31 January, 2008

dang, I'm tired.

Is anyone else exhausted lately?

I really need a vacation where I sleep until I wake up, lay around reading all day (poolside/oceanside, of course), the occasional margarita or 3, run when I want to, and go to bed early.

Anyways, since that's not gonna happen, guess I'll just have to have another cup of coffee LOL!

I have 6 easy on tap for tonight, will see how it goes. My hammie/glute seems to be feeling ok - no pain yesterday, just the occasional twinge of discomfort. So will do a nice long walking warm-up then see how the running goes...

30 January, 2008

yesterday and today

Yesterday, was having a good amount of discomfort/pain from hammie/glute area (piriformis, I guess). Sat on a baseball for part of the afternoon - it's pressure point massage, essentially, right at the affected area. Then hit the gym for some easy miles. I did a 5 minute walking warmup, followed by 3 easy miles at 5.2 mph and 0 incline, then 5 minute walking cooldown. stretch, then tried again with the foam roller. I just can't get the right pressure with that on this area. It's great for ITBS, just not for this. Anyways, the running felt perfectly fine, it's just before and after that's the problem. At home, I used The Stick, and that helped a bit.

Felt pretty good this a.m. Mild soreness, but no pain per se.

SRD today, and am going out w/ the BF to a concert - North Mississippi Allstars. Blues/rock/country - I've seen them in New Orleans a few times and they're great.

29 January, 2008

easy 6 tonight, or not

I'm having a little pain at the very top of my left hamstring since yesterday afternoon - not sure what that's about, since I felt perfectly fine after my race on Sunday and most of the day yesterday.

Tried to stretch it a little last night. Used the foam roller, but wasn't able to get the right angle or enough pressure on the area. And I was hoping it'd feel better this a.m., but after bounding out of bed this a.m. for the phone (wrong number, damnit - come on, people, pay attention when you're dialing!!), it's still a problem.

So I'm sitting on a baseball as we speak...

28 January, 2008

Manhattan Half RR (race report)

Manhattan Half-Marathon
Central Park
31F and overcast
Sunday is grey and dreary out, 31F so a few degrees warmer than expected. I head to Central Park and meet-up with a few runners I know. Very nice group of people. Drop our bags off at the baggage trucks, and head down to the start area. At this point, I realize I left my ClifBloks in my backpack which is now on the baggage trucks, so I’m going to be racing w/ no fuel on the run.

I peel off from the group for a stop at the portolets – it’s about 20 minutes before the start and the lines are ENORMOUS. I’m still waiting when the gun goes off, so I cross the start at 7:21 into the race – thank goodness for chip timing.

First mile is flat to downhill, and we get to Lasker Hill (aka the Harlem Hills) a mile and a half into the race. I just go for even effort, reach the top no worries. The west side of the park loop is rolling to mostly downhill so I try to gain some time on the downhills. Keep running, pretty steady pace and I feel really good. Round the lower end of the Park, and we start w/ the rolling to uphill climb, with Cat Hill around mile 5. I again go with even effort, and am trucking along nicely. I’m taking Gatorade at the water stops that have it, to help offset my lack of ClifBlocks.

Ikeep going onto my 2nd loop. I put on my iPod at this point (it’s allowed in NYRR races, and I keep the volume low). Downhill at this point, water/Gatorade at the bottom of the hill, then long uphill Lasker Hill again. I run into one of my best friend’s boyfriends, he’s walking the hill a bit (he’s having PF issues), so I walk a minute or so with him, then start running again. Top the hill, then rolling downhills again on the west side.

By about mile 10, my legs are getting heavy, but I keep going. I’m just reaching the bottom of Cat Hill, and the best running song EVER comes onto my headphones, “I Will Follow” by U2. In my bonehead move of the day, I start charging up the hill, I mean probably the fastest I've run all day. I pass a good 15 people or so in the first half of the hill, and then my legs say to me “Are you out of your freakin’ mind?” I end up dropping the pace, and then dropping to a walk (at which point those same 15 people I just charged by probably end up passing me). Duh Liz.

