade, water (if the cooler had any in it), a few apples, tangerines, and bagels. the online brochure also mentioned having some sort of food on the 20k course, and maybe i missed it, but all i ever heard them yelling at the water stations was "water" and "gatorade". i hate to complain, but these are some key points to organizing and holding a race and they should've all been addressed properly.

am run: 13.2 miles (incl 20k race), 1:58:26 (8:58 avg pace), avg/max hr (175/202)

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