Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Objective: endurance & progression.  7 mi easy, 6 moderate, 4 MP effort (pace off w/ hills,  & wind)

 48 to 52 F.  very windy (20mph w/ gusts to 40). Partly sunny, turning more cloudy.

Hello March!  (Yes, Mr. Winter. I did receive your memo about how just because it's March doesn't mean you're through with me. Very impressive wind today. But I'll have you know I saw A Bee today. So there.)

I decided to have a little adventure today. After spending several miles running my usual haunts I went down the Parkway to old Snoqualmie to see... the track!  Going down that hill (~2 miles and 5-12% grade) is always really hard on me because I'm not a natural heel striker but you really have to on a hill.  As the wind howled, I comforted myself with the happy thought that all that wind would be behind me on the way up. (Not entirely, but pretty much was.)  I remembered to bring my new key and successfully found and entered the beautiful high school track, ran a mile on it, and decided that was quite enough for today.   After all, the point was just to break the ice and actually use my little key before I forgot where I put it, or that I even have it.

My "marathon pace" miles are, once again, effort level.  I just cannot stick to a pace  when I'm running up a steep hill, or when the wind is pushing me all over the place.  Is this dishonest? 

My plans for this run went quite well except for one thing.  Being spoiled as I am by the abundant bathrooms and year round working drinking fountains up here on the Ridge, I totally forgot to plan for hydration.  No money, no Camelbak, and every drinking fountain in town is closed down for the winter.   At about 13 miles, I realized I was in trouble.  I ended up drinking awkwardly from a sink in the creepy bathroom at the Railroad Museum.  I just hope it was potable.  If I die of some kind of poisoning later today, it's been really, really great blogging with you guys.  

Objective: easy

50F, wind 10-15 mph w/ gusts 25-30, cloudy

15 min. strength wk

I still cannot believe my luck.  From about 3 AM until 4:30 AM, the wind and the rain were so strong that I could not sleep soundly, for all the racket it was making on the windows.  When the alarm finally went off,  the noise had diminished but I could still see the rain pouring down under the streetlamp.  "Don't think, just go.  Don't think, just go."  I step outside and -- no rain.   I don't think this is what Dr. Phil meant when he said, "Life rewards action," but I feel like I got the grand prize today.  And I was so close to blowing off the run. It's especially tempting the day after a long run, when "recovery" could easily mean more z's. 

Objective: 2 easy, 5 moderate, 1+ easy, 5 hill sprints scattered through run

Mid 40's F, windy (10-20 mph), raining (heavy rain 1st 3 miles)

"The Evergreen State."  They just can't call it that if we don't get tons of rain most of the year.   And if you want to be a runner and you dislike the TM, ya gotta run in it!  The bright side:  my shoes never got so wet that they made squishy noises, I have great gear for this type of run, and -- as the Doplar on the website promised -- it did lighten up a bit after the initial car wash conditions.

Back when I ran in Cannon Beach in November, there was one run that was the wettest I've ever dealt with.  Flooded beach, pouring rain, vicious wind... I think of that day whenever I have a rainy run now: "well, it's not as wet as that time on Cannon Beach."  It makes me smile because I remember thinking when I did that run, "this is the wettest you'll ever have to be on a run."

Speaking of water,  a hydration story...  My DH works with a guy who entered a weight loss contest in which anyone who lost 10% of their body weight by a certain date got a share of the $1000+ pot.  This weekend was the weigh in.  He weighed in and found that he was 3.5 pounds over his goal.  Then he went home and got on his elliptical for an hour or so, came back and weighed in again and was 1 pound under his goal weight.  (Cheating?)  Well, the point is: drink lots of water after you run. 

ETA: One of my buddies from Ravelry has joined the blog.  Please send a welcome to April27!  

Objective: VO2 and leg strength:  2+ mi w.u., 4x .25 mi hill (5%) @9-9:15 w/ jog down, then moved to flatter area, 4x .3 mi @ 7:50-8:10 w/ 3 min jog between reps. 

