My Next Marathon

Checking In

2010-06-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, that last post got found by the spambots. I was going to delete them all, but got bored.

Moving on. I finished the Timberline Marathon – what, nine months ago now? Yikes, time flies. During the race I was doing okay, jogging along, and then I tripped and landed awkwardly on my right leg. Nothing popped or broke, but I got a shooting pain in my knee/IT area. I hobbled along to the finish and took a long time off running. I needed a break. I'm now considering the Autumn Leaves 50K in October. No firm plans, but I'd like to try and get my act together to train for it. If I do get a schedule in place again, I'll start updating more. In the mean time, here's me getting cozy with my medal.

Tomorrow's the big day

2009-09-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving work at noon today to head up to Timothy Lake. I'm camping with a bunch of friends up there tonight, and running the marathon tomorrow! I'm supremely lucky to have such a great group of friends, who'll tramp up and down Oregon to watch me race. :-)

I'm not really nervous about the run. I went up two weeks ago and did the whole thing, to see if I could make the time cut-off. I did! And it really wasn't too bad. (If I was running, I would never do the whole course just two weeks before the real deal, but since I'm run-walk-shuffling, and it's on trails, I figured it wouldn't be too hard on my body.) I felt good even after driving the ninety minutes home, and the day after the dry run I was barely stiff at all. One interesting thing I tried on the practice run was to listen to music. I did about half the course without it, and then pulled out my iPod. It helped pass the time, for sure. I'd love to find another slowpoke to talk to during the race, but if I don't I will be plugging in ye olde ear phones.

I'm looking forward to knocking this one out and then taking a few months off to let my Achilles get all better. It's definitely on the road to better right now, but it's been flaring up now and then. Once this race is over I'm going to baby the hell out of it until the new year.

Yup, still here.

2009-08-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

Still planning to show up at the start line for Timberline. But I'll be prepared to stay on the course for six or seven hours rather than four.

In some ways walking a marathon seems more daunting than running. You're on the course a lot longer, and being at the back of the pack must wreck havoc on motivation. Yet I really can't take it as seriously as I've taken running marathons. I'm only walking twice or occasionally three times a week (though of course that isn't really true – I walk two miles a day getting to and from work). And one of those is a 3-mile loop around the waterfront at lunchtime. With five and a half weeks to go I've only gotten up to 18.5 miles walking. (That was last weekend on the Hunchback trail – pictures below.) I suppose it's because I think of it "only" walking. I do wonder if this marathon is going to school me.

Suppose I'll have to wait and see. I'm planning on getting in two 20+ miles hikes before the 19th, so I'll be marginally better prepared. At least I've been enjoying my time on the trails.

Pictures from last weekend:

Update

2009-07-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try some light jogging on the treadmill after work today. Fingers crossed, toes crossed, eyes crossed, etc. that my tendon cooperates. I'm actually quite nervous. I've been RICE-ing the thing religiously and haven't run in nine days. (ACK!) If it isn't feeling better today it will definitely be time to visit Dr. Awesome, aka my chiropractor. I emailed my GP (aka Dr. Useless) last week and he was (one guess) useless. I'm trying very hard to keep perspective and not freak out about skipping all these runs, but man it's hard.

I had been semi-planning on doing the Autumn Leaves 50k after Timberline. If I can start running easy again after today I might stick to that plan. But if not it seems wise to take it off the table. In any case I'll be planning a hiatus from racing for a while after this fall. (Famous last words, right?) I enjoy running, but I hate feeling nervous and fail-y when I have to skip runs, even for a good reason. It's extra stress I really don't need in my life. It's nice to have a running goal, but when it starts causing more misery than motivation its time to reevaluate.

Catch ya later

2009-07-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hard to be upset when the forecast looks like that. I'm off to have fun!

GODDAMIT

2009-07-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

I have some mild tendonitis in my right Achilles. Sigh. Whatever was bothering my calf has migrated south. I have a feeling it was the addition of speedwork into my routine, but regardless of the reason it both sucks and blows. God bless the internets for allowing me to do some dubious scientific research and figure out that the worst thing to do would be to run on it. So I gritted my teeth and skipped yesterday's run. Instead I rode the stationary bike at the gym for an hour and was rewarded with a terribly sore ass this morning.

Now I have to figure out what to do with myself tomorrow. Here’s the thing:
~~I need~~ I'm supposed to run 20 this weekend. I know that it won't kill me to not run twenty. In fact, in the grand scheme of things I know that never being able to run again wouldn’t kill me (though it might make me get fat, which is, of course, a fate worse than death). I know that I have to be smart here, and not aggravate the tendonitis and make it a true problem. I'd like to try running, but I'm afraid I'd have to stop right away, meaning I don't want to drive all the way down to Champoeg only to turn right around. But I don't want to try and run on like, asphalt either – not real forgiving. I could always run on the track, but can you imagine? 80 laps?? Good lord. But sadly, that might be the best option. It's close to home, flat, and forgiving. Of course, really…really I should probably not run at all. (AAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO) The tendon is feeling a lot better, a lot less tender to the pinch test. But still tender. Really, I should take the weekend off. I should. Really. Just not run this weekend. Just not run. I shouldn't run.

...My god, I'm a total addict.

Zigzag Mountain trail run

2009-07-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

Another gorgeous trail run. I headed due east out of town this time, heading straight toward the mountain. About a mile off Highway 26 I found the trailhead and got started. I had planned a 20-mile loop, and was carrying LOTS of water and food in my pack. I didn't know how far I would actually get, though, since I had 4th of July plans and needed to get back to my car by three-ish.

The trail started with an extended series of switchbacks - snooze. Also, wheeze. The first five miles (all switchbacks) gained about 4500' in elevation. I ran about 40% of this section. After the switchbacks the trail opened up a little bit. I was still in the trees, crossing back and forth over the top of the ridge. Above about 3000' the rhododendrons were still blooming:

I finally cleared the trees and got a great view to the southwest. There were all sorts of wildflowers out once the trees thinned. I also got to the top of a ridge and saw this great rock formation. It's hard to tell from this angle, but if you were to get closer to the edge you could look straight down several thousand feet - the area I was standing on was an overhang. Needless to say, I stayed well back. I crossed around to the north side again and got a great view of three other Cascade peaks. They don't show well in the photo, but L-R it's St. Helens, Rainier, and Adams. At this point I knew that I must be getting pretty close to Mt. Hood and would have an amazing view. But the trail was basically pointing right at the summit, so as long as I was climbing and crossing the ridge I wouldn't get a view. Ho hum. I kept running, dropping down a bit along the north side. Finally I could see a break in the trees up ahead:

Hello there! Let's go in the for the close-up.

Ahhh. Pay dirt. I kept going another couple of miles, until it was time to turn around. Didn't make it to the loop, so I made it an out-and-back, taking a few more pictures of wildflowers on the way.

I had about five and a half hours to spend trail running. The switchbacks had eaten up a lot of time heading up, but I hoped to make it up going back down. I started running at 9:15, turned around at noon, and made it back to the car at 2:03. So what took me 2:45 to climb up, took 2:03 to climb down (and that included two potty breaks - I was well-hydrated this time). I could've continued running for another few miles and still made it back by 3. Good to know - next time I'll have a better understanding of how much faster the downhills can be. Oh, and just because trail running is easier on the body doesn't mean that 5 miles of downhill switchbacks are "easy". My quads were cooperative but unhappy. Good practice, though, since Timberline loses 3000' of elevation along the course.

Of course, the requisite dirty foot shot:

Rockin'.

Despite last weekend's near-tragedy, I've been having a lot of fun with this training. It's really nice to look forward to a long run itself - not "getting it done" or putting in the distance, but the actual experience of running. And since trail running forces you to use all sorts of different muscles and take breaks for downed trees, bad footing, steep bits, etc., I haven't been nearly as sore. I've kind of fallen back in love with running, after being totally sick of it near the end of training for Newport. Hurrah!

Twin Lakes: Interrupted; or How I Nearly Became a Darwin-Award Nominee

2009-06-29T10:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah. The scoreboard of Saturday's trail run would read: Trails 1, Becca 0 (although I didn't actually die, so maybe it would be a tie instead). Basically, through my own stupidity I almost got in real trouble. And I didn't even get to see a single lake, let alone Twins! Here's what happened:
Good friend and running buddy Tina got to my house around 7:45. We took off south toward Bull of the Woods wilderness area in Mt. Hood National Forest. I will definitely be heading back there this summer – the drive from my house to the ranger station was easy and gorgeous. Classic Oregon brochure scenery: the rushing, rocky Clackamas river surrounded by steep, green mountain walls; and every time we crested a ridge there were views of dozens of green foothills fading into the horizon. And that was just the drive! I was excited.

Trying to find the Whetstone Mountain trailhead (above) was an adventure. We got on unpaved FR 7020 and drove….and drove…and drove. At one point we saw relatively fresh horse manure and figured we must be close to the trail, only to turn a corner and see a wild horse – seriously! It was a bit creepy really, and I kept expecting it to crash out of the brush in front of my car. Mount Hood isn't know for its wild horses, so we asked the rangers on the way out what the scoop was. Apparently, horses escape from local towns every now and then and make their way up into the mountains. They were very interested in our report and had us locate on the map approximately where we saw it.

Rhododendrons

Eventually we found the trailhead, about half an hour later than planned. Tina is a bit slower than I am, and she was only planning on 12 miles while I wanted to make 16, so I got started before her. At first I tried to jog up at least part of the uphills, knowing full well I wouldn't be running up all of them at 4500'-6000' of elevation. I ran all the flats and downhills unless the footing was uncertain. I'd guesstimate that I ran about 75% of the length of the trail, which translated to about 60% of the time I spent on the trail, as the lengths I had to walk obviously took a lot longer to get through.

The trail was overgrown in parts

The weather was perfect, although I was surprised how hot it was given our elevation. High seventies or 80 degrees, I'd guess. I was drinking water responsibly, and was thirstier than I'd expected. That, unfortunately, was the problem. Normally when I'm running 16 miles I would fill all four bottles of my fuel belt, totaling 32 ounces, and that would be sufficient. But if I was planning to hike 16 miles, I would have brought at least 64 ounces of water. I don't know why I thought the lesser amount would suffice, but I left the car with only about 40 ounces of water. And I didn't pay close attention to how much water I had left until I turned around and realized that I had to run all the way back with about 12 ounces of water. I immediately realized what a stupid decision I had made and hurried to try and catch up with Tina, who had turned around earlier than me.

Lots of nice views of the lumpy, slightly homlier side of Mt. Hood

Well, long story short(er), I managed to crawl back to the car, but only because I swallowed my pride (or it evaporated out of me) and begged water off another lady on the trail. If I hadn't passed her, I am sure that I would have either given in and drunk from the next stream I passed (in which case I'd probably still be huddled close to a toilet somewhere) or lost my mind and done something dangerous.

The sky was so blue it seemed almost purple - the camera didn't get it

Could I have died? Hiking or trail running always carries risks, of course. Probably not of dehydration in this case, as Tina would have come to find me eventually. But I had gotten to the point that I wasn't thinking clearly, increasing the likelihood that I would do something terminally dumb. Plus, I spent the entire second half of the run preoccupied with how dehydrated I was getting, rather than enjoying being out in nature. I'm just very angry at myself – I like to think I'm a pretty smart cookie but you wouldn't know it from this. Anyway, I made it back to the car, slowly drank a ton of water, and went to bed at 7:30. I could not make myself eat that night, so I was famished the next morning and promptly ate everything in site, washed down with about 100 ounces of Propel. After that I felt pretty much fine. I consider it a lesson very well learned.

Dirty and scratched up and happy to be alive!

Oh, and why didn't I see the Twin Lakes? I missed the marker. Tina did too, so I don't feel bad about it. :-)

I kind of loved intervals last night.

2009-06-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

Who knew? I would've loved them more if not for some nagging pain in my right calf. I'm hoping it's nothing serious…I rested up so much after Newport because I wanted to get rid of these nagging pains. Why does the universe never listen?

Anyway, intervals = fun, at least when you aren't timing yourself or pushing so hard you melvin. I couldn’t find my watch last night, and the calf kept me from going balls-to-the-wall, so I had somewhat leisurely 4x1K intervals with 400m rest. I did ramp up my speed considerably during the intervals, and really wanted to stop at the end of the fourth one, but didn't kill myself. Again, I'm trying to enjoy my training more this go-round, not necessarily get faster or hit a time goal. I liked the intervals because I wasn't so focused on how long I'd been running (i.e. how soon can I stop). It broke up the monotony of a flat six mile run and actually made it enjoyable. Plus it was nice to run on the track, outside, in the sun. Happiness.

Today I took a free weights class at the gym during lunch. I LOVE and ADORE and HATE this class. Like a lot of women I feel self-conscious using the free weight area on my own because it's full of grunting, sweaty guys making odd faces and checking themselves out. (And what is with those sleeveless shirts where the arms holes sag down to their belly button? Flank cleavage, not so great actually.) This class is held in the group exercise room separate from the weight floor and run by this tiny woman who must have about 2 percent body fat. She pushes and pushes and pushes until we're all trembling and broken and full of hate. It's awesome. I would never on my own find the motivation to work so hard.

First trail run of the season! With mixed results

2009-06-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

First of all, Powell Butte is gorgeous. Totally, amazingly beautiful. As I was confronted with one striking view after another I really wished I'd brought a camera (pic above from flickr - one of the "domesticated" trails). It didn't hurt that all the wildflowers were blooming, and the mountains kept ducking in and out of the scattered clouds. I was reminded of why I decided to move out here in the first place.

The run itself wasn't great. The trails on Powell Butte all loop back on each other making it hard to track mileage, so I was thinking I'd just lope around for 2.5 hours. Well, I made it an hour and forty minutes. Fail. I probably should've realized I'd never make it ~15 miles on the first trail run of the year, in new shoes, while nursing a sake hangover (NEVER AGAIN!) and battling dehydration. Um, duh? How long have I been running?? Sometimes I wonder about myself. Anyway I'm just going to move on and work on improving this week. Today is 30-40 minutes on the stair master (my arch-nemesis! hiss!) and boat practice. Tuesday I try intervals – kind of dreading it. Okay, really dreading it. There is a track right around the corner from my house, so I'm going to head home after work and put off going as long as possible. Oh wait, no, I mean, "get right to it". I really hope the middle school marching band isn't practicing there Tuesday nights this year.

I'm curious to see how well I do under this training plan. Hopefully I will stay nagging-ache-free, which will be a vast improvement. But a big part of why I didn't plan a full fall marathon last year was that summertime equals overbooked for me -could be difficult to fit in the required cross-training. I think (sigh) I will have to start bike commuting again. I live far enough away from work that it could be my cross-training Mondays and Wednesdays. Here's the thing though…don't tell anyone… I don't really like bike commuting. (In Portland that's tantamount to sacrilege.) A couple of reasons: it's long enough that I work up a sweat both ways (although obviously more so on the way home since its about 40 degrees warmer) so I have to get to work with time enough to shower; there is a weird woman who is always in the showers at the same time as I am and it makes me uncomfortable (she's SO unfriendly!); and I don't like getting stressed out (by cars passing too close or running stop signs, inconsiderate cyclists, super-fast down hills, dogs, buses, dump trucks, street corners full of seasonal workers with nothing better to do than leer, etc.) before I even get to work.

Oh yeah, one more thing. New shoes! I mentioned it in passing, but here they be:

The Salomon XT Whisper. So far so good. I very rarely get blisters (KNOCK ON WOOD EXTREMELY HARD) so no issues there. The back half of the sole is thicker than I'm used to, but that's not a big deal on trails since they really force you to hit with your forefoot. The only possible issue for me is the tongue. The shoe has one of those pulley-deals that tightens the laces for you. You then tuck the pulley mechanism and the excess lace into a little pouch in the tongue. It ended up bulging enough to occasionally rub against the skin right above the shoe a few times when I was heading up a steep incline. It wasn't too bad on this run, but on longer outings it might drive me insane. We'll see this weekend, when I head out to Bull Mountain for 16 miles.

Better late than never, right?

2009-06-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

Three days after Newport I flew home to NY for work & a few vacation days, so I'm just now getting around to a race report. Overall I had a great weekend, and would recommend Newport to pretty much anyone.

I took a half-day at work and carpooled out to the coast with my friend Sandy. She spent the night camping with a bunch of other friends that night at Beverly Beach, while I opted for a real bed and a quiet night at the Shilo Inn. (Totally the right call!) I drank a ton of water and mindlessly watched TV to calm down. I had no problem getting to sleep around 10, and woke up at 5:15 am relatively bright and cheery. I got all packed up and checked out, and made it to the Embarcadero Resort by ten after six. The Embarcadero is the finish line of the marathon; there were shuttle buses to the start line about a mile and half away. My hotel was actually quite close to the start, but there was no way to get back to the start from the finish. So rather than worry about it, I just parked at the finish (whew, tired already).

I met up with Tina and Dan to catch a shuttle to the start. It was chilly but I was comfortable enough in shorts and t-shirt. The ocean was theoretically to our left, but thick fog socked in the entire point. About 800 people lined up at the start. I was ready to go but seven AM came and went with no horn…just more time to get nervous. Eep. I was glad I knew the majority of the course, but still…26.2 miles is a long way. Why do I do this again?

