long run, done and dusted!

Phew, glad that's over!

I got my 14-miler in today - treadmill as usual given the weather and time of year. 11:45 pace, and I'm trying to stay around 11:30 or so, but the legs didn't have it today. No worries, it was time on the feet. Cooldown, stretch and 100 crunches too.

speed work

I got in 6 miles speedwork tonight. Supposed to be a tempo run, but I have no idea what pace to do that at, so did my usual progressive run:

mile 1 - 11:19
mile 2 - 10:54
mile 3 - 10:54
mile 4 - 10:43
mile 5 - 10:32
mile 6 - 10:00

and cooldown, stretch, and 100 crunches.

I found out my gym is open on Christmas - maybe I'll get in a run before going to Mom's for the huge dinner!

OK, did 6 easy miles last night. Felt pretty good to get the legs moving again.

Tonight, 6 mile tempo run. Of course, I really have no idea how to choose a tempo run pace. I haven't raced in about 4 years so can't really pick a pace based on a recent race time. Guess I'll just choose a pace that seems difficult and go with it. :-)

SRD tomorrow - eye exam and might go skiing.

I'll do a 14-miler on Sunday.

snow

I took yesterday as USRD. My standard 12-minute commute home took 1:20 - heavy snowfall started right as rush hour (well, VT rush hour) began, it came down thick, and holy smokes the roads were awful. I didn't see any accidents, but folks were sliding all over the place, myself included. I barely made it up the hill leaving work, slid all over the place getting to the interstate, and then almost slid into the left lane while on the interstate going 5 mph. Anyways, I was happy to get to my house in one piece, so wasn't going to travel the extra 1.5 miles to go to the gym.

I haven't needed snow tires for the last 2 winters, but after last night's commute, I'm forking over the cash and getting some this weekend.

Anyways, I digress.

Today is SRD due to work event tonight. Back at it tomorrow with a 14-miler on the treadmill at the gym. Need to get that in before our next storm hits (Saturday night through Monday, forecast for 6"-24"). OY.

Did 5 easy miles tonight, 57:30. Back at it tomorrow w/ another 5 easy miles...

confession time

OK, in the spirit of confession, I'm going to post my PRs, lame though they may be. I haven't done any short races since 2002, and will admit up front that I was pretty inconsistent with my running back then (that's the understatement of the year actually).

I am going to *CRUSH* all of these in 2008!
5K - 33:12
4M - 44:23
5M - 57:04
10M - 1:55:55
½ Mar. - 2:39:53
Mar. - so bad I won't put it in writing, but rest assured, I'm planning to take an hour off it this year.

I have these posted on the edge of my computer screen at home so I can look at them every day...

yay!

OK, I finally got some running MOJO back!

I got to the gym last night for my long run. Did 10.4 miles in 2 hours (5.2 mph). I was happy to stop but could have kept going no worries.

SRD today, back at it tomorrow with 6 easy.

I'm going to rotate between 2 hour, 2.5 hour and 3 hour long runs for the next few months. That's anywhere from 10-15 miles, maybe a bit more if the legs feel good (and as my fitness improves).

I have 3 halfs scheduled between January and June, so that'll keep me in fine form.

I'm already looking forward to next summer, when I can start my fall marathon training with a solid solid distance base. I am going to ROCK New York next year. You heard it here first! :-)

I've just registered for a few more races in the spring, should help keep me honest. :-)

* Road to the Pogue - early May, trail run, around 10k in length - they're considering changing the course this year.
* Covered Bridges Half Marathon - early June, this race filled up in 2.5 hours last year, and in about 2.25 this year. I set a reminder on my calendar so I wouldn't forget to register this a.m. right when it opened up at 9 a.m.

I have a 12-miler on tap for tonight, treadmill of course...

My 2008 running goals

MY 2008 RUNNING GOALS:

* consistency is key - learn it, live it!
* maintain at 30 mpw for a bit, then slowly move up to 35 mpw. Weekend long run should be somewhere between 14 and 18 miles every week.
* speed work - I'm sick of being slow.
* starting in June, train smarter and harder, and achieve a HUGE pr in my fall marathon (NYC, of course). I will go sub-5:00 if it's the last thing I do. seriously.

5 easy miles

I'm home from the gym.

Did 5 easy miles at 11:19 pace, although frankly it didn't feel that easy. Last night's 11:06 miles felt a heck of a lot better than tonight's pace. My legs are tired and sore from last night's speedwork.

I think the lesson to take away from this is that I need to be more consistent with my weekday running.

Tomorrow, 6 miles of some sort. :-)

Then SRD on Saturday and 13 on Sunday. That'll give me 30 miles this week! Yay me!

sweat is good

I just got home from the gym. Did 6 miles, like this:
mile 1 - 11:19 pace
mile 2 - 11:06
mile 3 - 11:06
mile 4 - 11:06
mile 5 - 10:54
mile 6 - 10:00

The 11:06 pace felt pretty darn good. I'd like to get to where that's my easy pace and use that for my long runs. That'll get me my sub-5:00 marathon.

I'll admit to feeling a huge sense of relief right now that I'm not doing the spring marathon. This gives me a really good amount of time to deal with my speed (or lack thereof) issue. And get the mileage up there too.

Consistency is key.

I faced the facts

OK, I've faced the facts that Myrtle Beach just is not in the cards for me this spring - unless a frequent flyer plane ticket drops into my hands from the heavens. I need to not get so excited about a race that I forget to take a realistic look at the budget.

So, moving on...

I have 2 options at this point:
1.) run the Vermont City Marathon, my local race, on Memorial Day weekend. I live 5 miles away, can stay at home, no travel costs at all.
2.) stick with half-marathons through winter, spring and summer, and work on my speed and build/maintain a better mileage base until June when it's time to start ramping up the mileage for my fall marathon (NYC).

I'll think about this for a while, but in the meantime, will stick w/ my current schedule of 25-30 mpw including a long run of 12-16 miles.

motivation?

I seem to be lacking in motivation lately. I think it's the usual post-marathon letdown, except I didn't really get my marathon done, given the Chicago fiasco.

I'm signed up for a race in February (the Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach Marathon), but as it turns out, I screwed up my travel for this so badly that I may have to cancel the trip completely. i.e. because it's school vacation time here that weekend, every flight out of BTV is hugely expensive and I can't make any changes to my flight. Still hoping a frequent flyer trip might show up on the airline website, fingers crossed there...

And so I'm looking for another spring race as a back-up.

In the meantime, I have a 15 miler on tap for today (assuming I'm training for Myrtle Beach). If I find another race, I'll alter the training schedule w/ a new goal date, and just keep at the 12-15 mile long run on the weekends until the new schedule catches up with me. Or I'll keep going w/ the Myrtle Beach schedule, and when I get to 16-18 milers or so, will stop there and keep that mileage until the schedule for whichever race I choose catches up with me. Who knows...

I got my 14-miler done yesterday. Thought about cutting it short around the 5-mile point and also around 10 miles but told myself to suck it up and keep running. I will admit, I did it on the treadmill - w/ sunset around 4:15 or so, I didn't want to be finishing in the dark.

Had my usual post-long-run peanut butter and banana on toast, then off to my sister's for my niece's birthday party/cake.

SRD for me today, then back at it tomorrow w/ 5 or so easy miles.

Last night's run: 6 miles - first 3 at 11:30 pace, mile 4 at 11:19 pace, mile 5 at 11:05 pace, mile 6 at 10:54. Not sure if it's the several days of no running, or the crap I've been eating recently, but it was really hard work, particularly the first 3 miles. Anyways, I got through it and felt great afterwards.