38F, cloudy, wet streets but no rain, calm. 

20 min. abs, upper body, stretches & Stick

Nice morning for running! I'm trying to appreciate that light in the last 15 minutes of my runs these days, as it will be taken away from me again this Sunday. :(

I am very pleased with this run, for several reasons.  It was my own idea to split the workout between hill reps and flat reps, and that provided some nice variety.  Challenging but still enjoyable. 

I also got in the planned miles, which doesn't seen to happen very often.  Between getting out of the house a couple of minutes late, stopping for a bathroom, and just general slowness (underestimating the time it will take?), I usually cover a bit less than I intend to.  The plan goes like this: Sun 18-20+, Mon 5-7 (depending on Sun), Tue & Thu 9, Wed 7, Fri 8.  I rarely hit those numbers, but it's a work in progress, right?

Ever since I got this cadence thing worked out (see last Friday's post), I've been thinking more about the other elements of faster paces.  Today I had a feeling that maybe I've spent too much time working on my cadence. I've done form drills too, but I am afraid the cadence drills have made my stride a little choppy.  Or maybe it always was.  Today I tried to really focus on leg power and arm swing.  But when the reps got really hard, when I asked myself, "what is your worst barrier to running farther or faster at this moment," the answer was, "lungs."   I'm sure it all ties together; I guess my over-active brain wants to understand what lies between me and my goal. 

Objective: easy to moderate.

38F, windy at times (10-20mph), light rain started at mile 2, heavy at mile 4 w/ increasing sleet (snow?) 

The white stuff took me completely by surprise.  I was expecting a "chance of light showers," so I did not wear my jacket, just a thermal fleece.  Once wet, the wind did not feel good!  Would anyone like to sell me a crystal ball? It might be more accurate than the National Weather Service.

My run felt pretty good today. I am surprised to feel very little soreness after yesterday. Nor am I extremely tired.  I hope that doesn't mean I didn't work hard enough. I was very thorough with my stretch n Stick routine yesterday; maybe that made a difference.

Have you had a bad day lately?  It cannot compare with the nightmare experience my friend told me about last night.  This was about 6 hours of her day yesterday I pass it on for entertainment purposes, and to help us all appreciate the little things that go right...

At a little past 5 AM, she was awakened by the sound of the large kettle of turkey broth (set on low simmer overnight) hitting the floor, having been pulled down by the dog.  As she is trying to finish up the cleaning operation, still in jammies, daughter reminds her of the time - she has to drop her off for an early class.  Grabs a coat and runs out the door, still in jammies(now turkey broth covered) , hair disheveled, forgetting to grab cell phone, almost neglects to put on shoes, does neglect to put on socks.  Drops off DD and gets back on freeway -- runs out of gas.  Walks about a mile on freeway to get gas in turkey soaked jammies, can only carry a gallon can, turns out it's not enough to start engine.  Passing commuter stops and takes pity, drives her to a phone. Calls her parents, gets larger can of gas, is driven back to car. Battery dead from lengthy use of hazard lights.  Parents too cautious to turn their car around on freeway to jump start.  All of them go searching for a new battery to buy.  Three stores, none found.   Eventually decide to make the dangerous turn around to jump start the car. Finally home.  Never run errands in your jammies, watch out for the dog, and take good care of your car!  :)

Objective: moderate w/ strides (when roads allowed)

28 F, clear, light breeze (6 mph), very icy (2 slips, no falls)

20 min strength work

We ended up getting over 2 inches of snow yesterday morning, followed by a partial melt in the afternoon.  Then it all froze in the night, creating a very challenging situation for navigating around the icy places. On some streets there were lots of dry stretches of pavement, in others none at all. 

When I realized how icy it was, I bagged my plan for a 3 x 1 mile MP workout and just threw in strides whenever I could.  Still, it was absolutely gorgeous this morning. First I had a starry sky to look at, then a beautiful frost covered world, witht the sky lightening behind the Cascades. I wouldn't trade it for a Dreadmill workout.  I had to soak in the pleasure of partial daylight on a weekday run, since this is the last time for another month or two (DLS time).  Oh well, I'll still have Sundays. 