Before I could sneak away and hide the horn went off. There were no timing chips, but it only took about 20 seconds to cross the start. The first five miles or so are made up of rolling hills as you go down to the water and back up toward Highway 101 in Newport. It wasn't terribly scenic, as the ocean was still M.I.A. and we were running behind houses and hotels. I found my first pace bunny at this point, a tiny little woman wearing a Maniacs singlet. I unobtrusively mimicked her pace. Soon we looped around past the starting point and down to the boardwalk. We headed up the one "major" hill in front of the Embarcadero and then were on the Bay Road proper, our home for the next ~20 miles. Right after the hill I started chatting with my Maniac pacer, and a few other ladies who'd settled in around us. I don't really remember most of it, just general marathon chat. We were doing around 8:50/min miles. Knowing I would slow down in the second half, I figured that would still be good for an under-four hour finish. As I told one of the ladies, I really just wanted to finish feeling good and happy. I lost most of them around mile 11 when I grabbed a cup of HEED on the go rather than stop.

I was glad to have people to talk to, because miles 7 through 9 are the ones I struggle with the most. By that point I've started to get tired, but there is nothing to "celebrate" yet – I haven't made it halfway, or even to the double digits. Thinking of the miles or time I have left is just depressing, as is trying to imagine passing these same landmarks again on the way back, two hours from now. Ugh. Miles 11-17 (the turnaround) are a blur…I honestly don't remember much. Once we got away from the ocean the fog lifted and it was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. Around mile 15 the lead runners starting passing us coming back. My lower back started to hurt, which was odd – I don't normally have any back problems. Luckily it didn't get beyond a vague ache. I also got a butt cramp – WTF? I've never in my life gotten a literal pain in my ass. Weird. It was totally bearable, and went away after a few minutes, but still weird.

I got something of a second wind after the turnaround, always pleasant. I'd say that carried me through to about 21-22, at which point I went on autopilot. One foot in front of the other. Motivational strategies: "Just a typical lunch-time run left;" "Just a quick run to 148th and back left;" "ONLY TWO G-D MILES LEFT". I did actually find myself saying "living in a VAN down by the RIVER" a couple of times. Awesome.

I lucked out at the end of the marathon. I'd been sticking with an older woman, not letting her getting too far ahead of me. About two miles out her boyfriend met her to pace her in to the finish. I let him pace me in too, of course! That definitely kept me from fading in the home stretch. I made sure to thank them in the finisher's area.

The last .2 miles is a steep downhill, which actually sucked. My quads were dead, and I didn't want to risk any knee issues by taking it too fast. I tried to find my friends at the finish as I came around the corner but there was a pretty big crowd. I could see the clock as I entered the chute. 3:57! Yay! My immediate need was for water. Water water water. I'd been careful to get a full drink of water or HEED at each aid station and sip from my fuel belt, up until the last four or so miles. At that point I just couldn’t stand the thought of water or HEED or Gatorade, or anything other than "FINISH LINE, KEEP MOVING, FINISH LINE, KEEP MOVING."

I showered and hung out with Tina and Dan (and got my yummy finisher's beer) until after the awards ceremony. (I won a raffle prize! A giant bottle of Hammer Gel, woohoo!) The rest of the weekend I spent sitting and/or shuffling around the campground. Oh and eating, of couse. Good times.

I took a couple of things away from this race. One, I'd really like to try a marathon without my fuel belt. That thing just cramps my style. I'm always aware that it's on, and jostling, and I never even finish the Gatorade. I'm contemplating buying a hand-held bottle. Second, I need to figure out how to get more even split times in the big M. I don't hit the wall exactly. It's more like each mile from 18 on hands me a brick that slows me down by 5 seconds. I sort of putter out.

Next up is the Timberline Marathon September 19th. Technically I should've started training last week, but I'm not running until this Saturday, when I'll head up to Powell Butte for 15 miles. I've been doing the Stairmaster, elliptical, weight training, etc., just not running. I did a couple of quick 3-5 mile runs the week after Newport and felt pretty good. I just don't want to push it. Timberline is going to be an experi-marathon. I'm using a three-day program with FIVE twenty-milers (yikes). The distance doesn't worry me though, because I'll never run two days in a row – goodbye overuse problems! Also, I'm going to try to do all my long runs either on trails or at elevation in preparation. (I already know one 20-miler will be on pavement at sea level, because I'll be in Victoria, BC that weekend.) We'll see. I'm looking forward to getting in some great trail runs around the area, and having the freedom to have fun this summer and not be chained to a training schedule.

3:57:39

2009-06-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

And I finished feeling good! Yay!

Still a bit gimpy but feeling awesome.

Goals and whatnot

2009-05-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

Quick rundown of my race goals: 1) Enjoy the race and finish happy 2) Beat my PR, 4:05:39 3) Sub-4 hour finish 4) 3:50. This is about an 8:45/mile pace, one I know I can hold on a good day – which is what I'm going to have tomorrow.

Weather looks good, partly sunny with a high of 65. Fingers are crossed that the wind will be calm. I'm starting to get some pre-race jitters, but they're mild. There has been so much going on the past few weeks, and I have so much coming up, that this race has sort of become just another item on my to-do list. Which is kind of nice, actually – there's been no time to freak out about it.

Last year I had a list of things that I was going to think about if I found myself struggling in the last few miles. I ended up not needing it, thanks to the giant hill that took up miles 21 and 22. You might think it's cruel to have the only big hill on the course near the very end but it worked out really well for me. I was so focused on getting to the top of the hill that I didn't think about what mile I was on, and then the last three miles were an easy downhill. So even though I was hurting, there was no way I was going to stop – not on a downhill! I hope to have another good finish tomorrow, but it never hurts to be prepared. 1) Head up, shoulders back – run proud 2) Breathe. In-in, out-out. 3) Look around you, enjoy the scenery 4) And for extra motivation if things get really bleak out there: "You're not going to amount to JACK SQUAT! You're gonna end up eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!"

Have a great weekend! I know I will.

Three days and I'll be done!!

2009-05-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

Whoops, no I'm not dead or anything. Just feeling kind of impatient for this to be over. I started off this training cycle really well, but ever since I went on vacation/got sick in March, it's been a real struggle. So I'm excited to get it done and try something new. I feel pretty good about Newport. Not really nervous yet – I think it will hit Friday night. Even though my mileage has not been great I completed all my really long runs, so I know I'll get through it. I was just hoping to do more than "get through it." Actually I'm really looking forward to this weekend because we have a bunch of friends coming down to camp at Beverly Beach and cheer us on. Then I'll be joining them on Saturday night. We camp every year about this time, and it's always a blast – and this time I'll have an excuse to eat so much.

My longest run, 22.5 miles along the course in Newport, was HARD. HARD HARD HARD. There was a strong wind coming off the ocean (I know, duh) and coming back in was like running in a wind tunnel. (However, the day after our long run it was completely calm, even on the beach. We've all got our fingers crossed that the 30th will be the same.) I think because I was babying my calves I ended up overusing my quads – whatever the reason, the latter sputtered at about mile 16. The last two miles were absolute torture. My end point was the one-mile marker on the bay road, and I have never, ever wanted something to arrive so badly. Not even the finish line of my first marathon. I kept thinking it was around each corner and getting more and more frantic to finish before my legs fell off. And the next day I was walking like Lurch – again, it was worse than the day after Yakima. Weird. Looking back I'm still not sure what the deal was: I hydrated; I took some salt at the turnaround; I took gels and bloks pretty regularly. It wasn't cramps, they were just exhausted. I can only hope that race day shapes up better.

The calf thing is still hanging around. Since I was already screwed in regards to the plan I drafted up months ago I figured I might as well tweak my schedule to try and get rid of the calf pain as much as possible. It's not distance that makes them hurt, it's running multiple days in a row. So I've been combining runs, or skipping one and putting in the time on the stairmaster instead. It's been working for me so far. I was supposed to run 4 yesterday and 4 today – instead I ran 8 yesterday and will spend 45 minutes sweating my a** off at the gym. (Seriously, I sweat so much on the stairmaster, I'm plastered with it. Whereas I barely sweat at all when I run, even on the treadmill.) Yesterday's run was nice – it was partly sunny, not too warm, nice breeze. A little soreness in the first mile but then I shook it off and was fine. I kept trying to think positive thoughts, visualize good results, etc. I got to mile 6 though, and thought "gee, on race day I'll have 20.2 more to go…"

GODDAMIT BRAIN, WE'VE BEEN OVER THIS!
Sigh.

And for no good reason, a picture of us girls getting ready for 80s prom at the Kennedy School earlier this month:

That flushing sound is my training going down the toilet

2009-05-06T11:50:00.000-07:00

Yeah. Yikes. I never skipped a single run during my first round of marathon training last year. I moved some around, combined some, etc. But I hit my mileage every week. This time? Not so much. That calf pain I mentioned last week has stuck around. On Saturday I was scheduled to run 13 miles but only made 9, then skipped Sunday's run all together. I was really hoping that giving it a rest day would fix everything, but Monday's run was hard too. And yesterday I barely hung on for four miles. Five minutes browsing around the interwebs leads me to believe there is something going on with my Soleus muscle. But regardless of what oddly named muscle is bugging me, the prescription is the same: rest. I have my longest training run planned for this Saturday, 22 miles. If I can have a good final long run I'll be fine. So with that in mind I'm skipping the other two runs planned this week. My inner couch potato is ecstatic, but most of me is pissed. I'm definitely getting my hands on Run Less, Run Faster for Timberline.

Junk miles averted thanks to some Teutonic beweggrund!

2009-05-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

I rarely listen to music when I run, especially outside. I find it distracting in a not-good way (like when Inappropriate Speedo Man parades around the gym pool). But when I know a run is going to be particularly tedious I bring my iPod because the tunes help pass the time. My lower legs have been feeling unhappy since Tuesday, so I grabbed the iPod to get me through yesterday's six miles.

The first three miles were just terrible. My calves were complaining vocally and I couldn’t muster any speed at all. Then around mile 1.5 I got passed. Normally I have no problem getting passed – there are many runners out there who are much faster than me and I'm hip to that. In fact there's this one woman who frequently chicks me when I run the SC at lunchtime (lousy so-and-so). Anyway, it wasn't the fact that I got passed, it was the Passer that bugged me. It was this girl and well, not to hate on her, but she did not look like she ran a lot. I don't mean that she was heavy (I'm living in a glass house on that one) but she had NO muscle tone in her legs. You know what I mean – whether you want it or not, running tends to make for some alarmingly defined calves and thighs. This girl, not so much. And I was all, dang it, I'm getting passed by some chick who runs twice a month? Sigh. I kept hoping she'd turn around at each half-mile marker so that I could at least salvage some small shred of pride in knowing that I was going longer than she was. Nope. I turned around at 3 miles having been thoroughly served.

Back to the music thing (aka what was supposed to be the point). After turning around I took a minute to stretch out my calves, hoping they'd feel better. I started off in my pathetic jog again, cursing Phideppides, when these dulcet tones came into rotation on my iPod:

Yes! Awesome! Yes! It's Rammstein, everyone's favorite mask-wearing, moonshine-swilling, car-exploding German industrial metal band! Immediately I perked up.

Am I going to let this stupid ribbon of pavement beat me? NEIN!
Am I going to plod home in misery? NEIN!
Will I relegate this run to junk miles? Heck NEIN!

No joke, I started sprinting like the car behind me was on fire. It was wicked – like running a 5k where you just put everything you have out there. Sweeeeeet. I made it back to the start in like, half the time, and wasn't dragging at the end. At all. "Bring it on!" I was thinking. I wanted to break into a little Muhammad Ali shadow-boxing action at the stoplight but thought better given the large crowds of people around me. Now if only Inappropriate Speedo Man would do the same…
*
PS - Just for good measure I got hailed on again, while out in the boat Monday night. It was kind of a kick, actually. I got soaking wet despite being reasonably well water-proofed but hey, it is a water sport.

A springtime rite of passage

2009-04-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Getting hailed on, that is. Glad I didn't miss out this year. The forecast for Saturday was 30% chance of showers, same as the rest of the drizzly week. I was mentally prepared to run through a few spells of light rain, so when I got to mile 14 dry & chafe-free I was pretty darn happy. Then the sky opened up in a complete downpour. Okay, that was bad enough. Then a quarter mile later hail started muscling in and taking over. My forearms and legs were bare, and that shit stung. Out loud, to no one, I asked "Seriously? Is this really necessary?" The hail lasted maybe thirty seconds all together; the rain kept going for about two miles. It wasn't a disaster, but I would've dressed differently if I'd known I would get soaked to the skin with 10k to go. I had the shakes by the time I got home and took a hot shower before the ice bath. (I've gotten over trying to talk myself out of the damn things.)

Other than that it was a pretty good run, except I got out of the car at the trail and immediately had to pee… four miles from the nearest bathroom. Good practice for the race, I guess. Last year I had to pee at the race start and didn't have a chance to go until mile 16. My overall pace was a bit slower than I would've liked, but I felt immensely strong in the second half. No long-run aches until about mile 19. I couldn’t believe it when I realized how I felt with a mile to go – light-years away from how I felt during 20-milers last year. Yay!

Hill run, and misc. rambling

2009-04-24T14:40:00.001-07:00

I decided to do my patented four-mile hill run at lunch today. Since tomorrow's twenty miles will be on the flatter-than-flat Springwater Corridor, I figured today was the day to work the hill muscles. Plus it was sunny! Not warm or anything, but beggars can't be choosers. I know it's not exactly an ideal hill run because it's just one big up and one big down. But again, it's what I got. I could get more ups and downs if I ran uptown but then I'd be dodging people and risking jaywalking tickets left and right. (Now yes, I imagine I could outrun the average police officer. But what if he was astride a Segway?? Not worth the risk.) It's much more peaceful to run up among the ritzy houses in the West Hills, where the only people I ever see are mailmen and migrant workers pruning elaborate hedges.
*
I've been thinking about joining Portland's Team Red Lizard for a while. I put it off because: a) they are intimidating (not that I really know who "they" are); and b) I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit to training harder. This article in the Times made me reconsider, so I checked out the TRL website. As I was browsing around I found this fantastic article by their track coach Rick Lovett. It got me thinking: I am definitely still a beginning runner, racking up PRs because I've barely started training my body to go faster than a brisk walk. I ran a lot in high school and college, then took a four-year hiatus before starting to train for Yakima in fall 2007. It's been about a year and a half since then. Recent illness aside, I've definitely gotten faster. Rick's article makes me wonder how fast I could be. But it's also reassuring…in some ways it takes the pressure off. As soon as I signed up for a second marathon my thoughts went to qualifying for Boston, because it’s an exclusive marathon and a goal that’s recognizable even to people who don't run. It's nice to be reminded that *hello*, it's only my second marathon. I have years and years to get used to running and get better at it. I don't need to put all this pressure on myself and set up a potentially unrealistic goal. My goal should be to finish happy & strong. On that note, TGIF!

Chin up soldier! And bonus public transport rant.

2009-04-23T08:42:00.001-07:00

Ran a little over six miles on Tuesday. I was a bit worried because I still felt fatigue in my legs at the start, but once I got out and loosened up I found another great groove. My legs were tired but happily truckin' along on autopilot. I wonder if that's what the high mileage (y'know, comparatively) gives you – the ability to get through runs in good shape, even when you're fatigued. Yesterday it was drizzly so I ran five on the treadmill and got back up to 7.2 mph for three miles. The last half mile I went up to 7.5 - yay! I'm finally getting back to where I was six weeks ago.

Today is another five miles and another rainy day, so I'm going to try to do three miles at 7.4 - we'll see. I'm going to give it all I have. I read a quote somewhere in the wilds of the internet that the marathon is your reward for training so hard. It made me realize that with all that's been going on I really haven't been pushing. I don't blame myself, and it was probably a good idea to ease off while I was recovering from the flu. But now that I'm feeling good again I have to re-light the fire under my ass and stop tossing off runs at 6.6 mph. Even if my time goal has changed, that's not an excuse to stop trying to go faster.
*
Boat practice has really kicked into high gear this month. I ran into a little overlap last year between running and paddling, but it was only a few weeks in the very beginning of the season, so it didn't matter if I skipped a lot of practices. This year the marathon is almost two months later, which obviously makes a big difference when trying to balance the two. I've told our team manager that Saturdays are out for me until June, but that means making it to both mid-week practices. Which in turn means pulling a lot of doubles, running and paddling in the same day. It's actually not that physically challenging, because they use completely opposite muscle groups. Instead it's a mental/motivational stress thing, trying to remember to pack everything I need for both activities, fit runs in around work and practice, find time to eat, get over tiredness. Usually I end up cranky and not wanting to do one or other. Since I'm a lead this year, and one of the more experienced paddlers, I've really been trying to be positive and upbeat, which is hard when you feel pissy. Ugh. But considering I just signed up for a fall marathon I'd better figure out how to manage it more gracefully, since I'll be training all summer now.