Now I’m around 11.5 miles and my legs are lead. I just focus on keeping my arms relaxed, keep my form, and move forward. I’m just counting down the streets (conveniently marked on the lamp posts), so I know how much further I have to go. I try to pick up the pace for the last mile but my legs are having none of it. At the 13 mile mark, a woman I’ve been running alongside picks up the pace and passes me, so I try to keep up – we round the corner onto the 102nd street transverse, and cross the finish line.

I’ve made my 2 goals for the day:
1.) PR of any sort (previous PR was a lame 2:39:53)
2.) Sub-2:30Chip time 2:28:53, pace 11:21/mile. (that's an 11:00 PR).

:-)

25 January, 2008

My first marathon - do as I say, not as I do.

I think my first time falls into the category of "do as I say, not as I do."

New Years Day, 2000 - I was hideously unfit, and was turning 35 that June. I call my sister, who was turning 40 that year, and said jokingly, "let's do the marathon this year and prove we're still hot sh*t." She stupidly say YES, and away we go. Another sister decides to also run and she joins in the madness.

Of course, I couldn't run more than 3 or 4 minutes at a time, so slowly built up some fitness, dropped some weight, etc. June comes, I don't get into the marathon (stupid lottery), although my sisters do. I was working at Chase at the time (they were the marathon sponsor then), so I call up corporate events marketing and beg for a number, and they say they'll get back to me. In the meantime, I'm maybe running twice a week since I don't think I'm doing the marathon. Well, August rolls around, one of my brokers asks me if I can pull any strings to get HIM into the marathon - I call Corp events mktg again, and lo and behold, 2 days later - TWO guaranteed entry forms show up in interoffice, 1 for him, 1 for me. So it's mid-august and I'm 2 months behind on training.

Needless to say, I jump back into it... Shin splints for the month of September, they finally go away. Then October rolls around and I start having tiny bit of discomfort on outside of my left knee, nothing to slow me down or alter my gait, though, so I keep on training.

Oh, and I moved to Chicago during all this for a job - so was making trips back to NYC to meet my sisters for long training runs.

Well, race day comes and I'm pretty much in one piece. My 2 sisters and I start together. Lose Sis#1 around mile 8 when she runs ahead to find a portolet. Sis#2 stays w/ me until the half when I tell her to go ahead since I was holding her back. I get to the 59th Street Bridge, feeling ok and still running, but by the time I finish the mile-long downhill, my ITBS (undiagnosed at that time) has kicked in so bad that I'm pretty much doubled over in pain - equal in pain to when I broke my femur skiing. So I start walking at mile 16, try to run every once in a while, double over in pain again, keep walking. This continues for the last 10 miles and I finally finish the stupid thing in 6:17:xx.

Sounds like a cruddy day, huh? Well, it wasn't. It was an absolute BLAST.

I got the crappy result I absolutely deserved, but it was still a great day. Poorly trained, injured and in serious pain, finishing in the dusk - it was still a great day.

Would I ever go into another marathon w/ that little respect for the distance? No freakin' way.

p.s. I sidelined myself for FIVE months due to finishing the race w/ my stupid ITBS.

23 January, 2008

another ICK run

I had MAJOR stomach issues on my run tonight. Got about 35 minutes in, had to bail off the treadmill for a quick bio break. Then back on the treadmill running, but stomach started acting up again, so I dropped from a run down to a walk, 4.0 mph but bumped the incline up to 6-7% and did another 30 minutes. Then stomach really let me know it wasn't happy, so I called it a day (after another bio break).

I'm guessing it's due to the very cheesy omelette I made for dinner last night. dang.

Well, if nothing else, this might cure me of my cheese addiction.

and by the way, this post is probably TMI (too much information), so feel free to ignore or pretend you never read it.

21 January, 2008

long inactive weekend

I had houseguests this past weekend and we had a blast. But no physical fitness activity of any sort. No running, no skiing, no nothing.

Just lots of sitting around drinking coffee and gabbing; or sitting at a restaurant table eating and gabbing; or driving around town and gabbing; or driving out to the country in the car and gabbing.

In other words, the only thing that moved this weekend was my mouth - either eating or talking.

I feel like a complete slob at the moment, and can't wait to get to the gym tomorrow. :-)

19 January, 2008

Well, I skipped the run last night - I was just too bone-tired by the end of the day after getting approximately 3 hours of sleep the night before. All with the intent of going to bed early last night and getting up early this a.m. so I could get to the gym and fit it in before getting my houseguests from the airport.