Today, I have a 5-mile steady run at 10:53 pace. think I'll have to do a warm-up mile before I can get to 10:53 pace. :-)

and I had a brekkie date w/ the guy I cancelled on last night - he's sorta growing on me.

OK, as of noon yesterday, today was supposed to be: breakfast date w/ bachelor #1 at 7:00 a.m., and dinner date with bachelor #2 at 7:00 p.m. And I was supposed to try to jam 4 miles in between work and my dinner date, and given my pace, that's not possible.

So, yesterday, I emailed, then called/left voice mail for bachelor #1 asking to reschedule brekkie to Friday or Monday and to let me know he got my email or message. And then I was going to run this a.m. But I never heard from him that he got my email or voice mail, so I ended up going to the breakfast place in case he was there (and left him voice mail on my way there that I was going to swing by just in case he was there).

So I didn't get to run this a.m. as I was hoping.

So, I've now contacted my dinner date for tonight and cancelled that (hoping to reschedule to brekkie tomorrow or dinner on Sunday) so I can get my run in tonight.

So, the day that started w/ 2 dates is now down to 0 dates - but I get to go running! :-) Seriously, I'm gleeful at that - I've been lacking in motivation lately, so the fact that I'll cancel 2 dates just so I can run is a very good sign.

Really, it all comes down to the fact that I need to date guys that run. ;-)

tug-of-war

Gosh, it's grey and dreary here today! I'm onto my 2nd coffee, and will be looking for my 3rd cup shortly thereafter! :-)

I'm doing 6 miles tonight. That's the 6 miles I should have done last night, had I not been guilted into going over to my Mom's for dinner (she wanted to hear about my brother's wedding). How old do I have to be for the catholic/italian guilt thing to not work on me? Gosh, I hope I don't sound like a total bee-otch?!? I'm happy to spend time w/ Mom, it's just that the marathon training stresses me out, and I hate missing a day.

I've done 4+ crappy marathons and to accomplish a good race, I feel like I need to be sticking to my schedule, but I'm always getting pulled in other directions. And I'm single, no kids to take care of, etc. I don't know how everyone else manages!

today's run

I'm using a mix of Hal Higdon and the NYRR Online Trainer for my Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach training, and I gotta say, I'm confused half the time about what I should be doing. :-)

I'd stick w/ the NYRR plan exclusively, because I like the way they map out my speedwork, but the way they progress the long runs so quickly (and so high - they have me going up to 23 miles - at my pace? are you kidding me?) concerns me. So I use the Hal Higdon long run progression, and the NYRR mid-week schedule.

So, 6 miles tonight, steady pace run.

Back at it!

I'm back from the gym.

I did 12 miles, not 14, but that's fine. The schedule for this week actually calls for 8, so I was doing my own thing anyways. 12 miles in 2:24:00, so a steady 12 minute mile.

Jeezum crow, I need to work on my speed!

Knees sure felt creaky. This is the furthest I've run since Chicago, so guess that would explain it. My cardio conditioning was fine, just the knees weren't loving the distance.

SRD tomorrow, then I'll do 5 or 6 on Friday **MORNING** in advance of heading to Vegas for the weekend.

Pot calling kettle black

OK, one of my running forum friends was saying yesterday he hadn't run in a week, was not interested in running, lacking MOJO, etc. He and I joke a lot about being similar runners, and have had similar issues w/ motivation or lack thereof. So, being the smart-ass that I am, I gave him a virtual kick in the pants to get out there and run.

In all reality, I could use that same kick in the pants.

I've been having some slight achilles issues, feeling slight twinges in left adductor again - nothing that would alter my gait, though. And I've been using those twinges as my excuse not to run for the last 4 days.

So I'm giving myself my own kick in the pants today, and will get out for a run if it's the last thing I do. :-)

I just went out for what will probably be the last of the "run-outside-after-work-before-winter-sets-in-and-it's-pitch-black-by-noon" runs. I pushed the pace so I could get more miles in, but alas, only made it 3 miles before it was too dark to continue. 3 miles in 30 minutes, which is good for me. On my last lap, I got a fantastic glimpse of the moon peeking out between 2 horizontal layers of clouds. It was really vivid golden color, don't see that very often!

Anyways, the 5k I was hoping to do on Sunday got cancelled. There's a different one tomorrow a.m. but I've got other plans, so no can do. Looks like the next race is something on 11 November a few towns over, then there are a slew of Turkey Trots.

I haven't raced any short distances in a few years, and I'm really interested to see what I can do now. Back then, I always was worried if I could even run the whole distance w/out having to walk, much less hold onto any pace. Now distance is not a problem at all, and I've been doing speedwork, and am used to pushing myself, so look forward to racing soon and seeing what I'm capable of.

yesterday and today

Last night: did 5 mile steady run at 10:53 pace. I think I need to start racing some shorter stuff because that's a PR pace for me at that distance. Slow by most/any/all standards, but it's getting better for sure.

Today's plan: my schedule says 4 easy miles for tonight, and given that I don't see the point in getting sweaty for less than 5 miles, I will either increase the distance to 5 or up the intensity a bit (maybe a progressive run?).

Thanks, My Chicago wrap-up, and next steps...

Hi friends and family,

First, the good news!
As of last Friday, Fred's Team Chicago has raised $330,000 for critical cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, passing our team goal of $300k! Thank you so much, my friends and family, for being a part of that amazing news - with your help and generosity, I passed my personal fundraising goal of $10k, and hit $12,000. YOU ALL MADE IT HAPPEN, and for that, I'm eternally grateful!

On to the bad news... Race day has come and gone, and as you might have read in the press, it was extremely hot in Chicago on marathon Sunday. High of 89 degrees,very humid, and sunny all day. I altered my pace accordingly to be safe, stayed hydrated (I had thankfully carried my own water), and ran safely, but when I got to mile 16.5 on the course, I found it barricaded by the police where I would have made the turn to head south for the last 10 miles. The decision was made by the race directors to call off the race part way through for safety reasons. At that point, we were made to continue east on Jackson to head directly back to Grant Park (the finish area), another 1.75 miles. All in all, I ran about 18.25 miles that day.

I can understand the race director's decision, and it was done for the safety of the runners - no argument at all given the conditions of the course and the day. I just know it was a disappointing day for me. I trained well this year for my race, I did the work to get to race day, I ran safely and smartly, and I didn't get to go the distance.

Soooo, after trying to get a last-minute entry to the 2007 NYC Marathon with no success, I've signed up for the Myrtle Beach Bi-Lo Marathon in February 2008, and I'm going the distance. Heaven knows heat won't be an issue then! :-) I'll continue with the training plan I used for Chicago, my running is going really well right now, and I'll arrive at the start raring to go!

Thanks again, all of you, your support means the world to me!

Whatever happened to my EASY run?

What happened to my 5 easy last night?

I did 1/2 mile warm up, then 2 x 1/2 mile at 9:40/mile pace, then 1 x 1/2 mile at 9:20 pace, then 3 x 1/2 mile at 9:10 pace. 1/4 mile recovery between intervals at 12:00 pace. And a good cooldown and stretch.

Thought I was going to cough up a lung after the 4th interval and had to do a bit of that recovery at a walk, but got back up to the 12mm pace for recovery, and then had no problem getting the final 2 intervals done.