Okay, one more thing. Part of the stress of managing both activities stems from the fact that I commute by bus into work. I keep my paddle and PFD at the office, so I don't have to carry them in twice a week, thank GOD. I have to bring everything else for the day with me, though, which means trying to be focused and competent at 6:30 in the morning, pre-coffee. Some days are better than others. Anyway, I've been riding various Portland-area buses into downtown for four years. About 90% of the time, everything runs smoothly and I'm a happy camper. The bus is on-time, it's not unbearably crowded, no one is shouting into their cell phone about their genital warts (oh yes, that has happened). But that other 10%...damn. Those times make me wish I had "00" status and the attendant license to kill. I would be tough but fair in meting out justice. Last night was one of those days. Rather than re-hash it all and get my blood pressure back up, let's just say that thanks to Trimet I got an extra two-mile "cool-down" walk in a frigid wind, I learned all about why a profoundly unattractive woman is fighting with her boyfriend (FYI, he hasn’t paid his share of the rent), and got home 36 minutes late. Sigh. It's probably a good thing I wasn't armed.

It was the best of runs, it was the worst of runs. (Not that kind of runs, people.)

2009-04-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

Luckily the long run (13 miles) was the great one. My social calendar was packed on Saturday so I ran early. The day started off cool and overcast, so I was glad I brought a jacket. I kept it on until the last three miles or so, when the sun came out enough to leave me with some awkward little tan lines. I wore my watch but was determined not to focus on my pace; my only goal was to finish in under two hours (which I did – check!). Around the five-mile mark I started getting that tired feeling I've been having. But I ran through it and by the time I headed back from Gresham I was feeling good. Actually I was feeling GREAT – I was in the zone something fierce, and the last five miles or so flowed by with hardly any effort on my part at all. And NO tightness, not even in the usual long-run spots. Plus the mountain was back from winter hiding, and looking very postcard-y, and everything was blooming and pretty and smelling pleasant, plus the bikers were out in full force (mrrrrow!). I love runs like that, and of course it was a big confidence booster.

That's why I'm not letting Sunday's awful run bother me. I woke up really feeling those 34 miles in the bank already. I decided to put off my run until later in the day, hoping I'd get some pep back. But 'twas not to be. It was partially my own stupid fault too – I was dehydrated, and decided that running during the hottest part of the day would be nice, not torturous. So I was tired, thirsty, sore, really hot, and my stomach hurt. I was supposed to make it 6 miles but I only clocked 4.5. Not worried though – I'm proud that I made it to 38.5 miles the week after running exactly 0. I've also decided that I'm not a six-day a week type of runner. Too much wear and tear on the gams, plus the bother of fitting runs into my work & boat practice (& social) schedule, wrangling multiple changes of clothes in my gym bag, etc. I prefer doing longer runs four times a week versus running every day. I'm learning!

Getting better all the time

2009-04-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

I ran 6 miles outside after work on Tuesday, risking the erratic spring weather. It was one of those sunny-raining-hail-sunny days. Luckily the hour I was out on the Springwater was dry. The sun chose to make an appearance as I was crossing the Hawthorne Bridge and staring right at it, which I didn't appreciate. But it's silly (and risky) to complain about the sun coming out, so I'll stop. Portland needs all the vitamin D it can get right about now.

I didn't have to take any walking breaks, but in the middle I slowed down noticeably before bouncing back in last two miles. My right foot started hurting, though, boo. I'm hoping it was random foot pain and not something that will start nagging. Yesterday was a rest day, which was slightly weird – felt like I was playing hooky. But I'll run every other day this week, so I milked it and did nothing but take a walk at lunchtime. I have a feeling that I'll be exhausted by Sunday.

*
I was impulsive this morning and signed up for the Timberline Marathon in September (view from the start line at right). I really like trail running, and hopefully this will motivate me to do more of it this summer. I've been thinking about the race and how I'll fit training into my summer schedule, plus doing some rumination on running in general. I like running, obviously, or I wouldn't spend so much time doing & talking & thinking about it. What I don’t like about marathon training is feeling worn down. I think that if I varied my activities more and ran less I would feel better. (Not a new idea I realize, but a new approach for me.) I'm going to stick with my planned schedule for Newport, but try a new approach for Timberline. Rather than strictly follow a daily schedule like I've done so far, I'm going to play this one a little looser. I think I'll have a long-run plan for weekends but let the rest of the week shape up however I want it to. I want to do more weight training and cross-training (and if I bike commute like last year, that's a solid built-in workout every day). I think I'll find it more fulfilling to have a fun, relaxing, diverse summer than to have a few minutes' faster time in a race. Guess we'll see!

Plans Derailed

2009-04-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

So, I'm alive. And I made it through the half-marathon, more on that below. But I spent the entirety of last week prostrate with an awful flu. AN AWFUL, TERRIBLE, NO-GOOD FLU, just to make sure we're clear. I haven't been that sick in years. I had lots of time to think about it while holding very still in bed, and the last time I felt so totally shitty was 2002. And that was just a 36-hour stomach bug – I can't remember the last time I was laid up for a full week. It was back when my mommy would bring me OJ and cold washcloths. I'm still nowhere near one-hundred percent, but at least I'm bathed and out of my PJs.

I didn't run at all last week. Not once. In fact if you add up the steps I took around the house (and occasionally to the mailbox) you probably don't even get a tenth of a mile. Now luckily last week was my mid-training recovery week, where I was scheduled to drop down in mileage. The longest run I missed was eight miles. But. A week of forced immobility is not the same as a recovery week. Today I tried to get back on schedule and ran five miles on the treadmill. Correction: ran most of five miles. I stopped at 2.75 and 4 miles to take cough breaks (sorry everyone near me – I'm not contagious anymore, promise) and get my HR down. At this point the last thing I want to do is drag out my recovery by pushing too hard. (I'm sure it doesn't help that I ate approximately nothing last week.) But I don't feel like I can take another week off and catch back up. So I'm going to take as many walk breaks as I need, but hit the mileage. I still have six weeks to convalesce fully. Unless I get to feeling really good really fast, I'm throwing my time goals for the marathon out the window. New goal will just be to beat the current PR.

Speaking of PRs, I did manage to wrest one from Race for the Roses, despite feeling distinctly wilted. 1:50:05, and if you think that :05 haunts me, you are correct. I did decide to race without my watch and paid the terrible price. Damn five seconds. I stuck with the 8:30 pace group for the first eight miles or so, until we turned on to the out-and-back section on Naito. The pace leader (who otherwise did a fantastic job) had a tendency to hurry through water stops. I think that's fine when you’re spread out like most of the mass of runners, but there were quite a few people sticking with him, and when we came to an aid station we overwhelmed them. Since I wasn't carrying anything I was careful to get enough liquids which meant having to hustle and catch up with the group afterward. I wanted to build up a little lead on him so that I could take my sweet time at the stops. Plus I was feeling okay, like I could go faster. So I pulled away and spent the final five miles (once again) trying to outrun annoying talkers behind me. They have every right to talk on the course, good for them, whatever. It's still annoying.

I didn't finish much ahead of the pace group, maybe 90 seconds. But it was enough for a PR, so I'm happy-ish. Still bummed that I was sick, because I know I have more in me. But what are ya gonna do? After finishing I met up with Tina and Dan, who'd run the 5k (and placed in their age groups – woohoo! spinny medals!). I was feeling progressively worse and developing a fever so I headed home. Or would've headed home if the Max was running. Instead I waited on the platform for an hour until an accident was cleared. Then I headed home. After a shower I parked myself on the couch, and pretty much didn't move for six days. All-in-all, not my best race.

PS - I did race in the new Mizunos. No problemos.

Race weekend!

2009-04-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since I raced. Glad it's here, even if it means getting up at 5 (shudder) 30 (tremble) AM (Noooooo!) on a weekend. And the Portland weather is actually going to cooperate, knock on wood: this weekend is forecast sunny with highs in the mid-60s. Of course, when we start running at 7 it will be dark and 45 degrees. Still. It's better than dark, cold, AND rainy. My friends (and fellow Newport racers-to-be) Tina and Dan are running the 5k, which starts half an hour after the half. If Tina gets near her 5k PR, she could easily be one of the top in her age group – go Tina!

I'm giving myself two rest days, as usual. It's worked for me before, and given how worn-out I've been feeling it can't hurt. I checked out the course and the aid station maps. No water belt necessary, and I'm debating whether or not to wear my watch (if I forget it again, the issue is obviously moot). I don't want to obsess about my time, so I think I might skip it. There is an 8:30/mile pace group in this race, which I'm going to join at packet pick-up. 8:30 is two seconds faster than my PR in the half, so if I can stick with them I'll PR by 26 seconds (it still counts!!), and if I feel good at the half I can try for a little negative split. It would be awesome to get something in the 1:40s but I'm going to listen to my bod and not push things too much. Particularly since my schedule has me running on Monday next week.

As much as I'm looking forward to this race, I'm also very frustrated right now. I KNOW I was on track for a PR before I got sick – I ran a 13-mile training run at 8:22 and felt dandy. The desire to PR is still extremely strong, even though I had to dramatically scale back my speed in training. I'm really trying to be positive and not beat myself up over it, but dangit, I want a PR. Oh well. The noble truth of suffering is good for my spiritual health.
*
I think I need new shoes. I made the mistake of not tracking the mileage on my current Mizunos, but I'm pretty sure 500 has come and gone. I'm even thinking about running the race on Sunday in new shoes. I know, I know – bad idea. But I've been wearing the same model of shoe for three years. And it's only 13 miles, right?...

We're a big bunch of masochistic weirdos

2009-04-01T10:43:00.001-07:00

I had to jog 50 feet to catch the bus this morning and my legs complained. Boo. It's ironic that I run so much in training that I can't actually run in real life when I need to.

Yesterday was typical spring weather – dreary, with rain showers all day. So I was at the gym come five to bang out six miles. The gym crowds have thinned since January but wet weather can still bring them inside in droves (course I'm part of the herd too - moo). I try to avoid doing more than four miles on the treadmill after work because once I cross the mystical thirty minute barrier I become a target for gymsters on the hunt for a cardio machine. Personally, I'd rather wait five minutes than interrupt someone else's workout. But life has taught me that not everyone feels the same. And I do start to feel guilty when someone is waiting and my workout time starts creeping up toward 50 minutes. Not guilty enough to get off the treadmill, but you know - a little twinge.

I started off easy and worked out the kinks I still have from whatever it was I did to myself two weeks ago. I did four miles at about 6.6, then bumped up to 6.8, and for the last mile put the pace back up to 7.2. I hit more kinks as I increased the pace, but once I'd been running for a few minutes they melted away. Happiness. Something momentarily horrifying happened right afterward though. I was walking toward the cool-down area and stopped to pick up an exercise mat on the floor. As I stood up I stumbled and somehow jammed my foot in a way that caused EXCRUCIATING pain to engulf the top of my left foot. I yelped and nearly fell over (in my usual graceful fashion). It hurt the whole time I was stretching, anytime I bent the foot, and while I gimped back to the lockers. I was, of course, panicked, and ready to call my chiropractor post-haste.

Once I got other shoes on though, it nearly vanished. And this morning, even wearing my running shoes, it was barely a whisper. Apparently it was just random ghostly agonizing pain. Goody!

"No, Donny, these men are nihilists, there's nothing to be afraid of."

2009-03-30T11:09:00.001-07:00

I woke up Saturday to pouring rain. Super. Another "Run Suffered Through Because You Never Know What Conditions Will Be On Race Day." Actually I don't usually mind soggy runs but this was some fierce rain. Not the happy little raindrops Portland is used to.

I managed to get halfway to the Springwater before realizing I wasn't wearing my watch. Mentally I had already decided to take it easy this weekend, so I dismissed going back for it. The first half of the run I thought about how much more enjoyable my long runs are when I'm not trying to make a time goal (during the second half, my brain was consumed with chafage). Yes they end up being longer but the run itself is much more pleasant, and I'm not beating myself up over a few seconds here and there. By 10 AM on Saturday I was positive that I was going to give up my time goals and just train to finish again. With a few days' perspective, I'm now on the fence. I was sodden and tired (and chafing) during that run – I don't want to hold myself to decisions I made while cranky. And I don't want to sell myself short.

The Race for the Roses is Sunday. My goal is to beat my PR, 1:51:something. Assuming the weather is decent enough to run a good race, it should help me figure things out. I ran the 1:51 on like, NO training. Maybe 15 easy miles a week. My training runs this year have been below that PR pace (by a hair), but leave me fatigued. I might not be a high-mileage person…maybe I run better when slacking (that'd be SWEET!).

What doesn't kill me, and so on

2009-03-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

This week's been tough. I've been dragging and feeling sick, and my legs have been aching. I barely held on for four measly miles yesterday. Today I'm going to give my gams a break and do forty minutes on the stair climber rather than run. I want to have a bearable 18 miles on Saturday. I really hope I'm just sick and not reaching my own speed limit. I felt dandy after 15 easy miles in Texas.

It's been a challenge to set goals this time around. I had such a great experience during my first marathon; I worry that all the problems I avoided in Yakima (no cramps, no stomach problems, no wall) will hunt me down in Newport. I think a key reason why that first marathon went so well was that I had no real goal except to finish. So I had no reason to push myself too hard and bonk in the higher miles. Part of me wants to face Newport the same way and just run comfortably to finish. But I also want to see what I can really do when I push myself. Then again, I want to enjoy the race and not suffer through it, and not be forced to walk at the end. Aargh. It reminds me of the second half marathon I ran last year, which I never ended up writing about: the Haulin' Aspen trail half in Bend. I finished in under two hours and came in third in my age group, both things that I am very proud of. I also pushed really hard, particularly in the last couple of miles, and felt awful for the rest of the day – and it was a LONG day. No guts, no glory, etc., but I would strongly prefer to never feel like that again.

I guess I'll wait and see how the next couple of weeks go…

I (heart) ibuprofen

2009-03-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

According to my schedule I was supposed to run 13 on Saturday but I decided to do another 15-miler, this time trying for my time goal. Well, I made it: 15 miles in 2:05:17 for a pace of 8:21. Like all long runs it was a mixture of "Damn I feel good! I can do this all day!" and "PLEASE GOD LET ME STOP". What I found interesting was that I managed almost exactly even first and second halves, despite feeling like I was dragging a sled of ground beef behind me on the way back. They felt like 9 or 9:30 minute miles. Weird.

I had just enough time to go home, take a lightning fast shower and excruciating ice bath before heading off to the spring paddling clinic my teammate Melissa organized. There were about 40 newbies trying out dragon boating for the first time, and Mel needed all the experienced paddlers she could get. I ended up leading two groups out – not the best idea considering I hadn't paddled since November and had just run 15 miles. I woke up on Sunday feeling like I'd been severely beaten. I'd planned on going to the gym for my recovery jog and a 10 AM yoga class, but ended up staying in bed holding very still for a while. I also had a sore throat, so I think I was fighting something off that increased the body aches…whatever it was – man. I was destroyed. After laying about for most of the day I finally mustered the energy to change and went down to the track for a quickie. I did about 2 miles and felt better.

Today I'm still sore, but can stand up and bend over without grunting. Yeesh.

Training marches inexorably forward

2009-03-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

Last week I was on vacation in the hill country of Texas. Somewhat pretty, although very brown to my verdant-Pacific-Northwest-accustomed eyes. They're in a bad drought so it's even browner than usual. I ran my 15-mile long run in the cattle country behind my aunt & uncle's new house. The route was an out & back, and very nice. Several rolling hills to break it up, and some nice vistas. There were several "loose livestock" areas that made me a bit nervous – not like I'm expecting the cows to rush me, but they are quite large animals and sometimes they get this glint in their eyes…But it was fine. They actually ran away, which I found amusing. (The pic is not Texas, obviously. It's Newport, where #2 will be.)

Training continues to be easier this time around, because I know what to expect. I know that at the turnaround point I will wonder how I'll ever get back to the start. About three miles before finishing my legs will start to feel breakable, but they won't actually shatter. I'll reach a certain level of discomfort but it will be bearable. These are really great things to carry with you on long runs. It's been tough to reach my goal speed but I've been pretty pleased so far.

I'm following a NYRR schedule this time around, rather than Hal. I dunno, I have mixed feelings about it. The big changes are increased peak mileage (three weeks at 40 rather than one at 37) and running on Sundays. I like the running on Sundays, which is the part I thought I would hate. I tend to be stiff on Sundays but not sore, and I'm finding that a nice easy three or four mile jog loosens everything up. I'm only up around 31 miles per week at this point, so I can't say how I'll feel about three forty-mile weeks in a row (it will probably involve multiple invectives). But what I haven't liked about this program is that there is a step down in between EVERY long run mileage increase. I got up to 10, then stepped down to 8, then up to 13, then down to 10, then 15 to 12 to 18. I'm finding that I prefer to gradually ramp it up – I would feel better doing 10, then 11, then 13, then 14, then 15, maybe at this point a step down, then 18. I just feel like the long mileages are more of a struggle when I'm adding a block of miles on at a time, rather than gradually cranking it up.

My ambitious goal is still to qualify for Boston. With a pace of 8:25 min/mile I could just squeak in. Some days I think I can do it and other days not, but I'm sticking to it. I've run up to 12 miles at that pace and felt pretty good. If I can keep it up at 18-20 miles I'll feel better, obviously. I know I'll run faster on race day than during my training runs, so if I can keep up an 8:25 pace in training I'll feel relatively confident.

