Crunch Time!

That is what we're getting down to. Running and my social life are in a no-holds-barred six-week cage fight to the death. So far its been something of a draw. Last week I did my first planned two-part run. I had a party to go to on Wednesday after work, so first I ran my midweek long run (8 miles) on Tuesday. On Wednesday I ran three miles at lunch, then two more after I got back from the party around 7:30. Thursday was five miles at the gym, then pizza and canasta with my friend who is (tragically) moving to Milwaukee.
Plus, as I mentioned, I went to the coast last weekend. There was not the remotest chance in hell that I would skip a long run, so I went to bed early (right when things were warming up…siiiiiiiiiiiigh) and ran 19 miles along the Siletz River south of Lincoln City, OR. (Digression: Oh man!! If every long run could be like this long run, I would run 8 more marathons this year. It was, seriously, just about perfect: I was dressed perfectly for the weather, which was ideal; the scenery was beautiful; there were mile markers on the road, so I didn't have to guess; I had just enough Gatorade and ShotBloks [secondary digression: I'm now devoted to ShotBloks]; it was not easy but I never stopped and only once around mile 17 did I even truly desire to walk; there were some nice hills to give my legs a change of pace; I did my ice bath in the ocean; and I left for the run early enough that despite having to take an ocean bath and then shower [I had sand in…everything], I was still ready to roll at the same time as everyone else. Marvelous.) This week is more of the same – I'm taking Friday off and heading to Sunriver with some friends. I can't do my long run on Saturday because a) Sunriver is covered in snow and b) I agreed to go snowshoeing. Luckily the run is only 13 miles, which is (knock on wood) practically easy at this point. My plan is to run 10 miles today, 6 miles tomorrow, and the 13 miles on Thursday. That gives me 29 miles for the week, which is only two below my scheduled distance. If I have time on Sunday after I get home I'll knock out a quick 2-3 miler to reach my goal. I'm hoping that I don't feel terrible clumping all my mileage together like this, but it's really the only option that allows me to pretend like I still have a life.
I was thinking about it, and I shouldn’t really complain because this was my decision, yada yada, but this blog would be like two paragraphs if I never complained, so here goes. Last week was actually my peak mileage week at 37; I have a few more 35 miles weeks coming up. My pace is (a little bit) faster than 10 min/mile, but when you factor in changing, warm-up, stretching, cool-down, ice-bath, etc., running 35 miles a week is like having a part-time job. I seriously cannot fathom how normal people who have a job and a family churn out 50-mile weeks (aside from running much faster than I do). More than anything, it's the time commitment that makes me hesitant to commit to another marathon. Particularly now that summer is on its way, with all the hiking, and the barbecues, the weekend camping trips and the dragon-boating. Practice for DB starts March 1…eek. I'm thankful there is just a month of overlap between racing and running. I think I'm tired now…

Pictures from this weekend. It was SO gorgeous...

Alas, ShotBloks

Hmmm…yeah. Well, first things first, I did twelve miles on Saturday and it was great. For the first time EVER, I ran the SC and was not precipitated on, not even a little. That right there would have made it noteworthy. I was also well-rested because I moved a short run from Thursday to Sunday (Thursday was my B-day), so I had two days' rest going into it. That gave me the confidence to really work on my pace, and I finished the 12 miles in 1:47:06, for a pace of 8:55! Holy crap! It went by in a flash. I don't think I need to tell you how much this boosts my confidence.

The questionable part was that I tried Shot Bloks for the first time. I sort of wondered how you were supposed to ingest them on the run, and then I read a suggestion that you sort of tuck a square into your cheek and let it dissolve. That's nice in theory, but in practice having my cheek puffed out messed with my breathing, and made me feel like a chipmunk. They took forever to dissolve (I ended up chewing them a little because I needed to take another square while the old one was still hanging around). Plus, my tummy (which normally doesn't bother me at all) seemed a little uneasy about the Bloks. It just gurgled and felt vaguely out of sorts. On the other hand – I kept up a 8:55 pace on a relatively long run, and that may be because I pretty much constantly had a Blok in my mouth. On my 19-miler this weekend I think I'll try them again – that is a true long run, and I'll be on one day's rest.

I’m not really nervous about nineteen – now that whatever was bugging me in January is gone I feel great about running. I am a bit anxious about the route, however. At the last minute I was invited to the beach this weekend (and I will never turn down a free beach weekend), so I'm trying to find a route nearby that seems safe. I emailed the local runner's club, hopefully they'll have some suggestions. And for the ice bath – into the ocean!! Can't wait.

Seventeen miles on Saturday – wow.

Even as I was running, I couldn't believe I was doing it. To think my long run just a few months ago was five!