Tonight, 5 EASY miles for sure.

the cheese and cracker incident

OK, I admit it. I am ADDICTED to cheese. You can keep your chocolate, keep your ice cream, keep the cake, keep it all, just give me the cheese. Hey, I'm from a dairy state, what can I say. LOL.

Last night's dinner consisted of fantastic Dakin Farm Aged Cheddar (from Vermont, naturally), Vermont Common Crackers, and pepperoni (from Vermont Smoke and Cure). At least I'm eating locally? Let's go with that as the positive in this picture... :-)

So, back to reality today. Eating healthful foods (like maybe a vegetable or 2?) and not sabotaging myself.

And 5 miles easy tonight. I promise.

a nice little treat for myself

I don't know many runners up here where I live. Which is why blogging and running forums are so great - I can blab indiscriminately *here* and none of my un-interested friends or family have to listen to me blab about running anymore.

Anyways, I digress... I stop into my local running store regularly (for same reason as above - so I have someone to talk running with - yes, I'm obsessed), and it was Brooks day yesterday. So I picked up a new running jacket at 20% off. Weather-resistant, lightweight, plenty of zip pockets for clif bloks, and the perfect length. I'm calling that my post-Chicago-well-deserved treat.

Maybe I should have gone running after that? :-)

4 easy miles

I have 4 easy scheduled for tonight, looking forward to it... Although, I will admit, I can't be bothered w/ easy runs. I know the slower running is there for a reason, but darn it, I'm slow enough already w/out slowing down on purpose!

first post-Chicago run

So, did my first post-Chicago run last night and it felt good to get the legs moving again!

Owing to the fact it's now dark by 6:30, I'm on the treadmill for weekday runs for the foreseeable future.

Warm up then start my run. First 5 minutes at 5.0 mph, and every 5 minutes after that, I bump up the speed by .1 mph. Last 10 minutes at 6.0 mph. Total distance is 5.5 miles in 60 minutes.

Today's either an SRD or 4 easy miles. Waiting to hear on a number for NYC Marathon, so I'm either in taper mode, or I'm getting back to my normal weekly mileage.

post race? WHAT race? :-)

So, I've been in New Orleans since Monday. Flew here right from Chicago. A little stiff on the plane ride, but had an aisle seat and stretched the legs regularly.

Since Tuesday, my sister and I have been working at Habitat for Humanity worksites. Tuesday was near Musician's Village - spent half the day crouched under a house pounding nails up if they missed the floor joists (I've never used the word "joist" in a sentence before LOL). Yesterday and today, we were on the West Bank and put in a flooring system - hung the floor joists, blocked between them, and between yesterday and today, laid the subfloor.

I'm sore alright, but nothing to do with running.

Oh, one strange thing... I went to a concert in Lafayette Park last night, and when I took a step down off the flight of stairs we were sitting on, my right knee sort of gave out. Feels a little weird today - almost like it's hot?

Will try running tomorrow. There's a marathon next weekend (the 20th) and I'm thinking about it...

My Chicago Marathon (sort of) race report

First chance on a computer since race day.

I had a good night sleep on Saturday courtesy of Tylenol PM. Sunday, race day, dawned humid and warm, it was over 70 when I got to Grant Park at 6:00 a.m. Had 3/4 bagel and a luna bar. Stomach was mercifully happy this year, which was a nice change from last year.

Started heading to the start around 7:30, lined myself up near the 5:15 pace group. Temp is already 78 or so. Gun goes off 8:05 a.m. and we stand there a while, start shuffling towards the start line. At this point, we're into the sun and it's steamy already. I finally cross the start line after 21 minutes.

Moving along, it's hot. Get to the first water station just before mile 2, and of the 10 or so tables set up there, 9 were already folded up and stacked on the side of the road because they were out of water already. 1 table had water, and completely out of Gatorade. interesting...

I keep running and we start heading north, feeling ok but hot. Broad daylight, no shade to be had. Next water stop has water but no cups. I luckily was carrying a waist-pack water carrier, so I topped off my bottle and kept going. No gatorade there either. Keep going north and we are into Lincoln Park. Aid station there has cups but no water (see a pattern developing?). We exit Lincoln Park and are along Lake Shore Drive - runners are literally filling their water bottles from the decorative fountains in front of apartment buildings - the kind of fountains you toss pennies into. This is mile 6 or so and the heat is already really affecting people.

We make the turn and start heading south. there's a fair amount of shade on this section of the course, and the homeowners and neighborhood people are fantastic. They're out there w/ their hoses filling cups and bottles for runners, running sprinklers to cool us down, going into the stores to buy water since there obviously wasn't enough supplied by the race organizers.

Anyways, I'm well off my planned pace but still feeling ok because I had my own water supply and topped up my bottle every chance I got, and I dropped to a walk when I was in the sun for too long and started getting hot.

Aid stations are still lacking - whether they have cups but no liquids, or liquids but no cups. One stop where they had Gatorade (important on a day like yesterday, where you need to replace the salt), but no cups, we were literally taking used cups off the ground so we had something to drink from. Not exactly hygienic, huh?

At this point, we've made the turn to start heading west. Sun's beating down, and I pass the halfway mark. People are sitting on the side of the road, laying on the sidewalks, getting loaded into ambulances. It is brutal out there. About 2 minutes later, there's a police man walking down the middle of the road telling people to walk because they're calling off the race. I turn to some runners near me and they couldn't tell if they heard him right either, so we keep running. I pass the 25k mark, which is 15.5 miles, go over the timing mats there, keep running. We've heard a few more cops saying they've called the race. there's a helicoptor flying over us w/ someone announcing something but we can't really hear what they're saying.

Anyways, I've sort of got a 2nd wind at this point, have been going under every sprinkler and hose I've seen, have refilled my water bottle at every opportunity, and feel fine. Taking it slow, but feel fine, and I'm still running.

Regardless, I get to the corner of Jackson and Halsted at mile 16.5 where I should be turning south and they've indeed called the race off. The police barricaded the road heading south, about 10 minutes before I arrived there. We were told to keep heading east on Jackson until we get back to Grant Park. So, we did. No choice in the matter at all. It was probably another 1.5 miles back to Grant Park and I decided to keep running, as did a few others around me, so in all, I covered around 18 miles.

I can't argue w/ the decision to call the race off, once it was apparent how depleted the aid stations were, major medical issues including one death, and I also heard that they had critical shortage of medical staff because of the huge number of people suffering from heat exhaustion, etc.

Could it have been avoided w/ better fluid supply out on the course? I don't know the answer to that. Heat and humidity like that is brutal. And it was pretty scary to hear the sirens going non-stop for hours.

I just know it was a disappointing day for me. I trained well this year for my race, I did the work to get to race day, and I didn't get to go the distance. Of the 35000 runners who started the race, only 24000 finished. And I feel like I've let down all my family and friends who supported my run by making donations to MSKCC.

I'm looking into doing another marathon this fall - I'm trained up and I really want to go the distance - hopefully I can pull some strings and get into NYC at this late date.

Anyways, that's it from here. I hope everyone is OK!!
Elizabeth

yowza.

OK, I'm starting to flip out now with race day almost here. And I'm really annoyed about this darn heat wave in Chicago. For once, I actually trained well for my marathon, and if I end up w/ another cruddy finish time due to the heat, well, I'm just gonna lay myself down on the ground and throw myself a tantrum LOL. ;-)

Actually, no I'll just go with the flow, but it is a little worrying.