My next race is April 5th, the Race for the Roses half marathon in Portland. My coworker Marathon Steve recommended it, and it falls on a 13-mile-long-run weekend anyway, so I didn't even have to adjust my schedule. I haven't looked too much at the course but my goal will be to beat my Helvetia Half time of 1:51.

Post from January 21 that I never actually got around to posting...

2009-03-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

Last week I started structured training for numero dos. So far it's been great. The weather has been unusually clear, so I've been able to run outside on my lunch break and get some sorely-needed vitamin D. My run on Saturday was pretty godawful though. The Gorge wind was blowing something fierce, and on the way out I was running directly into it. Like running in a wind tunnel. When I first turned into it I seriously considered running over to the gym and finishing up there. But it was sunny! It's never sunny. I convinced myself that it was a good re-introduction to the miseries of training. And suffering builds character. And on the way back I'd be getting pushed forward instead of back, so it would all even out in the end. Right? Not exactly. But I did get through it, and it's been added to the pile of "Runs That Are Suffered Through Because You Never Know What The Conditions Will Be On Race Day."
So far, training has been much easier the second time around. I started upping my mileage back in December, and I haven't had any aches and pains yet. I was reading through my entries from the beginning of training last year and remembering how I used to be in noticeable discomfort the first few miles of most runs. Ugh. Much better this year. It's also nice to know, of course, that I CAN do it.

1:51:57!

2008-06-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

Had my first race since the marathon on Saturday, the Helvetia Half Marathon in Hillsboro. I went into it with mixed feelings. On the one hand I was not as well-prepared for it as I had been for the marathon. I totally slacked off in training: my longest training run was 10.5 miles and I averaged 15-20 miles per week. Pathetic! But on the other hand, I came to realize how nice it was to do things backward and get that pesky marathon out of the way first. I felt like I had nothing to prove to myself or to anyone else, and approached the race only wanting to enjoy myself. Well, that and to at least equal my halfway time in the marathon, which was exactly 2:00:00. (Seriously, they set up a clock at the exact halfway point and as I was running toward it in the canyon I realized I was going to hit two hours on the nose. Pretty neat.)
It was a gorgeous summer day in Oregon, sunny from the get-go but not too hot. My two friends who were going to run with me both bailed (thanks, guys!), so I drove out alone at 6:15 am. After crawling through the traffic from Rt. 26 to the stadium (The distance from 26 to the parking lot? About 1.5 miles. It took me 45 minutes to lurch through it. My clutch leg was getting tired and I actually worried about it affecting my performance. Anyway…), I slathered on sunscreen, decided to go with the dri-fit tank top and not the tech shirt, double- and triple-checked that I had my car key with me, and got in line for the ladies room. (Natch.)
I knew that there would be water/Gleukos stops about every mile and a half, and I really don't like wearing my hydration belt, so I left it at home. Plus I forgot my watch (can you tell I half-assed this thing?), so all together I felt oddly naked. I lined up at the start, chatted with a nice Portland Fit lady for a few minutes, then set off.
The race had both a half marathon and a 10k, which started at the same time. There were about 3,000 people at the start line – that's a lot of bodies. (Oh, and I think I half-assed it? I saw several guys getting ready to run wearing jean shorts. Doesn't that chafe?) I started out slow partly by choice and partly by circumstance. A lotta dodging and weaving the first few miles.
I took in at least a cup of water or Gleukos at every stop, and had some ClifShot at the turnaround point, even though I didn't really want it. I took it because it was there, swallowed about half, then looked futilely for a trash can until the next water stop. The famous middle hills were tough, and I was panting at the top of two of them, but overall it was great. I love running hills because they break the monotony and make the flat stretches seem so easy. I made the right call going sleeveless: by the end of the race I was H-O-T. After the mid-point it was pretty much direct-sun city for five miles. (BTW, having the photogs at Mile 12? Not cool! Dude, we were all sweating and icky.)
But that's okay, because I finished way below my goal time and 472nd out of 2607 participants. Top 20% baby! I'm like the front of the middle of the pack. :) On the last rolling hills I passed some people who were in bad shape, wheezing and soaked with sweat and what-not. I was feeling great, and I didn't know whether shouting encouragement as I passed would inspire renewed vigor or white-hot rage. So I kept my pie-hole shut.
The finish line was in the stadium, which was fun. I got my pretty green medal and stumbled over to the water table. I was thirsty but knew better than to chug, so I grabbed two cups to sip as I made my way to the car. Once I got off the freeway I drove with the window down and music blaring, checking out the medal at red lights, feeling groovy knowing that I'd gotten my weekend's exercise and it wasn't even 10:30 yet. Rock on!

Next stop: Haulin' Aspen Trail Half (how much do I love that name?) in August and the Portland Marathon in October.

Oh hey, PS - Ice baths are SO MUCH EASIER in the summer time.

Clearly my life is a WIP

2008-04-15T16:43:00.001-07:00

So I was originally thinking about running the North Olympic Discovery marathon in June. But I'm reevaluating. The issue I'm "running" into (ha!) is that I appear to be overbooked for the next, oh, four months. Summer in Portland is glorious, and while I really have grown to enjoy running, I don't love it to the point where I want to give something else up to accommodate it. It's one thing to spend half of a cold rainy February Saturday running. When that Saturday is sunny and warm and not humid (and not buggy) and there are Beer & Wine Fests to visit, sandcastle competitions at the coast to "Ohh and Ahh" over, camp-outs to be joined, music festivals to patronize, kites to be flown, volunteer galas to, um, volunteer at, barbecues & baseball games to attend, frisbees to be thrown, DB races to be won…well, it gets a lot harder to find the time. Plus my work travel schedule is picking up, which I don't even want to contemplate. I can see myself getting in 25-30 miles a week, with the occasional free Saturday to fit in a 10+ long run. Really just not enough to prepare the way I want to. So, I'm thinking that I'll stay in good running shape, but not plan on running another big M until the Portland marathon in October. We'll see, though.

So...what do I do now?

2008-04-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

I'm still sort of in shock. I was making plans with a friend for later this week and I realized that I could go out any night I wanted. The epic awesomeness of that has not yet sunk in. I wrote a little race report below - in summary: it was great, it was hard, it went by in a flash.

I took the whole day off on Friday, even though we weren't leaving until mid-day, because I knew I would be completely useless at work. I got up at 8, packed, and then putzed around and got nervous until noon. Funny aside – clearly my mind was elsewhere when I left my house, because somehow I ended up on the on-ramp to I-84 West instead of East. Sigh. That was a fun 10-minute detour.

The drive up was unremarkable, though very pretty. Packet pick-up was a snap. The pasta dinner was good – I was glad they had lots of salad too. I didn't eat a ton, just a normal dinner. I read something while training that said if you are going to carb-load, do it two nights before (i.e. Thursday night for me), because eating a ton the night before a race will just weigh you down (and maybe make you queasy). The nutrients won't be in your system until the following night at the earliest. That's how I prepared for my long runs and it worked for me, so I stuck with it. T and I drove to our hotel in Ellensburg. (We didn't go via the course, as I read another piece of advice that said doing so tends to make first-timers nervous. Like, I have to run THIS far? I think it was a good call.) We checked the weather, I laid out all my stuff, and we were in bed by 9:30. I have bedtime-only narcolepsy (note: not a real medical condition), so I had no problems getting to sleep. The first alarm went off at 5:45 (we set three…) and I woke up immediately. Got dressed, had water, coffee, two slices of whole grain toast with butter and grape jelly, and water. T and I arranged late check-out (it required some eye-batting, since I asked for an hour later than their usual late check-out) then left for the race HQ. The race has basically taken over the local Days Inn, so I got to use an indoor bathroom rather than a porta-potty. Of course by the time I got to the start line I had to pee again (and I didn't find a vacant porta-potty until Mile 16).

I got near the back of the middle at the start, and before I knew it we were off. The first few miles I considered kind of a warm-up, and tried to find a good settled pace. I also found the first of my pace bunnies. I admit that I really had no race strategy. I just wanted to run the whole way and beat Oprah's time. At the pasta dinner, one of the women who'd run the race before said they had pacers who wore rabbit ears, hence the name pace bunnies. I was hoping to find one during the race but I guess they didn't have them this year. So, I created my own pace bunnies. I'd find someone who seemed comfortable, and whose pace I liked, and stick to them like glue (figuring pretty much everyone there has more experience than I do). The first was a guy in a blue singlet and shorts. I stuck with him for about miles 1-3. Then either he slowed down or I sped up, and I passed him. After the first aid station I started following two women who were chatting as they ran. I stuck with them for about 3 more miles, until the next aid station. They stopped; I grabbed some water and kept moving. I was on my own for awhile until I found another bunny. He was a marathon maniac and (again) I stuck with him until an aid station. I then got slowly passed by a woman in blue whom I tried to keep pace with, but I could tell she was just a little too fast. I hung back, and by then we were in the middle miles. Twas then I found the Pace Bunny to end all bunnies. Her name was Gina and she was a 100-Marathon Club Member (her singlet told me these things). I figured: Here is a woman who knows her marathons! Stick with her, kid, and you'll be fine. So I did, until tragically, she stopped at an aid station. I was torn, and for a moment I actually stopped too (and grabbed an orange slice and some pretzels). But I knew that the longer I held the still the worse it would feel to start again, so I left without Gina. ::Single tear:: I figured that if she passed me, I would just velcro myself back onto her. She never did though, although it turns out she finished only about a minute behind me.

The rest of the race I ran pretty much bunny-less, although near the end I tried (and unfortunately failed) to run faster than these two really annoying people behind me. Ugh. The major hill at Mile 22 was ghastly. My quads felt the way I imagine tenderized chicken cutlets feel after being hammered with a mallet by an angry little Frenchman. I absolutely refused to stop though, and "powered" through it (powered = ran at approximately 2 mph). After that hill it was pretty much smooth sailing. I got a lot of friendly encouragement from people I was passing. I felt good, all things considered.

The most amazing moment for me came when I ran out of the canyon and could see the finish line. All of a sudden it hit me that I was going to do it. Not only was I about to finish my first marathon, but I was going to do it exactly the way I dreamed. I'd run the whole way and I wasn't destroyed. There might have been some sobbing, until I realized it was messing with my breathing. Back to business, kiddo.

I got to the finish, I got my hug, my rose, my hi-tek space blanket, and my medal, plus some fig newtons that were the absolute best thing I'd ever tasted in my life. T was crying. Strangely, I was not.
**
I think I've caught the bug. I started looking around to see when my next marathon will be. I should've signed up for Newport, danggit, which is now full. The Eugene Marathon is May 5 but it's like $105. Yowza!! North Olympic is in June, and only about $65. I think I'll aim for that. Oh, and yes, everyone I know (except Steve the fellow marathoner) thinks I've lost my remaining marbles.

PS - My new goal MIGHT be to qualify for Boston. But I just don't know if I care that much.

I DID IT!

2008-04-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

4:05 and change!!
OMG!
It was awesome! I'm so sore!

T-minus two days...

2008-04-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

48 hours from now I will be DONE! with this whole marathon thing. (yeeahhhuummm, sort of...I might have already committed to another one.) My boss & coworkers surprised me with a card and a little gifty-basket type thing full of water, Luna bars, and ibuprofen. Ah, they know me well. It was a very sweet thing to do, and I promised I would bring in my medal on Monday so they could stop by my office and genuflect. ;)

I know I complained lustily about how running had taken over my life just a few short weeks ago, but man have I missed it. (Remember, as a woman it's my prerogative to change my mind frequently and without understandable motivation.) I haven't had a long run since March 22, and that was only 15 miles! Practically nothing! I hesitate to say it but…I grew to really like the long runs. (BUT NOT THE ICE BATHS! I will never be down with those.) Getting stronger every week and conquering distances that I thought were a long way to drive is really…(okay, I have to say it, even though I hate this word) empowering. (It's been totally co-opted for PC bullshit to the point of meaninglessness – providing coffee in the break room does NOT constitute "coworker empowerment". Alright, I'm done.) For reals, though, it is awesome to know that I have this kind of dedication and follow-through in me. I decided I wanted to run a marathon. I researched, planned, and trained for it on my own. There was no one shaking me on Saturday mornings, telling me to get my butt in gear and get out the door early. I wasn't going to disappoint anyone except myself if I skipped a cold, rainy midweek run. It is very reassuring to know that I have stick-to-it-tive-ness.

And now that I'm off my high horse: tapering still sucks. To paraphrase Michelle: "I feel fat. My right ankle hurts. Are you coughing? Stay away from me! I need to get more water. Now my left shin hurts. I need to go to the bathroom AGAIN. These pants feel tight. My nose is running, is this allergies or am I getting sick? Better go wash my hands again. My side hurts, what if I pulled a muscle? I have to go to the bathroom. Did I break my shoes in enough? I have to remember to clip my toenails before I leave. Better grab some more water. What if I oversleep and miss the race? My ankle still hurts. What if I tear a contact lens marathon morning? I have to pee."
Ah, the joys of running.

Too nervous to think of a title.

2008-03-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. The last week can be summed up thusly: tapering blows. Seriously, that's about the long and short of it. Okay, it's not ALL bad. I was almost embarrassed by all the free time I had on Saturday, needing to run only a paltry 8 miles. (Sigh…I remember back when that was my long run. Cue the "Wonder Years" theme.) But I find myself using all this free time to get nervous. I was fine until today – I woke up at 4:30 this morning and rather than roll over and go back to sleep in 2.6 seconds as I usually would, it hit me that THIS IS MARATHON WEEK (holy hand basket!). Once that thought was planted, trying to get back to sleep was a Herculean task. I actually resorted to counting sheep for gods sake.

I checked the weather up in Yakima, and at the risk of jinxing myself, I'm going out on a limb and saying I don't think weather will be an issue (cringe…knock on wood…salt over the shoulder). This whole week looks the same: partly sunny, highs in the mid-60s. Perfect! And in order to make that seem even more ideal, I ran my Saturday eight outside in the lovely Portland springtime. Here’s a timeline:
miles 1-3: overcast
mile 4: rain
mile 5: hail
mile 6: sun comes out (still hailing!)
miles 7-8: hail stops, I get uncomfortably warm and give off steam

I'm taking Friday off and driving up to Yakima around noon. I figure that will give me time to go to the expo and pick up my packet, check into the hotel, maybe drive part or all of the course, and find a paper bag to breath in. I strong-armed my friend Tina into coming with me (and that's totally a metaphor – I arm-wrestled her once and she beat me handily. She may be small, but she's stringy.). So I will have a small cheering section. :) I'm hoping to see the Back of the Packer – she is totally inspiring. I want to find whatever it is that supplies her energy and bottle it and sell it. I'd be rich!!

Note to self: I have to remember to ask for late checkout at the hotel. I want to be able to take an ice bath afterward. My feelings toward ice baths are well-documented, but damn it all, they work. Damn it.

Onto that long downward spiral called tapering

2008-03-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

I ended up doing an unbelievable 22.34 miles on Saturday. Holy Shit, is all I can say. And then on Sunday I did the Shamrock 5k, meaning I was half a mile away from a marathon over the two days. I have to say, it really REALLY increased my confidence going into the marathon. Not only did I get within 4 miles of the marathon distance on Saturday, but it was NOT an easy run. From the get-go I felt zapped of energy. By the time I turned around somewhere in the wilds of Gresham (more on that below) I felt like a zombie. But around mile 17 I got comfortable with my zombie-ness, and finished easily. I felt much better than I had after my brush with 20 two weeks before. I'm now paying for it, though. I've started to taper so my runs have topped off at 5 mile this week but they have not been easy. I can feel that my legs are empty. They are juice-less lead weights. I'm sure I'll get my energy back after a few more days of eating bread and taking it slow. My long run Saturday is 15 miles and it'll be on an unpaved trail, which sounds like heaven.
So how did I end up doing 22.34 miles? I have the city of Gresham and a faulty bridge to thank for that. First, the bridge. At mile 13.5 on the Springwater one of the footbridges is down. They detour the path onto a nearby road for maybe half a mile, until the road loops around and crosses the trail again past the bridge. I never really bothered to figure out how much distance the detour added because I only ran it once or twice. Turns out, it adds a lot. Plus, once you leave Portland and enter Gresham, the mile markers stop appearing every half mile and start appearing when the city of Gresham feels like paying for one. Turns out, that isn't very often. Basically they put up a marker when the path crosses a major street. Thus the 15.12 mile marker, and the 16.42. Super. I really did not want to go short of my goal again, so I soldiered on even when I was pretty sure I'd hit 10.5 miles. I finally turned around at 242nd Street. On Sunday when I mapped it, I found that I had run 11.17 miles out. Wow.

I still cannot figure this running thing out.

2008-03-10T12:54:00.000-07:00

Apparently, this is my recipe for an amazing long run: on Thursday feel ill, complete only 3 of 5 miles, and barely eat anything. Friday, stay out late eating gooey cheese, crackers, and chocolate, and oh yeah, drinking too much wine. Get up at 6 am (grghhmrmr) on Saturday to make it to pool practice by 7:15; afterwards devour three ginormous slices of French toast slathered in butter and syrup. Then change, go running, and finish thirteen miles in 1:58:08, a pace of 9:05. (!) And, except for the French toast jostling around and making its presence known, feel great doing it. WTF?