Objective: endurance w/ MP miles. 

Planned: 20 miles total with 5 easy (10:30-12:00), 5 x alternating 1 mile MP (8:55), 1 mile easy 10:30-11:30),  4 moderate (10:00 to 10:30), 1 mile easy (10:30-11:30)

Splits:
Miles 1-5  11:01  10:39  10:25  11:16  10:27
Miles 6-15   8:36  10:44  8:36 10:32  8:43  10:36  8.33  10:37  8:59  12:17 (walked some)
Miles 16-20.17  10:19  10:50  10:15  10:33  10:13  (10:16 last .17)

Conditions in Seattle:  38F going up to low 40s, mostly cloudy becoming mostly sunny, light wind ~10 mph.

It's been kind of a hectic weekend, and I was already a little cranky about DLS time starting, but the 2-3 inches of snow on the ground this morning was the last straw.  I have already missed 2 important long run workouts in February due to illness, and though I knew that I could do the 20 miles in the snow, there was no way I was going to get the MP.  After my little emotional breakdown, my sweet, level headed husband said, "why don't you go to Seattle?"  It's a 45 minute drive each way, but I decided that it would be worth it to save my workout. Seattle's weather is much milder than ours.

Have you ever gone back to your old elementary school?  Running laps around Green Lake in Seattle was a little like that.  It seemed smaller.  I used to run there back when I lived nearby and was a beginner; so much has changed since then - in me, that is. I remember the day I made it around the lake two times! and thought I would collapse. 

It's a lovely spot, with two paths around it: a dirt trail on the outer perimeter (about 3.2 miles) and an asphalt trail closer to the lake (about 2.7 miles). I did a little of each today, but the outer trail was quite muddy and uneven, with large puddles to navigate. 

But the inner trail had its challenges too.  I forgot how crowded Green Lake can get on a sunny weekend day.  There were literally hundreds of walkers, runners, bikers and skaters going around.  At times, I had to weave in and out of what seemed like a 20-body-thick clump of humanity.  But it is mostly flat, with the exception of a few mild, short inclines, which is a luxury for me.   And there is no traffic to cross.  By switching directions and paths, I could make the laps fairly interesting, enjoy the use of my car as a base for hydration and fuel, and have a rare glimpse of what my pace  truly is when not measured in my hilly home turf.

I had a little trouble with side stitches -- very unusual for me.  Mile 12 (the 4th rep of 5) should probably not even be counted in the workout because I stopped the clock and had to walk around until the stitch subsided.  It came back in a different spot in mile 15, making me walk a bit more.  I rarely get a stitch. ??

My biggest concern about this workout is how difficult it was for me to control my pace.  Unless I stare at the dang Garmin every moment, I can't seem to tell how fast I'm going.  Those first 4 reps were way faster than I intended (perhaps causing the side stitches?).  They tired me out so badly that on #5, when I thought I had blown it because I was feeling so pooped by then, I finally hit the pace for which I was aiming all along.  Report card:  "needs improvement" on pace control, A+ on mileage...

Oh, and  a big D minus on temper control.  Around mile 17 I got hit by a dog and kind of lost it.  Yes, hit by a dog. You can see the pace drop there when I stopped to yell my head off at this guy.  He had an extendable leash (they should be illegal), and the dog was way over on my side of the path, looking behind him. As I scooted off to the outer edge to get by, the nitwit pulled the leash back in, which brought the dog's head back around to the front and wham! into my thigh.  (And the poor dog got walloped too.)  After that, I had a hard time controlling myself with other extendable leash owners,  yelling as I went along. "Pull that in!" "Too long!"  and the like.  My intolerance for crowded conditions, my tiredness, and the continuing pain in my leg brought out my warrior persona (not pretty), but fortunately I was almost done.

Objective: recovery, easy & slow

30F, very light snow falling, streets and some sidewalks bare, everything else snow covered, a bit icy in places.