Anyways, I've been resting up a bit this week. Tonight, I start doing laundry - I'm going to be bringing every stitch of running clothes I own so I have exactly what's needed depending on how the weather turns out. Better get a bigger suitcase? :-)

Here's what I bring (in my carry-on):
confirmation ticket/booklet
SNEAKERS
running tights - capri length, full length
bike/compression shorts
singlet
tech shirts - short and long sleeve
2 sports bras
3 pair of wright socks double layer MESH wicking socks
windbreaker
rain-proof jacket
baseball cap (RED SOX of course)
clif bloks and sport beans
waist-pack water carrier and spare bottle (I hear Chicago has water only every 2 miles??)

anything else can go in checked baggage.

more sleep?

In an effort to get more sleep this week in advance of Chicago, I went to bed at 10 last night instead of my usual 11 or 12. Needless to say, I woke up at 4:45 (said as she stamps foot in annoyance)!

It was still pitch black, so I started the coffee, checked email, etc. and thought about going for a run when it got light out. Well, I had half a cup of coffee and then promptly got back into bed and read for an hour and a half. :-)

I'll run tonight.

Are We There Yet?

OK, I am so ready for marathon Sunday to be here.

Not because I have a burning desire to torture myself with 26.2 miles, but because I want to get the f'in' thing over and done with. Yes, my friends, I'm into my "I hate running" mood, the one that ALWAYS precedes my marathon. It's just nerves, but I feel like I have this big thing hanging over my head (which I do LOL), and I just want to hibernate in my house and not think about running because it makes me want to puke if I do. How's that for a visual?

Having said all that, I'm heading out tonight for the 12-miler I blew off yesterday and the day before. That'll be my last distance run before my race, and from here on out, it's just short stuff.

13 days and counting...

6 easy tonight

OK, my running hasn't been exactly where it should have been this week. That's all I'll say on the topic, just know I'm really taking this taper business seriously. ;-)

I have 6 easy miles scheduled for tonight. Legs are looking forward to it!

4 easy tonight, let's try this again! :-)

I tried running last night, and my legs said to me "Are you crazy?" Right calf was feeling pretty tight, which is new. So I dropped it to a walk, finished 2 miles, and vowed to try again another day.

Which means today. :-)

Legs feel pretty good, so think I should have no problem getting back to it.

4 easy scheduled for tonight

I have 4 easy scheduled for tonight. My legs certainly don't feel like they're going to want to run at all. They're still heavy and sore from my 20-miler. Nice night out, though, so will give it a shot.

ATM (After The Marathon), when mileage calms down a little and I don't spend my every waking hour thinking about the race, the job search will by my sole focus.

20 miles, done and dusted

I went out to do errands this morning and started immediately w/ the allergies (ragweed is still hanging around), so made the decision to do my long run on the treadmill. So, 20 miles on the treadmill, done and dusted.

I was bored senseless about 3 miles into it, racked my brain for a good excuse to stop there, but kept going. Around mile 7, looked for a good excuse to stop, but knew I'd regret not getting in the miles, so I kept going.

After that, I felt pretty good and cruised until mile 13-14, when I started feeling pretty creaky in my knees, including some twinges in left ITB. Stretched, walked a minute or so to give the legs a different motion, then started up again. I dug deep and was able to do the last 5 miles faster than the first 15, so I was pretty pleased with that.

Final time was 4:05, and probably add in a few minutes for stretching, etc. I don't see any chance of breaking 5 hours this year, but 5:15 looks like a reasonable goal, and believe me when I tell you that'll be a huge PR for me.

Phew, glad that's over, bring on the taper!!!

What was I saying about an EASY run tonight?

Home from the gym and treadmill.

Did 2 mile warmup at 11:30 then 11:15 miles, then did 5 x .5 mile intervals at 9:53/mile pace and then 1 x .5 mile at 9:15 pace.

I wasn't really planning on intervals tonight, but Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana came on the iPod, and there's just no way to run slow to that. Maybe I should put that on repeat for 26.2 miles? Think that'll work? No iPods allowed in Chicago, so guess we'll never find out. :-)

SRD for me tomorrow, long run of 20 miles on Sunday.

Last night's 6 easy turned into 5 speedwork. Somehow I can't restrain myself from picking up the pace on my runs. So will try again tonight for 6 easy.

Although it's only mid-September, we're already at the point where I'm having to move some mid-week runs onto the treadmill because it's starting to get dark earlier and earlier. Short stuff (3s and 4s), outside is fine, but 5s and 6s I'm having to do on the treadmill now (I don't want to finish my run in the dark). I don't mind the treadmill at all, but gosh, fall seems early this year.

I'm back

I took the last 2 days off.

Tuesday was an SRD, yesterday was USRD. I had a contractor coming over to give me an estimate on a small bathroom remodeling job, and somehow never got out the door for my run once he was gone.

It was gorgeous out, the manly rugged rugby men were playing on the green out front (my 1-mile loop that I do my weeknight runs on) - what more could I have possibly wanted? :-) But it just didn't happen - got sidetracked w/ magazines, bills, junk mail, retirement statements, etc. I'm fighting a losing battle w/ the paperwork and I just can't keep up with it.

Anyways, I digress. It's gorgeous out again tonight, so it's 6 easy miles for me. FOR SURE.

Remember - always remember.

As a NYer, I couldn't bring myself to put it down in words this morning what that day was like.

We saw the absolute worst of humanity that day - and the absolute BEST of humanity.

Fear for my friends and colleagues (I knew 4 who died that day, and 2 close friends lost brothers); and fear for myself. An overriding sense of despair for my city - New York is my HOME and my HEART; despair for our country; and despair for the human race if we could do this to one another.

All this followed by the biggest outpouring of human kindness I've ever seen. NYers making eye contact as they passed each other on the street, taking the time for a gentle word, comforting a stranger crying on the bus or subway (that was ME crying every day on the subway), etc. And not just NY, but a feeling that the whole country was in this together, and indeed, the whole CIVILIZED world.

This is the first year I've not been in NYC for 9/11 since it happened (I lived in the city until 2005, and the last 2 years, I've travelled to the city to be there for it). Seems a little strange. I'm glad it's overcast, not the gorgeous blue sky we had that day.

I took this morning off and am home from work to watch the memorial and reading of the names. I'll listen for the names of those I knew, say a prayer for them and their families who are still suffering, and also a prayer for our service men and women in harm's way.

Please never forget that day, and never forget that time when we were united together.

Back from a weekend in the City (NY, of course ).

The tennis on Saturday was fantastic - the men's semis always are, and these guys will be interesting to watch over the next few years. I got myself good and sunburned that afternoon, even w/ sunscreen. I guess 5-6 hours in the sun will do it.

Didn't end up doing my run in Central Park yesterday. Between my sunburn and my slight hangover from too much wine on Saturday night, I gave it a miss, and spent the day walking around town and seeing friends.

Will do it today after work, just 14 miles. It's nice and cool up here, so it'll be a treat.

I was back to the gym for my run tonight. 94* and about 70% humidity when I left work.

Did 6 miles, each progressively faster than previous. Not exactly the tempo run I was scheduled for, but fine by me.

Watched some of the Venus Williams v. Justine Henin match while on the t-mill. Was sorry to see Venus lose.

Off to NYC tomorrow a.m. to see the men's semifinal matches. woohoo!!

my kooky upcoming weekend

So here's my kooky weekend...

I just got offered a seat to the men's semifinals at the US Open on Saturday in NYC - no way I'm passing that up! So I'm leaving VT at 3 a.m., driving the 300+ miles down to NYC, parking the car and checking into hotel (using points so it's free), going to tennis out in Queens, staying overnight, doing my long run in Central Park on Sunday a.m., cleaning myself up, and then getting into the car to drive the 300+ miles back to VT on Sunday afternoon...