I have no idea why I felt so good - the only thing I can think of is that it seems like my body finally "got" it. Particularly after I turned at the half-way point, all the mechanics came together. I felt fluid, comfortable. I was leading with my hips and letting them set the pace (apparently the pace they wanted was 'fast'), which led to my feet falling more softly. I walked yesterday and took a yoga class. I feel so good. I hope that when I run tomorrow I'll find that it wasn't just a one-off deal. I hope that I've turned a corner in my running and I can find more peace than struggle moving forward.

Crunch Time!

2008-02-19T16:48:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-11T09:36:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-02-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

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!!!!!!!

2008-02-04T10:44:00.001-08:00

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

Shave Your 5k Challenge

2008-02-04T10:20:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-02-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

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.

Worried I was going to fall on my butt a few times

2008-01-31T15:51:00.000-08:00

Last night, again, the thought of running at the gym (this time for over an hour) gave me the shakes. Plus (and this may be TMI for some folks) I was feeling…gassy. There I said it, now the whole world (in theory) knows that I had gas last night. (Sorry mom.) Anyway, I didn't want to be like Amy, so I went home and headed out in the rain. I hadn’t thought of where to run, and sort of assumed I'd just go up to the reservoir. But when I got to where I would turn to head that way I decided to keep going up the mountain. Once I got to the park I remembered why I don’t do that this time of year. Once you are off the streets and inside the park, the frequency of streetlamps goes way down, making it hard to see speed bumps, piles of slick mouldering leaves, and crazy people laying in the street talking about Nirvana (don't know if they meant the band or the state of ultimate enlightenment). And although there are still a surprisingly high number of runners, dog walkers, and bikers out and about in the winter darkness, I can't help but feel nervous in the unlit areas. So I didn't go all the way to the top, just looped around the back and to the reservoir, where I finished up with laps. It was incredibly windy on the more exposed south side – I felt like I was running up against a linebacker. I didn't really track my mileage, just did seventy minutes, so it was probably a little over 7 miles. I felt really good.

Singing in the rai- wait, the sleet... no, now its snow

2008-01-30T10:31:00.000-08:00

I had an interesting run last night. I couldn’t face the treadmill, not yet, so I ran outside. I started at my house down at the base of Mt. Tabor (~200 ft. elevation) and ran up to the track around the reservoir (~530 ft.). At my house, it was raining. At 55th Ave, halfway up, it was sleeting (ouch). And at the reservoir it was snowing. The snow was beautiful, big old flakes, and it wasn't sticking so I could enjoy it without worrying about sliding around. I descended through the weather again on my way home. Very cool.

I'm scheduled for 17 miles on Saturday and its making me nervous. I will never flake on a long run, and compared to the last few weeks I'm feeling good. But its supposed to rain all day, and 17 is creeping awfully close to 20. I guess its just daunting. Plus I had a dream about it last night in which things kept coming up and I couldn't run until nearly sunset, plus I'd forgotten my water and gels. It was unpleasant – I need to have a talk with my subconscious about making me more nervous than I already am with these nighttime shenanigans.

Sidebar: I've been upping my carb eating the past few weeks. I'm a veggie-tarian but I was still on the light side when it came to starchy carbs. I eat a lot of fruit, cheese, veggies, yogurt, cheese. Cheese. But given how tired I was feeling after my long runs I decided some dietary tinkering was necessary. I'm hoping a 7:30 bedtime won't be necessary again this Saturday. I'm willing to make certain sacrifices for marathon training but going to bed at 7:30 on party night? Not acceptable.

I admit, I wimped out

2008-01-28T15:22:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning dawned cold & icky (a scientific term). It was raining/icing steadily, and I made the call that it would be silly to put myself through another long run in miserable weather. Plus, parts of the sidewalk by my house were slippery enough that I nearly went toes over ass while walking on them. Thus to the gym I went, to complete twelve grueling miles on the treadmill. Shudder. Yuck. Blarg. I really hate when I have to restart the treadmill. I don't know if this is a 24 Hour Fitness thing or is universal, but all the treadmills at the gym have a max of 60 minutes per session. Even if I do a separate warm-up, that's a max of 6 miles, give or take a few tenths. Ergo, if I want to do more than 6 miles I have to let the treadmill come to a complete stop, furiously press the "restart" and "speed up" buttons, and try to get back into the groove I was so ignominiously booted out of. I realize that in the grand scheme of Life's Inconveniences this one ranks pretty low, somewhere in the vicinity of changing the oil in your car, but way below flossing or the stomach flu. Still. Oh, and another thing I've come to dislike about doing long runs at the gym is that I get funny looks from people while swallowing gels. I get that most people on the treadmill at the gym are walking or running 2 or 3 miles, and have most likely never run long enough to need a gel. I get that it might be weird to see the gal next to you trying to subtly ooze some goo out of a tube into her sweaty face while simultaneously trying not to fall off the back of the treadmill into the guy behind her. But do ya gotta stare?

To look on the bright side of the gym thing, I wasn't on one of the machines that faces the wall, and I got to watch most of Paycheck, a completely forgettable action movie from the 90s that I vaguely remember seeing at the drive-in with my two best friends in high school. We went to see it because we had a thing for Ben Affleck, who spends the entire movie looking like an insurance salesman with tanorexia and a pomade fixation.

Notes from around

2008-01-25T12:12:00.001-08:00

Last night = fastest four miles EVER. I wasn't super-motivated or energized, oh no. It was just late and ASS COLD outside (for Portland, I mean). I literally sprinted up the first half of Mt. Tabor in an effort to stop shivering. Brrr. I know that it really isn't that cold here, in the grand scheme of winter. Where I grew up we hit ten below a few times a year, and in Moscow it got down to maybe -20, consistently (it was all Celsius, so who really knows?). But its all about what you're used to, and in Portland we're used to 45 degrees and rain, not this 27 degrees and sun thing. When I was in college I studied abroad junior year, Prague in the fall and Singapore in the spring. I left Prague on January 1, spent 36 hours at home in New York, then flew to Singapore. The temperature gradient was about...hmm…sixty degrees. My first ten days in S'pore were miserable, just awful. I was sweating buckets every time I left the sweet embrace of the AC. But then my body figured out that I was no longer in the middle of a Central European winter and hey, maybe I shouldn't sweat out every ounce of moisture I ingest. After that I found the climate quite pleasant (if somewhat boring). Anyway, my point is, it was cold last night and don't make fun of me just because I've been softened by this easy Pacific NW living. I still got out there and ran.

So, a digression: I've been striving for real honesty about my training, and how difficult it is. I have a tendency to sugarcoat things in hindsight, and I want to make sure that I don't do that here. (In case I get the crazy notion to do this again.) The past couple of weeks have been trying, to say the least. But I also don't want to give the impression that this training is nothing but a torturous exercise in masochism. That's just a small part of it. :) In that spirit, here are a couple of notes & shout-outs from my training thus far:
1. To the men who ride their bikes along the Springwater Corridor on Saturday mornings: thank you. Y'all definitely improve the scenery, especially from (ahem) the backside.
2. Thanks to Portland Parks and Rec for creating & maintaining the SC. It's great to be able to go for 40 miles (in theory!) on a smooth, safe, straight trail.
3. A baseball hat is my absolute best friend when running outside. It keeps the sun out, the rain off, and the sleet manageable.
4. Memo to the guy next to me at the gym: if you rest your entire upper body on the sideguards of the treadmill, it doesn’t count as running. Sheesh.
5. Hammer gel is yummy, especially the raspberry and apple-cinnamon flavors. I have not yet figured out how to eat Sport Beans (Beanz?). Do you eat them while running? One at a time? Where do you put the opened pack if you don't eat them all at once?

…Now I just have to steel myself for tomorrow's 12 "Wintry Mix" miles. Prepare for some whining about that one...

Here's hoping

2008-01-22T14:52:00.000-08:00

I completed my 15 miles on Saturday. It was hard. I thought ten miles in the rain was bad, then I went fifteen in the sleet & hail. In all honesty it wasn't coming down the entire length of the run. But it stung my face and hands and made the path slippery. The last three miles I increased my pace: one) to see if I could; and two) because I just wanted to be done. I was tired, and that night I went to bed at 7:45. Last week was my first 30-mile week, and it took it out of me. I think/hope I'm still wrestling with a cold, because I could easily go to bed at 8 every night, and I refuse to let this training take over my life.

Today it was sunny and completely beautiful in Portland. An extremely rare day for us this time of year, and I jumped at the chance to run outside on my lunch break. It is runs like the one I enjoyed today that remind me of why I like running in the first place. I was going along the Springwater Corridor at a perfectly comfortable pace, my legs felt good, my breathing was perfect, the sun and wind were on my back, the river was sparkling. I felt a great amount of joy, and it was remarkable to think that this is something that I would seek out – that I would consider running to be a… relaxation activity. It's hard to explain, but I think anyone who feels the need to coerce themselves into exercising knows what I'm trying to get at. Today's run was like a break, like a mini-vacation in the middle of the workday. There is nothing that I could have done that I would have enjoyed more than running four miles in the beautiful sunshine.

That feeling has been missing these last few weeks – this great run came at the perfect time. I've been feeling worn down, and the lingering hip thing has cast a pall over running the past 6 weeks or so. Running was a chore, something to get out of the way so that I could spend the rest of my free time doing "fun" things. But today running was a fun thing. I need to capture that spirit and bottle it so that this weekend, when the rain and snow are due back, I can face my long run with a smile and not a grimace.

Hoping 15 miles on Saturday won't kill me

2008-01-17T16:27:00.000-08:00

My seven miles last night was a mixed bag. On the positive side, my hip didn't hurt at all. Excellent. My toe hurt a few times, but mildly. Good. On the negative said, my right leg hurt last night. WTF? Assuredly not good. I'm just praying that it was getting sick of compensating for a weak left leg, and that now I'm working on the left leg the right will stop complaining. Either that or I'm taking up swimming. Seriously. I pretty much told myself that I would train as long as it was fun and I wasn't hurting myself. I had and have every intention of finishing the marathon, but not at the risk of doing long-term damage to poor little legs. They're trying hard, but I have to respect that they might have limits under 26.2 miles. I don't want to...but if it comes to that I will swallow my pride and throw in the towel. Of course that will be my absolute, dead-last resort, because I have a feeling that my legs are a lot less sensitive than my ego.

Oh left leg, why can't you be more like right leg?

2008-01-16T13:53:00.000-08:00

I went to see a chiropractor this morning, for the first time ever. The pain I've had in my left hip has not been getting better, and I figured better nip it in the bud now before it becomes really severe. Dr. Awesome (as I'll be calling him) was great. He's a runner too, so he had some ideas right away about what could be causing it.

It's his opinion that the hip pain is actually caused by my foot and how it strikes the ground. Because of a weak arch it's twisting too much and causing the rest of the leg to sort of swirl counter-clockwise, which ends up putting a lot of torsion on the hip. And that leads to "ow." I have a bunch of exercises to do, every 3-4 hours (not quite sure how I'm going to do them at work…), to strengthen the foot, ankle, and thigh. Fingers crossed, they'll strengthen the weak muscles, thus taking stress off the hip.

My four miles yesterday (on the treadmill) weren't pretty. I felt like I was unconsciously favoring my right leg over my left (which I know is bad), then trying to consciously stop. It was excessively awkward. Plus I'm still feeling a bit worn, so I wasn't able to go as fast as I've gone recently. On the positive side, I decided to turn it into a kind of half-assed hill workout and cranked the incline to 5 for a few minutes at a time. That made the time pass relatively quickly, and by the end I was pretty much pain-free. We'll see how things go tonight - I'm hopeful.

Pardon my French…

2008-01-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

...but there is no way to express how truly awful my run was on Saturday except through cursing: it was a fucking nightmare. Seriously, from start to finish it was a total CF. I came thisclose to scrapping the whole thing after two miles, but managed to convince myself to use it as a pre-marathon test to see just how much pain and misery I can endure. Which is a lot, apparently. What was so horrible about it? 1) I think I had a fever; 2) My throat hurt and my body ached even before I laced up; 3) it rained on me again; 4) I had a kink in my right calf that never really went away; 5) I brought a Strawberry-Banana Power Gel with me and it was so vile I nearly gagged; and 6) MY IDIOT TOE HURT. I don’t know why my stupid left big toe hurt but OH DEAR GOD I never knew a toe could cause so much pain. That was the killer. Every other step I contemplated stopping. I did stop once to take my shoe off and make sure the damn thing wasn't broken. Jeez, I'm still all jittery and strung-out about it. After I hit the 10-mile mark I practically had to crawl the half-mile back to my car. On Sunday I was so feverish & tired that I passed the majority of the day on the couch watching football (okay, in all honesty I probably would have done that anyway)(go Giants!). Ugh. I feel better today (doped up on Dayquil).

I'm truly concerned about the toe thing – even though it isn't broken (I don't think) it still hurts, though not as badly. I'm going to take it easy again today, and hopefully my run tomorrow won't be another exercise in masochism. Shudder.

Stop the presses!

2008-01-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

miles: 3.1 indoors
total program miles: 213.2
pain level: mild, with stiffness and light cursing

I had a good three mile run yesterday! I can't believe it. I ran on the treadmill during my lunch hour, and I kept waiting for that familiar discomfort to rear its ugly head after the first mile - and it never did! I felt rather elated.

Today, on the other hand, I feel like crap. I'm fighting an icky cold that's going around the office and I basically feel like a lump, plus I'm really sore (still) from my Monday exercises. There is an explanation for that, and like most explanations in my life it has its origins in unabashed laziness. On Sunday my plan was to go the gym and lift weights. Yeah, didn't happen. I spent most of the day sitting on the couch eating waffles. So instead I lifted weights Monday, and tried a new approach. I had a nebulous idea that free weights were better for you than machines; I'm not sure where it came from, maybe I just absorbed it via osmosis from breathing in gym air.

Anywho, I read an article in Health over the weekend about machines that aren't really good for you because you can easily use them incorrectly & hurt yourself, or they induce movement that is unnatural. Most of the machines I use were in there, natch. I've never hurt myself lifting weights but I thought I'd give a new approach a try, shake things up a little. (I know! I'm a crazy person, somebody stop me.) Also, in the interest of full disclosure there is another reason why I resist free weights: I don't like the free weight area. It intimidates me, with its wall of mirrors and 10-to-1 guy/girl ratio. I'm just not comfortable standing there staring at myself lifting little ten-pound weights with what I'm sure is unfortunate form. And I know its paranoid but I always get this feeling like someone is watching me, which I think is rude, but in order to check I'd have to look around at all the other lifters and thus be that rude person and, well, basically the free weight area is a shame spiral waiting to happen. I tried Monday but I still felt very awkward. The end result is that I spent most of the time doing squats and forward lunges. Um, ouch. Yesterday I was walking almost bowlegged, it was comical. But to come full circle, I think that it helped me have the good run yesterday by really stretching out my hips and glutes. We'll see how the six miles goes today.

<--This is from the Ho-Ho 5k back in December. I finally got around to looking at the pictures. Note my festive, seasonally appropriate attire and deep discomfort at having my photo taken.

I now consider myself hardcore

2008-01-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

Seriously. Saturday I ran 13 miles, ten of which were completed in the pouring rain. On Friday night the forecast was for scattered showers Saturday morning, and when I got up the sky was pretty clear. Now I shouldn’t blame the weather people for deceiving me – I've lived here long enough to know that the weather can pull a 180 in minutes. Really I have only myself to blame. I thought it would be nice to run outside, and if I got sprinkled on, well, that's good experience right?
As I drove down to the Springwater corridor in southeast Portland, it wasn't raining. As I warmed up it wasn't raining, and when I started to run it still wasn't raining. It actually looked as if it might clear up. But then I hit 3 miles, struggling as always, and it started to rain on me. Little piddles at first, then harder and harder until it was seriously pouring. It did that for the next ten miles. What surprised me was that it honestly wasn't that horrible (of course I may be blocking some things out). I think the worst part was that I'd unwisely worn cotton socks, and I was preoccupied that like, at the turnaround point I'd start to get blisters or chafing and have to decide whether to run through it or stop and walk the 6.5 miles back to the car. But it never happened, even though by the end my feet were so wet that every time they hit the ground little jets of water squirted out the front and sides. Other than that I was relatively comfortable. I was wearing breathable capris and top layers that didn't chafe, and a baseball cap that kept the rain out of my eyes (although it got so saturated that water started pooling at the edges and dripping down). I never felt any pain anywhere, although I was really tired by the end. On Sunday (thanks to another horrible ice bath) I was fine, a little stiff. One odd thing was that as soon as I stopped running (oh blessed relief), my knees hurt. Like they were actually tender. After the ice bath they felt pretty much fine, but it was strange that I felt totally fine while running and then had problems walking.
As I mentioned above, the first 3.5 miles pretty much stank. It seems to be my pattern that once I get past the warm-up miles I can settle in and cruise along pretty comfortably. It's hard though, to start off feeling really terrible, and questioning whether you can finish 13 miles when you can't even do four, blah blah blah. It's a mental struggle to keep going. But I do, and then before I know it I'm at the turnaround point. And then I'm done - 13 miles!! A half-marathon!! And I did it in about 2 hours and four minutes. Oh, and no i-Pod! Go me!