Unfortunately, I slept until almost 9 this a.m. so that plan's out the window. (needless to say, I have some last minute straightening up to do at my house).

Nice day out, though, so I'm assuming we'll be tooling around town today. And tomorrow we'll either be skiing, or if it's too cold to go to the mountain, we'll be hitting the gym and I can get a run in then. Otherwise, it'll have to wait until Monday after I drop everyone off at the airport (mid-afternoon). oy.

18 January, 2008

zzzzzzz.....

I am so darn tired. Had an AWFUL night's sleep last night - was awake well past 4 a.m., and the alarm went off at 7:15 this morning. I've had 3 HUGE coffees and feel somewhat alert, but am tired to the bone.

I'm scheduled for a 14-miler tonight, trying to get it out of the way because I have weekend guests arriving tomorrow. However, they don't get in until 11:30 a.m. I'm debating whether to just go home and go to bed early (i.e. 9 p.m.) and get up and go run in the a.m. when I'm more rested.

I'll see how I feel when I leave work today, and will report in later....

17 January, 2008

SRD, thankfully

I have SRD (scheduled rest day) today, thankfully. Last night's 6 was tough, so will enjoy giving the legs a rest. So out for dinner w/ BF tonight.

Back at the running tomorrow w/ my long run for the week. I have 14 miles on tap, treadmill. I have to get the long run out of the way before my weekend guests arrive on Saturday a.m.

I might also want to clean my house before they arrive? Actually, it's always CLEAN, it's just CLUTTERED. :-)

16 January, 2008

I'm home from the gym.

Did 6 miles, 11:03 pace. Then cooldown, stretch, 160 crunches, and 3 x 12 pushups. If I can ever lose the last layer of "stored fuel", I'm going to have an awesome stomach. ;-)

And for dinner - grilled chicken breast marinated in olive oil, Tabasco and Tony Chachere's seasoning. YUMMY. Am I supposed to have a veggie too? :-)

crack me up...

I was just rereading my posts from the last few days.

On Sunday, I stated that I was going to make 5.3 mph my easy pace. And in last night's post, I stated that I was going to make 5.5 mph my easy pace. So tomorrow, you should expect to see a post from me stating that I'm going to make 5.7 mph my easy pace. ;-)

I really have a habit of getting ahead of myself.

Anyways, 6 miles tonight, at some yet-to-be-determined pace. I'll report back.

15 January, 2008

6 sorta easy miles

Got in a good 6-miler tonight, treadmill of course.

I'm working to making 5.5 mph (10:54 miles) my easy pace. It felt pretty good. I will admit to being happy I was done - but definitely could have gone a few more miles no worries.

Another 6 tomorrow night, SRD on Thursday, long run on Friday. I think. I need to shuffle my run and my weekend houseguests and my interest in seeing BF before the weekend. I'll figure something out - I always do. :-)

13 January, 2008

ick

Well, I was planning on 12 miles today, which would get me to 30 miles this week. So much for that plan.

I went out to lunch w/ some friends from work (italian restaurant, had a calzone) and then to the movies. Then directly to the gym for my run.

My legs felt fine, my breathing was great. Unfortunately, I think the calzone was waaaaay too cheesy for a pre-run meal, even with 3+ hours between it and my run. I barely managed to get through an hour run and was on the verge of puking the whole time.

So I end the week at 23 miles. oy.

12 January, 2008

I did 7 miles this afternoon, treadmill at the gym. Gorgeous day up here (sunny and low 40s), but I got started too late and didn't want to finish outside in the dark.

Anyways, supposed to be an easy run, but I can't seem to restrain myself from a fast (for me) finish. First 3 at 5.3 mph (which I'm making my EASY pace), next 3 at 5.5 mph, last mile at 5.8 mph. Then 140 crunches and 3 x 12 pushups.

I'm planning to run 10 or so tomorrow, which should be interesting. I always take SRD before a long run. However, the Higdon Intermediate plan has a medium distance run on Saturdays, with the long run on Sunday. So, depending on how this feels, and knowing I have 5 months until marathon training officially starts, I can get the legs used to it.