It better be damn good tennis is all I have to say.

Nice side benefit is I get to run long in Central Park - my favorite place...

just 3 miles this a.m.

A colleague is looking to start exercising regularly, and has asked me to meet her at the gym at work 3 mornings a week. Let me just say, the idea of someone looking to me for motivation is hysterical. I can hardly get myself out the door half the time. :-)

But this will be ok - I've been thinking about moving my midweek runs to the morning, so this will do the trick.

Today, I only had time for 3.1 miles, stretch, cooldown, pushups. The one good thing is that the blood blister I've had since my 18-miler (too deep under a callous to be able to pop it) grew just enough with today's run that I could pop it. ICK, but necessary.

Tomorrow, I'll have to get there right when they open at 6:30 so I can get in my scheduled 6 or 7 miles.

SRD today

SRD (scheduled rest day) today, which is a good thing.

My legs feel surprisingly okay today considering I did 18 miles yesterday. I suspect it's because I essentially did a 3.5 mile power walk cooldown after 14.5 running. What a crappy long run, but I'll move on from here... :-)

But I'm pretty fatigued in general. As usual, I didn't sleep that well last night - never seem to after a long run. strange.

Starting tomorrow, I've committed to meeting a colleague at the gym here at work in the morning. sh*t. I hate running in the a.m. But it should help re getting all my midweek runs done, and not getting distracted by after-work activities.

18 in the bank

Well, my 18 is done but it was awful. I didn't get started until about 10:15 - sun high in the sky, no clouds at all, and no shade to be found. Add to that my allergies to the freakin' ragweed, and it was tough. Don't know the starting temp, but it was 82 when I got home.

Ran the first 5 miles out to my sister's house - slight incline w/ 3 large hills. Stopped at Sissie's house, filled my water bottle, had half a banana and then she joined me for the next 6 miles - slight rolling hills for that stretch, no shade at all. Dropped my sister off, refilled water, 2nd half of banana, then started back towards my house. By about mile 14.5, I was toast - was roasting and was having a hard time breathing due to allergies - and dropped it to a power walk for the last 3.5 miles. Certainly had plenty of time on my feet moving forward, but this doesn't give me a lot of confidence for race day.

Learned a huge lesson today - get out for the long run EARLIER in the day when there's still some shade. and of course, remember to take the allergy medicine. duh, Liz.

Oh, and got my first blister since January. A blood blister under a callous. ick.

good grief!

Considering I'm just 5 weeks away from my marathon, one would think I might actually be running a decent amount these days. But I ran just once so far this training week, a 6-mile tempo run.

Between the ragweed allergies, and a boat-load of visiting family, I just didn't get it done. No excuses, I just didn't put it at the top of my priority list.

I'm doing my long run tomorrow, an 18-miler, and if nothing else, I'll have very fresh legs for it.

Two options:
1.) Treadmill - depending on the allergy situation tomorrow when I wake up.
or
2.) My sister will drop me off 18 miles south of my house (she'll be driving back to PA), and I'll run home.

The plan for 2008 - I'm back to my hometown NYC Marathon - with it in November rather than Chicago's October, less of my training is during ragweed season.

catholic guilt

I have to admit, I didn't run last night.

You just try to resist my 5'0" Italian mother giving you a load of Catholic guilt... "Aunt Jo's here, Uncle Frank's here, Uncle Dom's here, cousin George is here, etc. etc. etc." It's not possible.

However, I laid down the law that I'm running tonight (6 miles tempo) before heading over for another get together. Post-dinner will involve playing serious cut-throat Pinochle with my uncles, though, so should be fun!

6 tonight, 6 tomorrow, SRD on Sunday, long run (18 miles) on Monday. Total miles for a peak week during my marathon season = 30? Yeah, that's not great... Missing the mid-week runs is a bad idea.

Here's to us back-of-the-pack runners!

Here's a little inspiration for all of us back-of-the-pack runners...

I've met Grete Waitz a few times (9-time winner of NYC Marathon), and she said the toughest marathon she ever did was when she ran a 5:32 marathon w/ Fred Lebow, founder of NYC Marathon, when he ran it in '91 or '92 (it was the first time he'd run his own race, and he had brain cancer at the time).

In other words, it ain't easy running for 5+ hours.

I just saw the first school bus of the year go by my window. School's back in session, apparently. Back in MY day, school didn't start until the Fair ended. :-)

Today is SRD after yesterday's 14 miler. I'll get out for a short stroll w/ my sister's doggie to keep the legs loose. Needless to say, we don't get very far - she's the most stubborn 12 pound dog you'll ever meet.

Back at it tomorrow w/ 5 easy.

I did 14 on the treadmill after work today, 2:46:40. I've been trying to follow my plan with the long SLOW distance, but I'm getting worried that I won't be able to pick up the pace on race day. Did the last 2.5 miles about 30 seconds/mile faster than the first 11.5. This 14 was harder BY FAR than my 16 from last weekend. I'm guessing it's the allergies and allergy medicine that made me sluggish?

Went over to my Mom's for dinner post-run, and had pasta e fagiole. My aunt is up visiting, and one of my uncles gets here on Thursday, so we'll be having the whole italian feast on Friday: baked rigatoni, stuffed artichokes, rice croquettes, antipasto, broccoli rabe, tomato salad, hot peppers, etc. Yummy, and I'll count it as carbo-loading for my next long run. :-)

Ragweed season

It's ragweed season now, heaven help me. This is the one thing I'm allergic to - to the point where I'd scratch my itchy eyes out if it wouldn't blind me. :-) So I took 2 benadryl yesterday morning, and although it took care of my symptoms, it knocked me out completely for the bulk of the afternoon (which I had off from work) and the evening too.

Today, I switched over to Claritin and took only 1 -hopefully that works w/out knocking me out.

I absolutely HAVE TO DO MY LONG RUN today. So I'll be on the treadmill at the gym, 14-16 miles, in air-conditioned comfort where I might actually be able to breath. Darn shame, though, because it's gorgeous out - blue sky, dry crisp air, low 60s right now.

And since I'm doing last weekend's long run on a Tuesday, I'll push this coming weekend's long run to Monday (Labor Day). I think 6 days between long runs should be ok.

I'll stop rambling now...

It's always interesting...

I worked at a local 5K this morning. Always interesting to see the crowd that runs these races. Up here, folks are fast. i.e. the last few people crossing the finish line are right around my pace. Which is why I WORK at the race rather than RUN it. :-)

Talk about leaving it all on the course... I'm at the finish line writing down runners' bib numbers as they cross. About 30 feet from the finish line, a runner is approaching at full sprint - and then starts puking all over the place - doesn't even break stride, just keeps sprinting towards the finish line....

Gosh, that's giving it your all, isn't it!?!

I'd like to think I could do that at my next race - minus the puking, of course. :-)

a little more speedwork

It was 88 and humid when I left work so went to the gym to run.

Did 6 miles speedwork:
mile 1 - warmup
miles 2 and 3 - 5.5 mph
mile 4 - 5.6 mph
mile 5 - 5.7 mph
mile 6 - 6.0 mph
Then a cooldown, stretch, 100 abs.

SRD tomorrow. I'm working at a local 5k in the a.m., which should be fun.

Long run on Sunday. It's a step-back week for me, so will do somewhere between 14 and 16.

Got the speedwork done!

I did my speedwork tonight, although not exactly according to plan.