They finished with a win! Yahoo!

2008-01-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

So I'm sure that no one is aware of this outside the greater NY/NJ metro area (unless maybe you live in Kansas City and are currently huddled under a rock to hide your shame), but the Jets actually won their last game of the season to end with a Not-Rock-Bottom 4-12 record.
But they almost blew it. It was overtime, they'd won the toss, and managed to string together a respectable series of carries. They were in relatively easy field goal range for Mike Nugent, or as I like to call him, "Nuuuuuuuge". (To get the full effect of that nickname, when you read it picture a drunken frat-boy in a toga, waving an MGD around.) KC calls a timeout. I swear at them roundly for prolonging the season by 30 seconds. Nuuuuuge kicks...he makes it...the crowd (all 23 hardy souls) goes wild...aaaaaaand the yellow flag drops. Holding, offense. 10 yard penalty. &#$*(%?!?!? #$(%(#$*'in holding???? I threw myself onto the floor to express what all the curses in the world could not manage. They line up again, now 43 yards away. The crowd holds its breath...aaaand....KC calls a timeout. From the floor, I loudly wish that I had a teleportation machine so I could right this instant kick Herman Edwards in the crotch. Another 30 seconds tick by...Nuuuuuuuge kicks...AND IT'S GOOooOooOOOoooD!
Thank goodness another season is over with.

2008: Year of the Marathon!

2008-01-02T16:31:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!! I had grand plans that while I was on vacation I would write long and fascinating blog posts, and then I never turned on the computer. I did keep running though, logging my first double-digit run of ten miles the Saturday before Christmas. I ran on the rural-ish asphalt roads around my parents' house in upstate New York. It was gorgeous scenery, and the run was as close to a piece of cake as ten miles can be. I got totally into the zone in the last few miles, and when I got to my stopping point I was actually disappointed. In addition to my first ten miles, I also had my first ice bath that day. YOWZA! It was way, WAAAAY worse than the run. But I felt myself getting stiff after I stretched out, so I figured it would be a good idea. And it was – on Sunday I felt completely and totally fine. No soreness at all. So I am now an ardent supporter of the ice bath, even if it does approach the height of masochism to exhaust yourself running and then climb into a bathtub filled with frigid water and ice cubes. I almost laughed at the absurdity. This weekend I'm up to 13 miles…eep. I have to say I'm intimidated. That's basically a half-marathon. I've already started psyching myself up and drinking lots of water and tea. Thirteen miles!!

So, when I started this site I got the little counter deal on the right side because it seemed like a good idea to have a reminder of when this whole deal was going down. When I first put it up the days remaining was like...170 or something in that range. Some safe, large number. Now I look and its below 100, which sort of wigs me out. But I'm still confident & feeling good about my running. Since I started training, let's say 70 days ago, I have doubled the length of my long runs from five to ten miles. Now, I have about 83 days (not counting taper) to double it again and get comfortable with running for hours.

To kick off the New Year on a positive note: I know I can do this.

Feeling much improved

2007-12-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

I did end up running five miles on Wednesday – go me! I think I've found my mantra as well; while I was running there were a few times when I really, really wanted to stop. At those times I found myself saying "Tough as nails" over and over again. I guess it worked.

On Thursday I almost skipped my run again. (Bad Becca!) I had a lunch date and plans after work, so my first opportunity to run was 7:30 at night. I pretty much talked myself out of running on the bus ride home. But I found that after getting inside I was on autopilot, and I changed into warm running clothes without thinking. By the time I remembered that I'd talked myself out of running, I was ready to go. Might as well go ahead with it, I figured. It was a good run, up Mt. Tabor and back down.

On Saturday I ran nine miles. Nine! Wowza! The human body is amazing. I never thought that it would be so simple, this training thing. Now I don't mean simple as in easy, because it ain't easy. But its so...straightforward. I just keep running and magically the distances I can run get longer and longer. When I was beginning this endeavor, five miles was my long run. At the end of a five miler I would think (exhaustedly) "Someday, at this point, I will be only half done," and it practically broke me. I wondered why in the name of Pete I was doing this to myself. But now I finish nine miles and I think "I can't wait until the day when, at this point, I will be only half done."

My body is cashing checks my ego can't...wait...what?

2007-12-12T16:28:00.000-08:00

I started lifting weights last year for a variety of reasons but mainly because I was developing under-arm jiggle and it scared me. I built up to a 3-days a week weight-lifting routine, which I actually enjoyed. I find lifting weights very satisfying for some reason. Anyway, now that I am running so much I've cut back to just once a week. Normally I lift weights on Sunday, so that I have Monday (a rest day) to recover. Since I ran on Sunday, I lifted on Monday, giving me no day to recover between lifting weights and running. And just to clarify, I don't do the wimpy girly weight-training where you do like 30 reps of a 10-pound weight. I do a reasonably comprehensive set of exercises at pretty much the max weight that I can, so I tend to have muscle fatigue the day after. Generally I kind of like the feeling, as it isn't painful at all, just a noticeable kind of tiredness. Makes me feel virtuous. But add that to my still-tender little legs and you get a BAD RUN. BAD BAD BAD. Did I mention my run yesterday was BAD? Ugh. I almost called it quits at mile 2, and my left hip still hurts. I'm trying to decide whether to attempt my five miles after work today or skip it as a precaution and ride the exercise bike instead. I think I will warm-up and see how I feel. I have a tendency to obsess about things - right now I'm having a very strident internal dialogue about whether skipping one little mid-week run will derail my entire dream of running a marathon. (It couldn’t, its just five miles in a training program of hundreds of miles) (Are you sure?!) (Yes. No. Yes. Well, maybe.) (What if it did?) (Well, what if I do run and I aggravate my hip and I can't train for weeks?) What if, what if, what if? Sigh. My internal self needs a good slap across the face.

See below for whining

2007-12-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

miles: Saturday, 8.5 outdoors, Sunday, 3.1 outdoors
total program miles: 122.1
pain level: noticeable discomfort
Owie, owie, owie, my legs are stiff. I had an amazing run on Saturday morning, everything was ideal. The weather was gorgeous, I felt awesome, not a speck of pain, energized (I remembered a gel this time!), and to top it off I didn't listen to my iPod and the time still flew by. When I reached the half-way point I thought "No way I did four and a quarter miles already!" As I cruised into the driveway I felt on top of the world. I did a good cool-down with stretches, and later in the day I took a walk to loosen up, but I could still feel myself getting stiff.

When I woke up on Sunday my legs were all "No thanks, boss, no running today, we'll just sit on the couch if its all the same to you." But of course I had signed up to run a 5k on Sunday with my friend T, and this was her first 5k ever. So I had to go. I popped some ibuprofen and headed out into the frigid air. It was bleeding cold yesterday in the Portland metro area, it even snowed as the run was finishing up. Yuck. I have to say, though, once I finished warming up and the run started, I felt good. I didn't push myself too hard.

But this morning – yikes. My legs feel like warped planks of wood.

I think the problem must be that my run on Saturday was conducted entirely on sidewalks, concrete sidewalks. I can't think of what else could have caused the stiffness, as I've run 8 miles twice before (once on packed dirt and once on the treadmill) and felt little stiffness the days following. Assuming that to be the case, I now face a dilemma. To run in my neighborhood means to run on concrete. The streets are asphalt but too busy to be run in, and there are no trails of meaningful distance within an easy walk. I have resisted the idea of driving to a running spot because it seems like a waste of both time and fuel to drive so that I may run. Of course I don't want to tear my poor legs up either. I've come up with a tentative plan, yes, ANOTHER tentative plan (we'll see how long this one lasts). In order to minimize the strain on my system, I'm going to try running all my weekday runs on the treadmill. I'm thinking I'll try the Springwater corridor for long weekend runs – yes it’s a drive, but a short one at least, and its asphalt. And if I'm feeling virtuous, I can even take the bus.

An aside: The gel I brought with me on Saturday was Espresso Love Gu. I "ate" it after about 4 miles. (It doesn't feel right to me to say that I "took" a gel, although that seems to be the agreed phrasing in the on-line community. But you don't really "eat" a gel either, since it just sort of slithers down one's throat. "Ingested" is too cumbersome and suggestive...maybe "swallowed", since that is really what you do with a gel?) One thing in its favor, it tasted a heckuva lot better than Lemon Sublime Gu. I tried that flavor a few weeks ago and nearly gagged. Blech. Anyway, as I tore the top off the little packet I was imagining that this would be a burdensome and awkward ritual that, while necessary, would assume its place near dental cleanings and the hand-washing of delicates at the bottom of the list of desirable activities. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I sort of squirted the stuff into my mouth and it took care of the rest, just sort of shimmying downward without any help from me. I barely had time to notice the taste before it was gone. Swallowing the whole thing took maybe 20 seconds and I was able to run the entire time. I'm going to keep experimenting – this week I'm trying Shot Bloks – but the Gu experience was not unpleasant

Oh yeah, by the way...anyone catch the Jets game this weekend?

2007-12-03T13:19:00.001-08:00

Y'know, THE ONE WHERE THEY DIDN'T LOSE?

I realize that I am crowing about a victory over an 0-12 team that is the worst in the NFL. But the Dolphins were actually FAVORED TO WIN by 1.5 points! People thought the Jets would lose to the Dolphins! Oh injustice not to be borne! Honey, there aren't enough Bloody Marys on the Western seaboard to drown my sorrow had that happened. Instead, I'm happy to say that we are now ranked 30th out of 32!! Eat that, Rams! Booyah!

Sidenote: At the post-game conference, Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor said (snarkily) of the Jets: ''They (stink) too. They beat us. They'll go home happy, and their fans will be happy that they got three wins this year. Good for them.'' To that I say: Damn Right, Jason Taylor! Jets fans will take any wins we can scrounge up.

Winter weather is finally here...super

2007-12-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

miles: 8 (indoors)
total program miles: 99.5 (almost a century! woot!)
pain level: naught, at least from running. I was ambitious at the gym last night, and my arms are tired.

Saturday the forecast was for snow, which we get maybe once a year in Portland. (Aside: Oh man, is it funny how this city responds to snow. They have no salt trucks and like two plows, so when there is any measurable accumulation on the ground the city basically rolls over and plays dead. It's accepted that everything shuts down on snowy days.) Anywho, I made the call to run indoors (again!) and did 8 miles on the treadmill. I never, ever thought I'd say this, but the dratted thing is growing on me. It is so easy on the legs (that one time notwithstanding) and it really keeps you honest in terms of pacing. I screwed up though, because I forgot to bring a gel with me. I figured at eight miles I should start using gels or bars or something to keep my energy up, but as I was walking into the gym I realized I'd left mine on the kitchen table. Ooops. I suppose I could've bought something at the gym but I balked at that, since: a) everything is overpriced; and b) it is aimed primarily at weight-lifters who need umpteen million calories of protein a day, not endurance athletes who need a quick carb boost (did I just call myself an athlete??). By about 7.3 miles I was feeling really tired. My legs were great (in a role reversal from earlier in my training) but my tank was just empty. I actually sped up the pace at the end because I just wanted to be finished! I felt good knowing that I could do that, that my body could kick it up even when tired.

I'm now arguing with myself strenuously over which training program to follow. I've never run a very long distance before, so I question whether it's wise to run three 20-milers before my first marathon. I don't want to exhaust myself. Conversely, I can see how the more experience I get at high mileage the better. What it all comes down to, I guess, is how my body responds to high mileage. It makes me nervous because I am emphatically NOT built like a distance runner. On Saturday there was a girl on a treadmill in front of me, and she was small and lean and efficient, and did I mention small? She was practically floating, no jiggle anywhere, no perceived effort. Me, well, I'm carrying around extra weight in certain female areas, if you know what I mean. When I jump, parts of me keeping moving after I'm back on the ground. I don't mind having a "figure," to use my mother's euphemism, but it means that I'm carrying extra baggage with me at all times, weight that will never melt away or turn into muscle. Imagine running with a 15 pound turkey strapped to your back, or better yet flapping around your chest, and you'll have an idea of the ways in which I am not built like a runner. Title 9 and it's 4- and 5- dumbbell sports bras have been a godsend to me, but just because the girls aren't moving around doesn't mean they aren't along for the ride.

PS - It never snowed a flake on Saturday, thank you meteorologists of the greater metro area.

Phew

2007-11-28T16:35:00.001-08:00

I had some great luck today. I went for a run at lunch again, 5 miles this time, and I did an out and back across the river and two miles into the Springwater Corridor. It was threatening rain, and the whole time I was running I was thinking "please please please don't rain on me, please!" And guess what? It mostly didn't! It had just started as I finished by cool-down walk and returned to my building. Yay! I win!

So, as I may have mentioned, I had been planning on running according to Hal Higdon's 2nd novice training program. Which, technically, begins next week. (Eep.) After doing some more reading, I'm thinking about changing to a NY Road Runners plan. My reason for contemplating the switch is that Hal only has one run at or above 20 miles. Knowing myself, I think I would feel better prepared if I did two or three. I need to make a choice this week, clearly, since the number of very long runs sets the pace for the rest of the weekend runs. Hmmmm. Things to contemplate.

FYI, Samoyeds are a breed of dog

2007-11-27T15:09:00.000-08:00

miles: 4 (outdoors)
total program miles: 83.5
pain level: minimal
It's been busybusybusy the past week, hence the lack of updates. A few exciting things happened. On Saturday I went running with my friend Tina and her two Samoyeds. Tina recently completed a Couch-to-5k program, and she is feeling great about running. I'm slowly chipping away at her to run a marathon. After we ran three miles, she started walking and I ran another 5. Wohoo! 8 miles! That's the most I've ever done. And I felt gooood. I've noticed something about my running recently: I usually feel great at the start, tighten up around 2 or 2.5 miles, then loosen back up and get in a groove by 3.5 or 4. When Tina and I reached three miles I was tempted to just start walking and do a long run on Sunday. But I kept going and after another mile I felt so steady and strong that I didn't want to stop at 8. It happened to me again today, too. I went running on my lunch break (more about that below) and about halfway through 4 miles I got really tight and uncomfortable. I plowed on through and by the time five minutes had gone by I felt dandy.

As I mentioned above, I've been running during my lunch hour. I enjoy it because I actually get to run in DAYLIGHT! On a weekday! Yahoodles! My building has locker rooms, and we're located just a few blocks from Waterfront Park so it’s a pretty run, too. I think I'll keep it up during the week because running in daylight (even if its weak, clouded-over, damp daylight) is so much easier to face than running at night. Once the sun sets I tend toward sedentary. Plus it frees up my evenings. I've noticed on other runners' blogs, particularly those on a tight training schedule, that by the time they are near the end of training they feel like they’ve lost touch with all of their old friends and have no social life because they have to run five days a week (and the rest of the time they're exhausted). If I run at lunch I can still make evening plans, even if said plans are to do laundry and sit on the couch reading an Agatha Christie novel.

And then I bought rain pants.

2007-11-19T16:44:00.000-08:00

distance:7 miles, indoors
total program distance: 63.5 miles
pain level: naught
I woke up on Saturday to pouring, pouring rain. Portland rain is usually relatively mild and friendly but this was angry rain. I couldn’t face the thought of being out in it for more than an hour. So I did it again: I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill. It was better. But I'm still not a convert.
I did a longer, more thorough warm-up and I did not feel any pain while running. But I was completely BORED OUT OF MY MIND. The treadmill that I was on had a broken head-phone jack, so I couldn’t watch the college football game or Spanglish (on second thought, maybe that's a good thing), and when I wear my iPod on the deathmill I feel like it's in the way of my arms, so no music. If there was music playing at the gym it was too quiet to hear. It was quite warm. So I was running, staring at a heating duct across the gym, sweating, for about 95 minutes (taking into account warm-up and cool-down). I started doubting myself: how can I run a marathon if I can't even get through 7 miles on the treadmill? I was questioning my commitment and my abilities. It was not good. But after about 4 miles I got in a groove and stopped thinking so damn much.
On the plus side, I felt tired by the end but very comfortable. In the middle of the run I entered a weird zone where I was moving but I didn't feel like I was doing anything. My body was just going along on its own. Actually it was kind of amazing how great my legs felt (although I was still glad to stop). And I have to admit it felt really, really good to have all these people around me get on, run for a few minutes, and get off while I was still going strong. In addition, now when someone says "It was as dull as watching paint dry" I can counter with "Was it as boring as being on a treadmill for an hour and a half with no music and nothing to do but look at but the ceiling?"

Thinking Happy Thoughts

2007-11-15T16:30:00.000-08:00

distance: 5 miles

total program distance: 53.5 miles (wohoo, I've already run more than two marathons!)

pain level: slight

I have a little problem, or maybe I should put on my positive thinking hat and say I have an "opportunity for improvement". My "opportunity" is thus: I'm not used to running on flat ground. I live on the side of a big ole hill (actually it’s a big ole shield volcano), and back in the day when I was just running for running's sake and not training for anything, I used to run 2.2 miles up to the top of the hill, and 2.2 miles down. This is still my favorite run because the top of the mountain is a lovely park with big trees and dirt paths, the view is spectacular, and there is a water fountain. Anyway, my point is that I can run up- & downhill till the cows come home. I like hills, I can pace myself well on hills, my legs don't bother me when I run hills. Running flat is another story. I think I'm just not used to it, but whatever the reason, doing an all-flat course is like death to me. So why did I plan a 5-mile flat course last night, you ask? Good question. Possible answers include: A) I need to get used to flats – Yakima is super flat; B) I'm a masochist; C) Temporary Insanity; D) I'm occasionally dumb.