I was indeed in the rain for three hours straight, although it did mix with snow for a while in the middle, which was nice. I think I made the right choice in what I wore, even though I was WAY more bundled up than any of the other runners I saw (all four of them). It's one thing to get soaked to the skin on my short runs during the week, when I can come home and take a hot shower right away. I was concerned about getting soaked in the first half-hour, then having two and half more hours in which to get all chafe-y and uncomfortable.

I'm now convinced that I had a bad, clingy cold the last few weeks. I feel like a new runner now. Not only did I have plenty of energy on Saturday night, on Sunday I was fine. I even contemplated going for a short run, but settled on some yoga and a long walk instead. It is such a huge relief to know that I wasn't feeling crummy from the running but from some lousy germs that I probably got from my dad (thanks, Pop).
***
Now that I'm into the highest mileages I'll be doing, I've been thinking a lot about what to eat after a long run. I know it's important to get a lot of protein, carbs, etc., but I wanted to avoid nutrition bars and recovery powder thingies because they are both expensive and of dubious, perhaps chemical origin. So I googled around for awhile and stumbled across a great recipe on a website which (of course) I cannot locate now. I would give credit where it is due if I wasn't such a spaz.

Anywho, the recipe is below. I really like it. It's fast & easy to make, it's muy tasty, and I can drink it while I'm doing other things like stretching or getting in the ice bath (AAAAHHHHH!).
1 cup milk (soy or dairy)
1/3 cu. of either powdered skim milk or soy protein powder
2 tbs. of instant pudding mix, for flavor and to thicken the shake (I use butterscotch…mmmmm)
4 ice cubes
Combine everything in a blender and pulse until smooth
The original recipe called for dairy milk and the milk powder, neither of which I have at home, ergo I used soy milk & powder. The result was super tasty. The pudding mix, while adding sugar, also makes the shake uber-palatable. I was worried it would be one of those "choke it down, its good for you" things, but now I look forward to it. It fills me up, gives me a lot of protein and carbs, and I haven't been as sore on Sundays since I've been making them (although that may be due to other things too – like shaking off that persistent cold). The added bonus is that it costs like 40 cents a shake, as opposed to $3 and higher for commercial brands.

PS - How much do ice baths *#$%&`%*#$ suck????

GO GIANTS!!!!!!!

They're not my Jets, but I'll take 'em!

Shave Your 5k Challenge

I might not be as crazy as Brian here, but among my friends & family I am the only person insane enough to train for a marathon (thus far). Ergo, I have no one to grill for information or beg for reassurance that I am not, in fact, certifiable. Thus I turn to you dear internet, custodian of all humanly wisdom, to be comforted by the fact that if I am insane, I am certainly not suffering alone.

One of the blogs I read with some regularity is Half-Fast. A few weeks ago he announced the Shave Your 5K Challenge. In one sentence: the challenge is to see who can improve their 5K time the most, both in plain minutes/seconds, and in percentage. I didn't hesitate to enter because: A) What a great name; B) I already have a qualifying time from the Ho-Ho 5K I ran in December; and C) That time was really slow. Nowhere to go but down! (She says now.) If you haven't already, you should head on over and check it out. Nothing like making your training goals public and trash-talking the competition to motivate some serious work-outs!

Maybe I'll stash them in a plastic baggie...

Ran at the gym during lunch yesterday, then promptly drank too much that night. We threw a party for a retiring coworker at a local bar. (Hey, only 40 years till I'm there!) Normally I'm pretty good at sticking to one or two, but last night drinks kept appearing in my hand as if by magic. I paid for maybe one drink yet imbibed many more over the course of four hours. When I got home (I wasn't driving, don't worry) I drank a ton of water and had some toast, so this morning I felt fine.

I'm trying to stay positive for tomorrow. It's still supposed to rain all day, so I'm steeling myself. There is no way in h-e-double-hockey-sticks that I'm running 17 miles inside, so outdoors it is. I'm going to wear rain pants over my running tights, and a slicker. I have to admit that in a masochistic way I like running in the rain. Somehow rainy runs seem to go by more quickly, maybe because my brain is too much occupied thinking "what the heck is wrong with me that I’m out here in the rain while other people are huddled in front of the fire drinking coffee?" to notice that time is passing. Plus whenever you come across another runner in the rain there is that treasured nod of acknowledgement for a fellow badass. There is one hands down bummer though – no matter where you stash your tissues, they get damp. You know what I mean. It's wintertime, its cold, you're running, you get the sniffles. In dry or snowy weather you can leave them in your jacket pocket and you'll be okay. But when you're out in the rain for three hours, tissues turn into a limp, soggy mess no matter how well you try to protect them.