I ended up doing 4 x 1 mile at 9:50 pace, w/ 1/8 mile recovery between intervals. I have not been that red in the face since (insert embarrassing story here). I started feeling a little tightness in my left adductor again, partway through the 4th mile, so finished that one up, and then did a 10 minute cooldown. Overall, 6 miles total run, although only 4 of it was fast.

I've added 100 abs and 25 pushups back into my post-run routine (after the always necessary stretching).

I'll do some easy miles tomorrow (well, tonight I guess, since it's now past midnight).

Speedwork tonight

I have either 6 miles tempo run or 6 x 1 mile at 9:53 w/ recovery between. Frankly, the idea of 1 mile at 9:53 pace is intimidating to me, much less 6 of them. Will do a warm up mile and see how the legs feel - and then will make the call then which of these I'll do...

5 easy

I have 5 easy on tap for tonight.

Well, actually, I have a choice between the 5 easy truly on my schedule tonight, and the 6 tempo that was on my schedule last night. I took yesterday as SRD since I did my long run on Sunday. Tomorrow is 5 easy, and Thursday is long intervals (7 x 1 mile at 9:53). For that reason (the intervals), I'm leaning toward the 5 easy rather than the 6 tempo.

Also, the long runs on my schedule are following a funky progression. 16 last weekend, and now it's moving me up to 21! That's a huge jump. Then back to 11, then 15, then 23! Uh, no, I don't think so...

So my plan is 14 this coming weekend (drop-back week from the 16), then to 18 next weekend, then drop back to 16, then 20, then start tapering. Holy cow, that means my race isn't far away! I was hoping to do more quality long runs, but w/ my small but frequents pulls/aches/pains, getting to the starting line injury-free is my main goal this year.

SRD (Scheduled Rest Day), thankfully

Did my 16-miler yesterday, 3:11:50. The last 2 miles were pretty torturous, but I got it done. Felt a little adductor pain in the first few miles, but kept going and it disappeared by about mile 5 or so. Slow as molasses, I know, but I'm competing w/ myself, no one else.

Somehow, I think a sub-5:00 marathon is a little out of reach this year. I've been doing my long runs between 11:15 and 11:30 miles up until yesterday, when I had to drop it to just under 12:00 miles. A 5 hour marathon would be 11:27 miles, and right now, I don't see being able to keep that up for 26 miles. Not being defeatist, but trying to be realistic.

Respect the distance

I'm in training for my 5th marathon right now. Having done 4 already, I know the training, I know the gear, the nutrition, the need for BodyGlide, good socks, GUs/sport beans/Clif Bloks, etc.

But this is the first of my marathons where I've kept up decent mileage in the off-season. This is the first of my marathons where I'm physically fit enough to realistically and logically train for a marathon. This is the first of my marathons where I'm actually running most of my scheduled runs.

So why am I so nervous?

I figured out that I'm scared of what it means for me on race day. It means that I'm actually going to have to "bring it" mentally and that I'm going to have to push through my fatigue because I've trained to do so. In years past, if I was tired, I dropped to a walk and stayed there because it was comfortable and because I knew my half-assed training hadn't prepared me to go the full 26.2 running so why even try to make it past 20 running - hey, as long as I made it across the finish line, that was ok.

Now, I'm really training and that means no excuses on race day. Damn, that's scary.

Back to it...

I'm back from a weekend in NYC. Fantastic in every way!

I did the NYRR Long Training Run #1 on Saturday. Saw a ton of my Fred's Team teammates and friends and our coach Jeff; and a few folks I know from the NY Flyers as well.

I was hamming and hawing all last week about what to run on Saturday. Should I do the 11 miles scheduled (a cutback week), or stay around the 14 miles from the previous week? I did the scheduled 11 miles.

I had some sharp pain w/ my adductor around mile 3, but kept going and after a few minutes, it eased up. No change to my gait, so I kept going. The hills kicked my butt as usual. Also had issues getting the Clif Bloks package open and had to come to a full stop to fight w/ it - if I use those during my marathon, I'm putting them into snack-size ziplocs pre-race. Lost my pace group at that point but kept them in sight.

Anyways, walked a good 5-6 miles post-run on Saturday just tooling around town, and walked a good bit yesterday too, so my legs feel pretty good.

Back at it tonight w/ 6 tempo if I'm not mistaken. That's where I got my adductor problem last week, though, so I'll play it by ear and maybe go 6 easy.

What a sunrise!

I'm up early for a flight to NYC to do LTR#1, as always, I wake up hours before my alarm in fear of missing my flight - even for an 8:00 a.m. flight. d'oh!

The benefit to that is I'm witnessing an absolutely gorgeous sunrise right now - some blue sky w/ scattered clouds, but the color starts at the pink of cotton candy and ranges all the way to hot pink and a little orange in there too. :-)

Did 3 easy miles last night. Had some adductor discomfort, but not enough to change my gait, so I went ahead and did it. That brings my running for the week to 5 on Monday, 3 Thursday, a grand total of 8 miles so far.

We'll see how the long run goes tomorrow. I'd like to do 14, a repeat of last weekend's run.

adductor issues

I went running for the car when I left work yesterday during a downpour, and had the same adductor pain as Monday during my tempo run, so I took yesterday as USRD#2.

I'll try again tonight w/ an easy run, any distance at this point will be fine.

I have a plane ticket to NYC this weekend to run the NYRR Long Training Run #1 on Saturday, and I darn well better be able to run it.

and the meat of the playlist - because you know I'm a fanatic about these guys - U2 and lots of it

Angel Of Harlem
Bad
Beautiful Day
City Of Blinding Lights
Crumbs From Your Table
Elevation
Gloria
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
I Will Follow - THE BEST RUNNING SONG ***EVER***
In God's Country
Kite
Mysterious Ways
New Year's Day
New York
One Tree Hill
Party Girl
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Red Hill Mining Town
Running To Stand Still
So Cruel
Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Sweetest Thing
The Electric Co.
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
Vertigo
Walk On
Walk On [Live]
Where The Streets Have No Name
Yahweh
Zoo Station

my iPod running playlist

Conventional Wisdom -Built To Spill
Finally -Ce Ce Peniston
Move On Up -Curtis Mayfield
Bennie And The Jets -Elton John
Shame -Evelyn "Champagne" King
Brown Eyed Girl -Everclear
Wonderful -Everclear
I Don't Wanna Be -Gavin DeGraw
Freedom 90 -George Michael
One Man Wrecking Machine -Guster
You Sexy Thing -Hot Chocolate
Dancing In The Street -Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Everywhere -Michelle Branch
It's My Life -No Doubt
Take A Letter Maria -R.B. Greaves
What's The Frequency, Kenneth? -R.E.M.
The Power -Snap!
Burning Down The House -Talking Heads
Once In A Lifetime -Talking Heads
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) -Talking Heads
Dream On Dreamer -The Brand New Heavies
My Best Friend's Girl -The Cars
When The Stars Go Blue (Featuring Bono) -The Corrs
What You Get -The Damnwells
I Confess -The English Beat
Mirror In The Bathroom -The English Beat
Save It For Later -The English Beat
Fire Island, AK -The Long Winters
Bitter Sweet Symphony -The Verve
6th Avenue Heartache -The Wallflowers
One Headlight -The Wallflowers
How's It Going To Be -Third Eye Blind
Free Fallin' -Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
I Won't Back Down [Live] -Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Wednesday 8 Aug.