The above is how I am rationalizing the following: my run last night was hard, probably the hardest one so far. About halfway through I really wanted to stop. I didn't have any sharp pains, my legs just felt crappy, or rather crampy. Like they were very fragile and about to stop working. But I finished and did a long cool-down walk, and I feel okay today, a little tight but no lingering soreness or anything.

Something else I've noticed about myself is that I don't like to stop or slow down while I'm running. I know that some people like to intersperse walking with running, or walk through the aid stations, but so far I've found that changing my pace seriously throws me off. At one point last night (and only one point) I felt good, solid, comfortable, my legs didn't feel weird and I was breathing well. And then some jackass in an SUV pulls out right in front me (almost over me – and I know he saw me, we made eye contact!), I have to stop short, and when I get going again my legs are all out of whack. I noticed it each time I was held by a light. When I started up again I felt worse, even if jog in place or hop in little circles around the light pole (greatly amusing the waiting drivers I'm sure). I suppose I'll have to figure out a way to manage it though, once my runs get up in the double digits and I have to eat (or at least swallow) on the move.

2007-11-14T09:38:00.000-08:00

distance: 2.5 miles indoors, .5 outdoors
total program distance: 48.5 miles
pain level: minimal aches

Hmmm. Yeah. Change of plans: I HATE TREADMILLS. Oh god do I hate treadmills. I got on, did a walk warm-up for three minutes and then a very light jog for another three. I felt okay at that point, but after I sped up things fell completely apart. I could feel that my form was terrible but each time I tried to adjust I either came close to sliding right off or overcompensated and bumped the front handle bar thingy. It was warm and humid in the gym so I was sweating and thirsty, and of course I had to slow down to drink water (if I can't tweak my form while running, can you IMAGINE the disfigurement that would result if I tried to take a drink?). My shins were hurting and my arms felt all awkward and in the way, and to top it off I'd grabbed a inferior hair elastic so my ponytail was sliding further and further down my head and little bits of hair were escaping and sticking to my neck and cheeks. I was supposed to do 3 miles but I made it to 2.5 and said to myself "you know what? you're miserable. stop doing this." So I did. I did a walking cool down and went home. I tried really hard not to beat myself up over it – I told myself to focus on having a really good run on Wednesday (outdoors of course, I guess I'll be investing in some more running pants).

…But wait! There is a happy coda to the story. I played bridge last night at my friend H's house. She lives about 2 miles from me, so I walked over to stretch out my legs and get a bit more exercise. Well, we had a magnificent time as always. By the last hand no one could remember what was trump and there were several empty wine bottles strewn about. I might have had one glass of wine more than was strictly necessary, but I was feeling great. We wrapped up around 10 and I headed home. It was cold and late, so I thought, "why not catch the bus?" I called to find out when it was coming and found out I had five minutes to make it the .6 miles to the bus stop. For a second I thought "You'll never get there…might as well start walkin' home, kid." Then the puissant, bitchy, capable part of me spoke up and said "Get your butt moving soldier! You owe me half a mile, dammit!" So I started running, in my tired old converse sneakers and jeans, my completely unsupportive underwire bra bouncing around, my tote bag clutched to my chest. I thought that I'd feel pain or discomfort in my legs but no. Running through these quiet, dark streets, seeing and hearing my breath, smelling the wet leaves – somehow it was wonderful. (I'm sure part of this was the wine's gift to me.) Sure I looked goofy, but I caught that bus and thus got an extra 15 minutes of sleep. So I'd say that my running day yesterday was glorious.

2007-11-13T11:55:00.000-08:00

distance last week: 16.9 miles (outdoors)
total program distance: 45.5 miles
pain level: my right arm is aching from all the bowling. But everything else is fizz-ine.

As I mentioned below, running in Montana was great. I was staying at a ranch off a hardpack dirt road, very easy on the legs. What wasn't easy on the legs was the temperature in the mornings. On Tuesday it was 20 degrees! I'm sure people from the Northern plains are scoffing and snorting into their mufflers at my puny, weak Portlandian tolerance for cold, but man, it was COLD. Portland sees 20 degrees maybe twice a year. The running pants I brought were grossly inadequate, and I never felt like I really warmed up. Consequently, I ran in the afternoons for the rest of the week and felt much better.

Oh, and of course, as soon as I pointed out how nice the weather has been the rain shows up. And the high winds. Yesterday was one of those days in which it was completely impossible to stay dry because the wind was blowing the rain both sideways and up, somehow, thus rendering even the most advanced, coastal-weather-ready, rain jacket/hat/umbrella combo powerless to stop the soaking. After the first few weeks, though, you stop trying and accept that for the next four months you will be damp at all times. I brought my gym clothes to work today, so I can run on the treadmill. Depending on the weather (oh who am I kidding, it'll be rainy), I think I'll run at the gym during the week and do my long weekend run outside. Yakima has a history of being dry on race day, but there is no point in tempting fate by not acclimating to running in wet weather. (I would run outside more during the week, but I can't stand the thought of a day where I: get up in the dark; go to work in the dark & rain; leave work in the dark & rain; get home, change out of my soggy clothes into dry clothes; and then head back out into the dark & rain to go running. It might break me.) Portland is a great city and there is a lot to recommend it during the winter months, but the weather? Not one of them.

Back at Home and Feelin' Fine

2007-11-10T16:38:00.000-08:00

I got back from Montana this morning and immediately laced on my shoes and went running. The gorgeous weather is hanging on this year, it's really a treat. Normally by this time Portland hasn't seen the sun for weeks and we all plod around with vaguely damp feet that just never quite dry out. But today? Mostly sunny and highs in the 60s. If this is global warming, sign me up! (Disclaimer: that last line was in jest, please don't write me a pedantic email about it. MOM - I'm talking to you here.)

Anyway, since the weather was so gorgeous I was excited to get out there. I did my runs in Montana - holy frijoles what a gorgeous place, it was hard to run for all the scenery-and I was feeling full of energy. I didn't have a route planned out (I was scheduled for 6 miles), but I sort of guess based on my last fiver, and headed out. It was pretty much an out-and-back, and when I was still shy of the halfway mark I checked my watch. It said I'd already been out 27 minutes! Boo! That would have put me below a 10 min mile pace, since according to my (unresearched) route I was below 3 miles at that point. But I felt like I was going my normal 9:30 speed. By the last mile I was completely determined to make my 10-min mile pace and really pushed myself. I missed it by three minutes..but that turned out to be okay. See, when I mapped my run it turns out I did 6.9 miles! Holy moly! That's like a 9:10 pace (or something close to it, I haven't quite got the hang of the seconds thing). And I felt good, strong, no pain. I was tired but I felt like I could have kept going. I now feel like SUPERWOMAN! I love this!

Feeling Righteously Indignant

2007-11-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

My friend sent this link to me, knowing the deep, abiding, borderline unhealthy relationship I have with my iPod.
My first knee-jerk reaction was "Are they serious? Who the hell cares?!" Like, how has listening to music become a big enough deal that it is anything but a personal choice? After I read the article and some of the many, many comments, I have some more coherent thoughts. (Disclaimer: obviously, I've never run a marathon before. Heck, I've never run more than 7 miles in a row. But I plan on doing both, so I feel justified in at least expressing my opinions.) First of all, it really pissed me off to read comments like this one: "The whole purpose of running is to be able to put everything aside and just be able to run free for as long as you can, with just your thoughts and the natural sounds of surroundings you are running in." Um, excuse me? Do not tell me why I run. If that is why you run, comment person, then more power to you. But don't go telling me that I'm missing the purpose of running because I listen to music. (Clearly, I tend to get a little overexcited when people tell me what to do in an unreasonable manner...deep breaths…calming, zen-like breaths…) Second, when I run I listen to my music at a reasonable volume (as do most people I've come in contact with). I can hear my own footfalls, I can hear passing cars, dogs barking, I can talk to other runners and walkers if I'm at the track. So I don't buy the safety concerns. Like the article said, no one could come up with a single incident related to headphone wearing. So here's my feeling: if runners want to listen to their headphones, let them. I do not plan on starting the Yakima marathon with my ipod on, however I will be carrying it with me. And when I get to Mile 17 and I'm deep in the canyon and my legs hurt and I'm tired and there is no one else on the road and I really want to stop, I think that what will keep me going is a little infusion of upbeat, happy tunes.

It's odd that I read this today, because last night I made the decision (the PERSONAL decision) to run without my iPod. For one thing I am trying to wean myself off of it a little bit. (I think that it will mean more to me to start out quiet and put it on toward the end of long runs when I'm hurting.) Also, I made the call (it was a PERSONAL decision) that since it was quite dark when I left the house that I should be totally focused on running safely (I also wore a godawful bright yellow reflective vest). The run wasn't great. It kind of stank, actually, but I'm proud I went out at all considering how I felt last night. I know what went wrong: I did a shoddy warm-up. I knew it as soon as I started running but I figured that since it was only three miles I'd be fine. I'm NEVER THINKING THAT AGAIN. One thing that not wearing an ipod will do? It'll make discomfort much harder to hobble on through. I did an extra long cool down to compensate and then stretched for half an hour in front of the TV. I feel fine this morning, so I'm treating it as a lesson learned and moving on. Fingers crossed, my 6-miler this weekend will go more smoothly. I haven't run six miles in years! But I know I can do it! Positive thinking! Woot!

Heading to Big Sky Country

2007-11-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

distance: 4.3 miles (outdoors) total program distance: 22.6 miles pain level: naught

I'm off to Missoula, Montana next week. I've never been, but somehow I know a dozen people from there (I swear there are all of 12 native Portlanders left in the city). (Hyperbole content of the previous sentence: elevated.) They all say its gorgeous, and I have a list of Things To Do and See. I'm excited about getting some time off, going horseback riding, snowshoeing, hot springs-ing, relaxing. And I get to run in a whole new state! Joyous day! Seriously though, I'm bringing all my gear and I plan on following my schedule while there. I don't know if I'll have internet access or not, so there may be no posts. But come on, it's Montana not Borneo! (And even Borneo had internet cafes.) Hopefully I'll be able to update.
My run last night was good. Again, no discomfort, but I'm beginning to think it might be the shoes after all. When I got back inside I took them off to stretch and immediately my right big toe (which had been hurting for reasons unrelated to running – note to self, don't leave a large heavy chair in between your bed and bathroom, drink a full glass of water before hitting the sack, and then try to navigate in the dark at 2am…) began to throb and my right front calf got a little achy. So perhaps the Mizunos are indeed marvelous. As I have no desire to scientifically experiment and determine which change is responsible for my now pain-free running experience, I'm going to keep things just the way they are.
Digression: As I mentioned earlier (I think, I'm too lazy to check), I started running again this summer as way to exercise outdoors on weekdays rather than be stuck in the gym starting longingly at the sunshine. I know a lot of people really hate gyms, which is fair enough – I don't particularly like going myself. But what I've found is that if I bring my clothes with me and plan to go after work, I will go. If you've ever tried to make a commitment to a gym, I think you know what I'm getting at when I emphasize that accomplishment. No matter how sincere you are about getting fit, it's really easy to talk yourself out of going to the gym, especially if you have to go home to change and then try to leave again. Your couch becomes a black hole sucking you, a beer, and a bag of chips into downward into a spiral of laziness and indolence. Today feels like one of those days to me, and I'm really wishing I had brought my clothes to work so I could just head to the gym, run on the treadmill, plod home, and fall into the sweet embrace of my couch.

Boo!

2007-10-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

Get Your Monster Name

(the above borrowed from Vanilla)

distance: 3.3 miles (outdoors)
total program distance: 18.3 miles
pain level: bizarre, see below
Happy Halloween! I was Axl Rose this year – it was for an 80s-themed party. The good news: everyone recognized me. The bad news: there was another Axl there! But he went for the acid-washed jeans and aviators look, while I was more "Live and Let Die"-ish. We had fun posing together. Good times. Tragically if I wore the whole get-up to work I think I'd be fired (or at least sent home for the day), so I'm not in full kilt 'n' bandanna regalia. Bummer.

I enjoyed the Marathon program last night, though I was disappointed by its brevity. Nova had so much material to cover that everything felt skimmed over, and it was really hard to get invested in the fate of the runners because they were hardly ever on camera. It could easily have been made into a much longer, multi-part documentary, maybe 4 hours or so. I mean they trained for 9 months! And it was all cut down to an hour! It took some of them five times that long just to finish the marathon. But I still enjoyed it (maybe I even cheered at the TV a little when they all finished…) and it reassured me that finishing a marathon is a reasonable goal for myself.

My run last night was about 3.3 flat miles, took me about 30 minutes with some stoplights in the mix. I really paid attention to my form while running, trying to follow the ChiRunning principles. I struggle most with relaxation – I tend to get preoccupied with keeping my head up, leaning, hitting mid-foot, and so on. And then all of a sudden I realize I've been holding my shoulders tense for two miles. It's a journey, I guess. The author advises that it will take 1-3 months to really get comfortable with the new form. So far, I think its been worth it. Last night I felt no pain at all. (Although I do wish that I had introduced the new shoes and ChiRunning independently of one another. I think that a lot of the pain reduction is from ChiRunning, but maybe the Mizunos are miraculous.) I did get a new and different feeling in my legs though: they feel kind of… weary. Like on the inside. I mean, it makes sense. The whole idea of ChiRunning is to use your core and line up your column so that it does the work and absorbs the shock rather than the relatively delicate muscles in your legs. So I'm trading muscle pain for skeletal discomfort. Now I'll take discomfort over pain any day, but I'm not sure what my run is going to be like tonight. I'm hoping that if I do a really good long warm-up I'll feel dandy.

True confession:

2007-10-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

I am a terrible, terrible bowler. I'm not quite sure how I ended up in two bowling leagues this fall, but it sure wasn't by having any sort of skill or talent at bowling. The worst part is that I'm not even consistently bad. That would be amusing and forgivable. No, I have to show flashes of brilliance that instill a false sense of hope in my soon-to-be heartbroken teammates. I might start a game with a strike, then follow up with 3/-, 5/-, and 0/-. It's just wrong.

Tonight is the NOVA broadcast of Marathon Challenge. It's showing in Oregon on OPB at 8pm (that's Channel 10 for PDXers). I've had this on my calendar since I read it about last month. It is a documentary about a group of first-time marathoners training for the Boston Marathon. The BM is one of those near-mythical occurrences that I know exist, but can't imagine ever participating in, like reaching the top of Mount Everest or finding a gas station downtown. To qualify for Boston I'd have to run an 8:25/mile pace. HA! I laugh. I'm all for positive thinking but let's not get crazy. My goal is to finish the darn thing, I'll worry about my time later. Thus I'm hoping to live vicariously through the people I see on TV (because no one's ever done that before…), and get a sense of what it's like from this program.

No running last night (rest day), but I did go to the gym and use an odd machine that was like the offspring of an elliptical trainer and a stair climber. I wanted to ride the bike so I could read, but I went to the Hollywood 24 Hour Fitness which is completely packed on Mondays (okay, all the time). I almost miss the old Hollywood 24HF – yes it was kind of like the dive bar of gyms, kind of seedy and dank, and yes my umbrella was stolen there, but it was never outrageously crowded and the people that went there seemed less jerky than the ones that flood the new building. Or maybe its just that the lighting is so much better now. Either way, I always felt comfortable in the old space, the new one: not so much.
***
The picture below is one I took on a trip to Newport in March this year. Apparently, the Newport Marathon is really awesome...and it's close by...and I'm a crazy person to even consider it....

Weekend Report - Good News

2007-10-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

distance: 5 miles (outdoors)
total program distance: 15 miles
pain level: naught
On Saturday morning I headed to Fit Right NW on 23rd to get some new shoes. The store came very highly recommended, and I wasn't disappointed. The woman who helped was very attentive and professional, and the gait analysis was interesting. My left foot lands almost perfectly neutral (yay!) but my right foot turns out (boo!). She recommended neutral shoes, because its apparently better to undercorrect overpronation than to overcorrect a good landing. I got a pair of Mizuno's – I had never heard of the brand but I gotta say, they feel great. Also, on Friday night I picked up the ChiRunning DVD from the library and watched part of it. Stick with me, there is a point to all this, and that point is that my five-mile run on Saturday felt GREAT! Perhaps even amazing. I kept the pace up, I felt almost no pain or discomfort at all, and right around mile 4 I fell into this awesome groove like I was barely working at all. I almost didn't want to stop at five miles, but we’ve all heard the horror stories of the over-enthusiastic so I reined it in. I was on a total high the rest of the day.