I'm breaking 5 hours this year if it kills me.

10 January, 2008

speed work tonight.

Home from the gym. I ended up doing speedwork tonight, as follows:

1 mile warm up at 5.3 mph
4 x .75 miles at 6.0, 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 mph with .25 mile recoveries at 5.3 mph after each one.

Then cooled down until I hit 60 minutes. Followed by a stretch, 140 abs and 3 x 12 pushups! The intervals felt pretty good, but the last one was tough to maintain form towards the end.

another USRD

I had more tightness in the calf again yesterday, so took it as USRD. I guess that's the benefit of a 4-day/week running schedule - lots of flexibility. :-)

Back at it tonight w/ last night's 6-miler.

You know, if I spent as much time on the actual RUNNING as I do THINKING/OBSESSING about running, I'd be a lot better runner.

08 January, 2008

6 easy miles

I've had some tightness in my upper right calf for the last few days (since skiing, coincidentally), so skipped my run last night and used The Stick (cue the heavenly angels singing LOL).

Anyways, it felt a bit better today, so off to the gym I went. I got in 6 miles easy tonight before I felt my calf tightening up a bit - plus there was a line waiting for the treadmills. harrumph! I hate this time of year when the gym is packed.

Back at it tomorrow w/ another 6 miler. Speed work if the calf feels ok, otherwise will stick w/ easy miles again.

At this point, I just want to be consistent w/ my mileage base, and will have to go on the assumption that speed will feel easier as my overall fitness improves.

07 January, 2008

I got up to Smuggler's on Saturday for my first ski day of the season. The conditions were amazing, tons of snow, pretty much no ice (which for anyone who knows VT skiing, that's extraordinary), high 20s, and some sun. Fairly windy, but no complaints at all.

I thought I might find it easy, considering I can run until the cows come home, but I tell you, my legs were D-O-N-E by the time we left the mountain. Yesterday, Uncle DOMS paid a visit, and my right upper calf is strangely tight. Taking that into consideration, and my late night out on Saturday, I took yesterday as USRD.

Back at it tonight with 14 miles, treadmill. My only concern is not getting kicked off the treadmill by the crowds at the gym - new years resolution folks make it pretty crowded these days.

04 January, 2008

back on track

I got myself to the gym tonight for a run, 6 miles speedwork.
mile 1: 5.3 mph
mile 2: 5.3 mph
mile 3: 5.6 mph
mile 4: 5.8 mph
mile 5: 6.0 mph
mile 6: 5.7 mph

It felt GREAT! Then cooldown, stretch, 100 crunches, 2x10 pushups.

I'm going skiing tomorrow, which means my legs will be begging for mercy by the end of the day, and screaming at me on Sunday when I try to run long. Yes, I can run 'til the cows come home, but skiing is a totally different beast. :-)

01 January, 2008

New Year

Let me also just say I'm glad it's 2008 - a clean running slate, new goals, and a training log book with no unplanned zeros in it! :-)

RunVermont First Run 5k

OK, I did the race, not a PR, though. :-)

First mile: It's snowing, the gun goes off, and we're on our way, slipping and sliding through the 2"+ of snow on the ground. Tough footing the first mile or so - 2 folks wiped out right in front of me - stopped to help one of them up, the other was up before I got to him. Split - no idea because I still can't figure out how to work my stupid @&%&(##%^ sports watch.

2nd mile: footing is a bit better - we're down to wet slushy pavement in 2 tracks (car marks), so as long as you can stay in those, you're all set moving along. split? no idea.

3rd mile: steep downhill on a small sidestreet still completely snowed in, so I slow way down here, cruddy footing for a little after that, then things clear up and I start passing folks. Got past 4 or 5 people, then hit some ice and have to slow it down again. split - no idea.

I approached the clock at 33:xx, but lost track trying not to wipe out on the ice at the finish and also trying not to plow over the person in front of me who came to a dead stop BEFORE the finish line. uh, duh!

Now that results have been posted - I finished in 33:51:00. So, no PR, but given the course conditions, I'm absolutely fine with that. A 5k when I'm actually running on pavement, well, I'm gonna rock that course.