I took yesterday as an USRD (UnScheduled Rest Day) to be safe about the adductor pain I was having Monday. Bothered me most of the day yesterday, but seems to be better this a.m. so I'm going to try running again.

So tonight is either 5 easy miles, OR long intervals (4-6 x 1 mile at 9:53 miles). Frankly, I think I'll cough up a lung after the first of those intervals, and am not sure speedwork is a great idea right now w/ adductor. So, plan of attack is to do a mile warm-up and see how I feel - and that point, either do another 4 easy miles, or move into the intervals.

I'll keep you posted. :-)

it's always something!

I'm home from my run. I was schedule for 6 tempo at 10:28 miles, I ended up doing 5 miles. Felt a little tightness at top inside of my left thigh for most of the run, and at 4.75 miles, it was suddenly painful enough to alter my gait, so I finished it up at 5 miles.

Guess I'll play tomorrow by ear. Won't panic right away like I did for my 1 week ITBS flare-up that disappeared as quickly as it arrived.

My 14 miles are done and dusted. I took my plan seriously today and did slow (although not as slow as it told me - it had me doing 12:28 miles and I'm just not gonna do that ).

So did 14 in 2:43:30. First 5 felt awkward, next 5 felt great, last 4 weren't a lot of fun. Treadmill, by the way. Bored senseless, but let's just go w/ the mental toughness theory.

Now that my miles are getting up there, I'm having a decent amount of discomfort where I have a screw in my tibia from an ACL reconstruction. I think about having it removed every year when it starts bothering me, but the recovery would impact my running season or my ski season, neither of which I'm willing to give up.

I'm all crusty w/ salt right now, so off to get myself cleaned up and then possible mini-golf game in the works...

I think I'm entering the mid-training-season doldrums. I know my legs can do the mileage, but gosh, it's tough getting the motivation to get out the door for these long runs.

I say this as I sit here trying to motivate to go run 14 miles. Next week, 16 miles; and the week after that, even more miles. I'm tired just thinking about it.

I love the payoff of marathon Sunday - it's more fun than you can possibly imagine - but DANG, I really hate the training. I say this every year (and anyone who knows me has heard me say it a thousand times), but I'm sticking to half-marathons for a while after I get through this year's marathon.

change of plans

Well, my drinks date for tonight has to reschedule so I'm free to run tonight. Is that like pouring salt on the wound or what? :-)

I took yesterday as USRD (UnScheduled Rest Day), so will either run the 6-mile tempo that I was supposed to do last night, or will more likely do my 14-mile long run and get it out of the way.

That'll be 14 miles in the bank before the weekend gets out of hand.

Tempo run again tonight

My schedule has me doing a 6-mile tempo run again tonight, so guess that's what I'm doing. We're in the mid-90s today, so I'll definitely be on the treadmill tonight. Fully loaded iPod, water, and I'm good to go.

Did 6 tempo last night, so 5 easy on tap for tonight. We're reaching the high 80s by mid-afternoon, so I might be on the treadmill. Not that I mind it, to be honest... :-)

High 90s and humid forecast for tomorrow so am DEFINITELY on the treadmill then.

By the way, have I mentioned lately that I'm sticking with half-marathons for a while? :-)

tonight?

5 easy or 6 tempo? My training schedule is moving me up to 5 days/week now instead of the 4 I've been doing. I think I'll play it by ear and see how the legs feel....

Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

I got a little sidetracked yesterday, doing paperwork and watching a Law and Order marathon (the truth comes out), and got to the point in the day where I didn't have enough time for my 12-13 miles before having to be at a cookout.

So, I'm doing my long run tonight, treadmill at the gym. Not ideal by any stretch of the imagination...

Habitat

Took today as an SRD (scheduled rest day), and went to a workday for Habitat for Humanity here in my local community. We hung sheetrock, which was new and different to me. Good time, hard work, and a great group of people. Will definitely stay involved up here (have done some workdays in New Orleans, and am going back in October).

She shoots, she scores!

Something I haven't previously mentioned here - I've taken off 50+ lbs in the last year or so, and have been maintaining in the same 2 or 3 pound range since the end of April.

I've decided to rest here for a while, and have decided to call GOAL!

tempo run tonight

I'm scheduled for a 6 mile tempo run tonight, at 10:28 mile pace. Yowza. Not sure if I'm supposed to do the entire 6 miles at that pace or end up at that pace towards the end of my run (maybe that's wishful thinking).

I was surprised to see a tempo run the day after interval work (usually don't have speed work 2 days in a row), but I realized I shuffled my schedule around this week and that tonight's run was supposed to be on Monday (which I changed to my 11-miler from last weekend).

Anyways, once I get through this weekend, I should be back on track w/ the training schedule as originally planned, and won't have to shuffle runs around anymore.

Speedwork today

I got my speedwork done! Did 1 mile warmup, then 6 x 1/2 mile at 9:15 mile pace with .2 recovery between. First 4 felt pretty good, 5th was ok, 6th was a real challenge to maintain form but I got it done... I was sweating like a pig, I must say.

Wore my semi-new Brooks again, and I'm not 100% sure I'm loving them. The fit's not quite as good for me as my Sauconys. Not going to chuck them out, but I don't see wearing them for long runs.

well, just 4 easy miles tonight but boy did I sweat!

It was 84 and humid when I went out for my run - not trying to make an excuse for coming up a mile short, but wow that was hard work. Was ready to quit after 2 miles, forced myself to do 4, and at that point, had run out of water and I called it a day.

So, 4 easy loops of the green out front (approx. 4 miles, maybe more like 3.8 or 3.9) in 42:00.

Oh, I did this run in my new Brooks Adrenaline - only my 2nd time out in them. They feel pretty good so far...

5 easy tonight

Yesterday was an SRD (scheduled rest day), but took a short walk w/ my sister's dog to keep the legs a little loose. At least my knees feel better today!

Today is 5 easy (11:34 miles). We're supposed to hit low 90s today, so it might be treadmill again, but no worries, better to get it done on the treadmill than not at all.

OK, I'm back on track...

Did 11 miles tonight, 2:02:45, treadmill. First 10 felt great, last mile was a little tough (I'm trying to finish all runs faster than I start, so was ramping up the speed my entire run). My schedule said to do 12:15 miles, but I just can't (read that as "won't") run that slow anymore.

still not running - someone give me a kick in the pants please!

OK, I'm having a major existential crisis here! Well, maybe not an existential crisis, but a running crisis for sure. I just can't get out the door. So I'm putting it down in writing, right here and now, that I'm running tonight.

My training schedule say 6 mile tempo run (10:26 miles). Or I'll do my 11-miler long run that I blew off yesterday when laying on the couch reading all day. OY.

I'll report in later this evening, you heard it here first.

Back on track...

I've not been posting lately because I've not been running lately (guilty conscience LOL). Since I'm doing a marathon in less than 3 months, you can see I have a problem here... :-)

Work has been absolutely cruddy lately and it's stressing me out bigtime. I just haven't been able to summon the mental energy to go out for a run - and I *KNOW* that I feel 5000% better mentally after a run.

Anyways, the buck stops here. Bad training = bad marathon, and I've had 4 of those already.

So as of today, I'm back on track (and I'm happy to report that I'm finally able to access my NYRR Trainer online plan after a week of problems, so I actually know what I'm supposed to be running).

Mind over matter?

I've been running for a few years now, since 2000. Not always consistently, by any means, but over time, I have some decent miles on my legs and muscle memory can take over where my training leaves off.

But when marathon training season comes around, I start having the same doubts every time, i.e. "What the hell am I doing this for?" or "I hate running long!" or "Am I going to be able to finish this long run?"