Sunday I lifted weights and went for a walk as my cross-training. It was a gorgeous fall day in Portland, bright blue skies, unusually warm, beautiful foliage. Today is bowling day; beforehand I'm going to ride the stationary bike for a little bit. I've put my mental foot down that Friday is going to be my honest-to-goodness rest day, no planned exercise. It's a struggle for me to take rest days - I think because I'm terrified of falling off the exercise wagon and putting on all the weight I lost. You hear and read all these stories of yo-yo dieters, and how only a small percentage of people manage to lose weight and keep it off. I've kept it off for about…seven years now. At this point I feel confident that I won't gain it back, because I love exercising and how it makes me feel, and I never want to be as uncomfortable with myself as I was when I was heavier. But I still have those concerns in the back of my mind, and they make it very hard to be lazy for even one day.

Digression: So the Red Sox won the World Series last night. As a life-long Yankees fan, I find it interesting how the Sox are being labeled the new Yankees because of their huge payroll and burgeoning dynasty, and more insidiously because the Sox are developing the casual, non-fanatical "fans" who only wear Sox ballcaps and watch Sox games when they get to the playoffs. This is funny to me because I am a born-and-bred New Yorker who has always rooted for the Yankees, and my roommate is a born-and-bred Massachusetts-ian who is a diehard Sox fan (somehow we avoid coming to blows). So I have dealt for years, especially living so far from NY, with the taunts of "Oh, the Yankees, well its easy to root for them, no wonder you're a fan." (What I want to tell these people is that being a true NY fan means I also root for the Jets. THE JETS, people! I've had more than my fair share of heartbreak.) And now she is facing the same sort of thing for her BS cap. I find it amusing. At least I don't have to worry about getting taunted for picking an easy football team to love. The Jets are like...I can't even think of a suitable metaphor. They are like the burnt, deflated souffle in the NFL kitchen.

2007-10-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

I had something of a reversal yesterday. My legs felt great at the beginning of the run, really fresh and energetic. But by the time I headed back down the hill they were totally tight and crampy. I did a kind of modified fartlek (tee hee!) around the track, speeding up when I felt like it and then returning to my normal pace (which is still faster than I'm used to). I dunno, maybe that was too much for my first three-days-in-a-row week. I stretched really thoroughly, and I don't feel any soreness today. I hope I can keep up the pace on my five mile run this Saturday. Now that I've started running faster and not just slagging along I don't want to stop. Speed is addictive.

Before my run I'm going into town to get some new sneakers at Fit Right NW. I really like the NBs I have now, but I've also had them for years (and probably well over the recommended 500 miles) and they've started to hurt my right big toe.

Musing alert: Back in July I toyed with the idea of running the Portland marathon this year (its in October). But I didn't have enough time to train and dropped the idea. Now I've made the decision to (as various highly-compensated sports figures keep reminding me) just do it. And I really think I'm going to – I don't think this will end up the Shelf of Rebecca's Failed Big Ideas. But its funny (from a meta standpoint) to monitor the ups-and-downs of my fear/exhilaration ratio. Sometimes I read a great, positive story like this and I think "I can totally rock the marathon!" And then I read an account like this, where the runner prepared well, hydrated, was young & in good shape and still ran into big problems (no pun intended, although that's a beauty, huh?). I know that if I follow my training plan and I prepare responsibly, I will finish the marathon. Maybe not in a stellar time, but I'll finish nonetheless. Many people have done it with much less running experience than I have (I rationalize). If I can complete my long runs without feeling like death I'll be okay – mentally I know that. But there is still that nagging part of me that wonders if I've set myself up for a very public failure. If I really want to succeed, I need to purge that voice. I need to believe that I can do this, that I have the grit and will have the training to be successful.

(cue inspirational soundtrack please)

First things first:

2007-10-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

The sunset last night was gorgeous.

distance: 4 miles (outdoors)

total program distance: 7 miles

pain level: minimal

Heeding my wishes, the rain stopped as I left work. By the time I got up the hill the sun had broken through the dark clouds and was shining on all the wet, brightly colored leaves on the hill and on the streets down to the river…it was amazing. (This picture is not from last night, but it captures the general awesomeness of the view at sunset.) I had hoped that the rain would get rid of the bugs around the reservoir – not so much. Something I forgot to mention yesterday is that on the track around the lower reservoir there are little swarms of gnat-like creatures (perhaps gnats). They congregate on the south-eastern side and fly right at my face height (goddamn it). It is really, really hard to keep good race form and breathing when you inhale clouds of gnats every twenty paces or so. Ugh. It was better tonight, but I was also smart and wore a baseball hat. That way I could pull the brim down and angle my head aawy for the few minutes that I was running through their turf. I can't wait for the first freeze to kill those suckers off.

My legs felt stiff/fatigued yesterday as I was coming home, but after I warmed up they seemed okay. The first mile, as usual, was tight. I took it slow, like a continuation of my warm-up, and my shins limbered up. I think they will be my problem area. I've never had any knee, back, or thigh problems, ::knock on wood:: The only thing that gives me trouble are sore shins, which I know are shin splints. They aren't very bad though, just sort of a dull ache rather than any sharp pain, and I've never had to stop running because of them. I've been following the advice of the NY Road Runners gurus and doing their stretching regime, which helps. Hopefully as I get more mileage in I'll reduce the shin splints and not get any other aches and pains. (Yeah right!)

It's definitely my legs that hold me back – that's sort of a "duh!" thing to say, I know. But last night I was running around the track and I felt like I wasn’t breathing hard enough (again, I could nose breath). I consciously tried to go faster but it was hard for me to make my legs go fast enough to get my breathing elevated. They were all "dude, you've always been happy to just sort of plod along, why shake things up?" Clearly I need to do some speedwork to get my legs used to going faster, since cardiovascularly (apparently that isn't a word, but it should be) I'm doing just fine so far. Tonight I have a 3-miler; I think I'm going to go up to the track and try running one lap fast-ish. As fast-ish as I can manage. We'll see how that goes...

One run down: so far, so good

2007-10-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

distance: 3 miles (outdoors)

total program distance: 3 miles

pain level: naught

On the bus coming home last night I read the form chapter in The Competitive Runner's Guide. He basically said don't try very hard to correct your natural form, but gave some tips to keep in mind. I tried a few last night. My favorite was imagining that I was holding potato chips between my middle fingers and thumbs to keep from straining my hands. I have a tendency to run with them straight out, alá the chase scenes in cop movies, which now that I've thought about it would probably hurt my forearms after 4 hours of holding them that way. So I tried to focus on that and on making sure I wasn't overstriding. I think I did well on both counts.

The main thing I did last night was try to self-monitor my heart-rate and breathing. What I noticed is once I got up the hill to the track and got in a rhythm, I was easily breathing through my nose and really was barely exerting myself. Bad girl! So I upped the pace until I was breathing a comfortable 2-2 (two footfalls on the inhale, two on the exhale). And man was I going fast! For me, that is. I was really surprised by how good it felt. As I said below, I've never timed myself ever, it's just been guesstimating. I didn't wear a watch last night either, but I think I did pretty close to a 5k, with a substantial hill thrown in, and I was at or just under 30 minutes. Sweet! Now all I have to do is be able to run at that pace for 4 hours!! Gee, nothing to it. :) But it does give me a lot of hope and encouragement. Heading down my street at the end of the run I felt great. We'll see how I feel after three days in a row. My previous schedule was every other day.

Total topic change: pumpkin spice lattes. I have a weird thing for PSLs, as I cleverly call them. They are full of empty sugar calories, and if you get one prepared the way I like it (double tall soy) it costs $4.20, which is just flipping wrong. But on a cold, brisk fall day, a well-prepared PSL is like…well, its like a little slice of heaven you can warm your hands around. But therein lies the rub – they must be well-prepared. If not, a PSL is the coffee equivalent of a two-day old 7-11 maple bar with some nutmeg on top. I've found that the Starbucks in this town vary wildly in the quality of PSLs they produce. The Starbucks on Third makes amazing PSLs, and it is a constant struggle to avoid the temptation when I walk by on the way to work. But this weekend I went to the Starbucks on west Burnside and…um…20th-ish, and the PSL was so bad that I DIDN'T EVEN DRINK THE WHOLE THING! Sacrilege! I felt terrible but I just couldn’t drink the damn thing it was so cloying. Anyway, it's turned me off of PSLs for awhile, which is probably a good thing.

Week Negative Six

2007-10-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

Today is my first structured running day. I have six weeks before the start of Hal Higdon's 18-week program but I wanted to get in the groove sooner than that. I extrapolated his plan backwards to this week with the same scheduled days on and off and slightly reduced mileage. [A little digression on my running background: I first took up running as a senior in high school. I was overweight and I wanted to not be overweight. I also did Tae Bo and used my mom's old exercise bike, but neither seemed to really give me the cardio I thought I needed. So I started running (very, very slowly). I did the whole walk/run combo for a few months (holy painful shin splints Batman!) until I could go for 30 minutes straight. I reached my peak as runner the summer after freshman year of college. I was living at home and working in retail 30 hours a week, leaving me with a lot of time to run. I did 6 miles a day 6 days a week on the trails at the state park. It was awesome, I loved it, and I still love trail running more than anything. I never kept my times or thought about racing; I was running purely for fun & exercise at that point. Sadly, I did not keep running when I went back to school (for a variety of reasons, both mundane and exotic). I stayed in decent shape but not through running. I'd jog a few miles once or twice a month but that was it. End digression.] This summer I eased back into regular running as a way to get out of the gym and enjoy the great weather. I would say that since August I've been running 3-5 miles about 3 times a week, with a lot of hill work thrown in because oh hey, I live on a big hill. My goal for the next six weeks is to build up to a strong, reliable base of about 17 miles per week while starting to extend my long runs on Saturdays. I don't plan on incorporating any speed work until I actually start the program, because I want my base to be rock solid. At the end of six weeks I'd like to be chafing at the bit to increase my intensity. We'll see how it goes of course, in six weeks I may be crying uncle and taking up boxing or something. (In which case I'll field suggestions on renaming this blog. I vote for "My First Concussion.")

I've been wanting to get as many races of any distance under my belt as possible, so that I can get used to the atmosphere and the nerves before a race start (I assume it is slightly different than dragonboat racing). I plan on doing the Pier Park XC race on 11/17 and the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. I'm already committed to the Ho-Ho 5k on 12/9.

Gear update: I realized that I need to get an HRM. Everything I've read is all "heart rate this" and "heart rate that". Clearly a heart rate monitor is a key training tool and it make a lot of sense to me. But I was really torn between getting a fancy thing like the Forerunner or a simple HRM watch. My problem with the Forerunner is I don't need the GPS capability - I plan on mapping all my runs ahead of time. Plus, based on what the consumer reviewers had to say about the Forerunner's tracking capabilities I'm probably not missing anything. Really I just want an HRM/stopwatch combo, so I got a Timex Ironman watch for seventy bucks from Amazon. Once I've taken it out for a few runs I'll share my thoughts.

(Check out this completely unnecessary photo of my cat! Sweet!)

Someone has a case of the Mondays...

2007-10-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

Actually that's not true, I feel fine (I mean, for a Monday). I got plenty of sleep last night, I was out the door on time, and I feel really vibrant and excited about this whole endeavor. I got "The Competitive Runner's Guide" out of the library and read the first few chapters on Sunday. Very informative, especially the stretching chapter. I'm definitely going to incorporate some speedwork into my training, although I'll have to plan carefully given the dearth of running tracks in this town. I told two more friends about my plan...it's getting to the point of no return!

I had a slight scare this weekend. I did a good five miles at the gym on Friday, then up Mount Tabor on Saturday morning (~3+ miles, straight up and down). I felt fine, a little bit of fatigue in the legs but I think I could've gone further if it was in the plan. Anyway, I did my cool-down and stretches and then got in the shower. I'm feeling all happy, singing to myself, and then BAM! I brought my knee down really, really, motherfucking hard against the soap holder in the shower. It hurt like hell, and when I tried to put my weight on it my whole leg was like "uh-uh, no way." I was terrified that I'd done some damage to it and iced that sucker for about an hour after I limped out of the shower. It hurt for the rest of Saturday and was sore on Sunday as well, but seems to be a lot better today, fingers crossed. It's a rest day today, but I'm going to go to the gym at lunch and take a leisurely pedal on the bike. Nothing hard, just enough to get my heart up a little. I'm sort of combining my approaches here, we'll see.

For my cross training on Sunday I lifted weights for about half an hour, then walked around downtown running errands for two hours. I got two new sports bras at Title 9, wohoo! I can't wait to try them out.

"Gear" Run down

2007-10-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

I put gear in quotes up there because basically, I have none. I have my lovely, wonderful New Balance shoes that I've had for years and which will undoubtedly need replacing if I truly get serious in the coming months. I have some cotton ankle socks, some running shorts (meeeeow!), a pair of cold weather running pants (i.e. my new best friends, thank you PDX weather), some sports bras. I also have an i-pod that is like a fifth limb to me, I seriously cannot leave the house without it, period. (More on that later.) My point is that I don't have a heart-rate monitor, or one of those fancy water belt deals that will turn me into a human camel, or even a stopwatch. I figure I'm going to give myself until the end of November (at which point I'll be up to 8 miles at a time) before I make any gear purchases. No point in spending my hard-earned lucre on things that may, for all I know, end up on the dusty Shelf of Rebecca's Failed Big Ideas along with 3 bolo ties, a pair of wooden clogs, half a home-brewing kit, an assortment of wigs, and 18 connected paper clips. But when some merchant does manage to pry a few crumpled bills from my miserly little claw, I will happily share the news and any opinion I form concerning such gear.

Digression: Writing the title made me think of that movie "The Run Down" with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (love that his real name is Dwayne, btw). Anyone seen that? It's one of those movies that looked bad in the previews and was in fact quite bad and yet...it had its moments. And those moments made forking over two hours of your life not such a rotten deal. Let's just say that watching a drugged out Rock be assaulted by angry jungle monkeys is just as funny as it sounds. Clearly, serious cinephiles should drop everything and flock to Movie Madness. Do it now! They close at 10!!

Okay, just remembered I was going to write about my i-pod. So when I used to trail run in college I didn't listen to music because the trails were rough so you needed to pay really close attention to your footing and music was too distracting. But since I've been running on ASS-phalt I've listen to my Fifth Limb non-stop because I tend to get bored out of my mind. However, as Hal (Higdon) told me wisely, if you are going to be outside running for hours, potentially in the dark and/or poor weather conditions, it's important not to space out and put yourself in danger (from drivers/scary dogs/creepy people). So I'm going to try to wean myself off of it (it's not that I don't love you baby...no don't look at me like that...). We'll see.

Plans foiled already; new resolve sought

2007-10-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I completely forgot about dinner with my parents tonight. I had all these plans to take a long run after work and now I have to try and squeeze in a quickie during lunch. I don't really WANT to run at lunch because a) I feel hurried and b) (vanity alert) my hair will get all unfortunate. But, if I run at a decent pace at lunch time I can do three miles easily, and then tomorrow do a nice longer run. And then? Oh, then its time to LAY ON THE COUCH and watch a movie and eat plain popcorn with nutritional yeast (because yes, yes I am going to drive to Freddies on Friday unless its not raining in which case I will stop by on my way home). (AND YES, I like nutritional yeast, thank you KATHERINE for corrupting my heretofore pure love of popcorn!!)
I'm looking at running up Tabor and doing laps around the reservoir. So, if it takes one mile to get up to the Reservoir, and one lap is .561 miles, then I could do an easy 5-miler by running up there, doing six laps, and running back. And if I run for speed, I should be able to do it in ~50 minutes. And eventually maybe 45. I don't think I have hugely unrealistic goals. Lofty maybe, ambitious, but not out of this world. I just have to stick to the plan.
Digression alert: You know here's the thing: really, its not that bad. If I can get my pace up, the runs during the week are fine, the max is 8 miles, which should take less than an hour and a half. And on the weekends, yes, you're talking hours, but whatever. It's not like you have anything better to be doing, really. Look, I know I want to do this. I want to be physically able to run 26.2 miles (in a row, dammit!), I want to have that sense of accomplishment and yes, maybe I do want the T-shirt and the medal too. And I feel like less-fit people than myself have done it. So basically, I just need to make a plan and stick to it, no excuses and no wimping out. If you know that you won't be able to run after work, you WILL get up and run before.

The moment of truth

2007-10-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

I think I might have finally made up my mind to do it. Forget talking about it and thinking about it. I'm going to throw my hat in the ring. I found a marathon up in Washington in April that just looks gorgeous. It's the Yakima River Canyon Marathon, and basically the course just follows along the river at the bottom of an amazing high desert canyon. It's smallish, about 500 runners, with a good mix of fast and slow runners. As an added bonus there aren't a lot of spectators, which I think will be fine with me. That marathon is on April 5. I copied Hal Higdon's training schedule into an Excel spreadsheet and compared it to my upcoming schedule. I'd have to start following his calendar the week of December 3, meaning I have a good six weeks to work on getting my mileage up over twenty and my long run to 8+ miles. Totally doable. I might have a slight hiccup in the middle, since I'm flying back to NY end of December, but luckily the flight out is on a rest day and the flight back is at 7:20 PM, so I shouldn't have a problem fitting in a run in the AM. I am a tad concerned RE: snow at home. It hasn't been terribly snowy the past couple of years, but it easily could snow which would, of course, drive me inside. And I don't think the Vassar indoor track is open during Christmas week. Hmmm. I guess that is something to worry about closer to the date. Maybe I could find an open gym and just get a temp membership or something.