Clearly, after 4 marathons, I can go the distance. I just find it strange that sometimes my mind has more power than my body - or actually, that I GIVE my mind the power over my body. So maybe it's just a matter of "don't think, just run."

in town, out of town...

It's been a few days since I've been here... Was in N.C. for a family reunion over the weekend and got back late Monday night. And with the 4th of July holiday mid-week, I'm so confused! It's Friday, though, which is wonderful. :-)

I only got in 1 run while in NC last weekend, a 6-miler, and nothing early this week.

I did my long run for the week last night, to make sure it got done and dusted. 9 miles in 1:42:30, with last 3 miles at MP of 11:06. My IT Band felt fine the entire time, which is a relief.

SRD today, and will do a quick 3 miles early tomorrow a.m. before I head off on a 10 hour DRIVE to Washington, D.C. for a work conference. Will bring my running gear and schedule with me, and will get done in the morning before the conference starts every day...

sooooo, another missed run...

So, today was my birthday, and I had the pleasure of sitting through yet ANOTHER work team retreat about "What does success look like?" Well, to me, success would come from actually getting to sit at my desk and DO some work rather than just meeting to TALK about doing work. OY!

Anyways, that's the long wind-up to me working until 7:30 tonight and it being too late to get in a long run (had to finish up a few things before heading out of town). Now here it is, 11 p.m. and I have a 6:15 a.m. flight that I haven't packed for yet.

Thankfully, the hotel has a gym w/ treadmill so I can get my runs in regardless of conditions or time of day. It's not perfect but I'll absolutely take it...

Did 5-easy on the treadmill at the gym last night (was 94 in the shade when I left work). Got in a good cooldown and stretch, then spent some more quality time with the foam roller to keep ahead of my ITBS. I swear, the reason folks say that thing works is because the muscle soreness and bruising you get from using it distracts you from the actual ITBS.

I tried out my new sneaks last night - Brooks Adrenaline. I like them. They have a different feeling ride from my Saucony, although I can't really describe it. They're definitely a little looser in the heel, even w/ the narrow size I bought, so might need to work on the lacing a bit. Pretty good so far, though.

SRD (scheduled rest day) for me today. Back at it tomorrow with an 8-miler. We're supposed to cool off by then, so back outdoors for my hilly 8-mile route.

new sneaks!!

I just had the most yummy blackened chicken breast for lunch... Granny smith apple for a late afternoon snack, and I'm fueled up for my 8 tonight.

I bought myself some new sneakers at lunch (brooks adrenaline GTS 7). I buy running shoes like my non-runner friends buy fancy shoes, i.e. I can never have too many. ;-) The Adrenaline have a little less stability than my Saucony Grid Omni 5s, so it'll be good to have a little variety. I'm also going to start using my Grid Trigon Rides again for short runs (3s and 4s). I used to run in a cushioning shoe before I packed on the pounds a few years ago. Now that I'm back to fighting weight, so to speak, I think rotating stability and cushioning should be fine.

I'll keep you posted how this works out. ;-)

Monday Monday...

Phew, the weekend is over... Usually a cause for sadness, but I'm happy to be back to the weekdays and some routine so I can get my runs in. Had houseguests up from NYC this weekend, and we had a great time, but no time to run while they were here.

Saturday:
* drive up through the mountains and a steep twisty notch to get over to Stowe, nice lunch on an outdoor terrace w/ great view of the mountains.
* window shopping in Stowe
* drinks lakeside in Burlington (Lake Champlain)
Sunday:
* brunch outdoors on the Burlington marketplace
* shoe shopping in Burlington
* 2 hour scenic boat ride on Lake Champlain
* quick dinner
* saw Ryan Adams and the Cardinals at Higher Ground - catch him if he's in your area. He's immensely talented.

Dropped my guests at the airport at 5:30 this morning. OY.

Back at it tonight w/ my 8-miler long run that I didn't get in over the weekend.

shuffling it all around...

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time fitting all my runs in. Sometimes it's because I'm scheduled up to my eyeballs, other times it's because I blew off a run early in the week and then get caught up with shuffling things around to make my remaining runs fit.

This week, for example, I had a work event Tuesday night. Wednesday, I ran 3 miles, testing out the ITBS, felt fine. Last night, I stopped by my Mom's house to help her w/ something and of course got persuaded to stay for dinner - sorry, I can't really run after a steak dinner.

Now here it is, Friday afternoon, I can run tonight and tomorrow, but have houseguests arriving at noon and won't be able to run on Sunday.

So, I'm doing my long run tonight (8 miles), and will try to do 3 tomorrow a.m. I've never done an evening long run followed the next morning by short distance. I'll report back on how successful that is. :-)

If nothing else, shifting my long run to Friday THIS week helps w/ next week's scheduling. I'll be on the road starting next Friday a.m., so will do my long run on Thursday. Phew, too much to think about this far in advance...

It's a beautiful morning...

Well, it's absolutely gorgeous out. Blue sky, dry as a bone, nice temps. Darn shame I'm not a morning runner. Somehow, I just can't get going in the a.m. Mentally, I'm there right away. Physically, not gonna happen... :-)

Did 3 last night on an absolutely flat course to avoid irritating the ITBS, and I ran pain-free. I'll try 5 again tonight, my loop w/ 2 mild hills, and see how that feels.

If all goes well, I'll plan on my long run Saturday a.m. I think I have 9 scheduled for this weekend. Might run to my WW meeting (5 each way) for 10 roundtrip.

Well, I've ordered myself a foam roller (aka torture device) from amazon.com and will add that into my daily routine to hopefully help with the ITBS.

I'm scheduled for 5-easy tonight and will do my 1-mile loop x 5. Boring but flat and no downhills. Actually, depending on temp/humidity, I may be on the treadmill. I think I'm one of the few people who don't mind treadmill running. Access to water and bathrooms is not a bad thing. :-)

already?!?

Well, here we are, 2 weeks into training season for my fall marathon, and I'm in slight panic mode because my IT Band is acting up.

I've had this once before, back in 2000 when I did my first marathon. Just a little discomfort during training season, didn't even know what it was, shrugged it off and kept running - that is, until race day, when after a mile-long downhill coming off the 59th street bridge, I was doubled over in pain. Walked the last 10 miles to finish the race, and two weeks post-marathon, when I was still in horrible pain just walking, gave in and saw a sports medicine guy who promptly diagnosed me with ITBS. Took about 5 months to recover from it.

Now here we are, early in the training season, and I'm already past the mild discomfort stage. Am icing off and on during the day, being very faithful to my stretching, and will hope for the best.

In the meantime, I'm getting recommendations for sports medicine doctors in my area. Harrumph (as she stamps foot in annoyance)...

Getting out the door...

I find the major challenge in my running is getting out the door at all. It's a real struggle for me sometimes to get out there after a sh*tty day at work, and there are MANY of those right now. It's just a matter of remembering how fantastic I feel both mentally and physically after a run. The person who could bottle that feeling would be rich indeed.

On the positive side, I'm getting much better at pushing myself and my limits during my actual run. Someone on another running board I follow has a William James quote in his siggy: "Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second. " I'm trying to live by that now - hey, my legs might be tired, my lungs might be about to burst on a tough hill, but darn it, I'm going to keep going - and sure enough, once I reach the top, I've completed it and I'm still moving. Hills, distance, speed, I'm trying to work that "second wind" mojo on all of them, and am gratified to find it holds true more often than not.