My legs were pretty dead today, and quite stiff.   Having a little voice in my head remind me that it was actually the middle of night did not help.  (DLS time.)

It seems that all my running in the rain has taken its toll on my headlamp. Though the batteries are fairly new,  the light has been flickering lately and today it would not come on at all.  Looks like there is a lot of corrosion on the contact spot.  I'll see if I can scrape that off. 

I hope the blog gets fixed soon.  Looks like miles are getting posted but no details or text. 

Objective: Remain vertical.

23F, clear,  lots of ice, full moon.

20 min. strength work

We'll call this an "anything but the treadmill" run.   After a late start (trying to get my headlamp to work), I made  my way slowly through the icy streets.  The moon and the abundant snow that fell yesterday made the world a little lighter, but without my headlamp it was really hard to see the ice and I had to be extremely cautious. There were patches of treacherous, thick, black ice from a late afternoon melt, and then on the relatively bare spots of pavement there was that ice that comes from moist air and forms a sort of flower pattern.  The darker, less traveled side streets were the worst (and of course the hardest to see), so I soon found myself circling the around and around on the 3 main arterial roads.  Glacial pace, glacial surface.  "At least I'm not on the treadmill."

Moving so slowly on the ice, I could have used another layer of clothing. After a bathroom stop, my core temperature must have dropped enough to create a crisis in that little room in my brain where the shut-off-blood-to-hands lever is.  I had two layers of wool on my hands, but it was as if they were bare. Oh, the pain. Accept and endure. "At least I'm not on the treadmill." 

Now, about that 5K on Saturday.  Not ready. Not in the least.  I looked up my 5K history in my planner; it has been nearly five years since I ran a 5K.  My time back then was just over 29 minutes.  At the time, I think I had about 14 fast twitch muscle fibers, and now I'm probably up to 26 or 27.  But I'm well overdue for this particular flavor of humble pie, and the event is right in my own neighborhood, so there I'll be. 

Of course, I'm not "fast" in the marathon either.  But I can look at that other number, twenty-six point two, and feel all proud and happy inside.  And I enjoy the longer, slower races, in which my lungs do not feel like they are on fire.  The course for this 5K is quite hilly.  All I need for the humiliation to be complete is for it to be as icy on Saturday as it is today.  But I don't think Old Man Winter would do that to Sean, our race director and resident Awesome Elite Runner.  It's me Winter is after.

Objective: 2E + 4 moderate, w/ hard effort on hills + cool down

5:15 AM, 26F (w. ch. 16) wind 10-15 mph, clear.  Roads bare and dry

15 min. strength work

It was very nice to have traction back today.  The sidewalks on the shady sides of the streets are still snow covered, but the roads were nice and dry.   

I wasn't sure what kind of a workout to do today.  It would normally have been a speed work day, but that didn't seem appropriate, with a 5K in 3 days.  Just another sign that I have very little experience with this distance. 

Headlamp update.  DH fiddled with it yesterday; he has electronic testing gadgets and secret knowledge that seems to only appear on the Y chromosome.  After about 10 minutes the headlamp was pronounced dead.  It was only 7PM, so I scooted off to Issaquah to replace it at the REI store. 

Objective: easy, with 1 mi @ 5K pace

5:05 AM: 29F, clear, wind 10-15 mph, lots of moonlight

15 min. strength work

In preparation for Saturday's race, I took Bonnie's advice from yesterday's comments, and threw in a mile of race pace running after mile 5.  I'm not completely convinced that I have a 5K pace.  Sometimes it seems like I just have 3 speeds: slow (11:00), medium (10-10:15) and fast (8:50-9:10). Well, fast relative to the other two.  "5K pace" implies that you could maintain it for 3 miles, over varying terrain.  Hm, doubtful.  Does everyone really have all those different paces that McMillan suggests?  I think someone told me on the RT forums once that Ryan Hall's 10K pace is just a few seconds faster than his marathon pace.  I wish I understood this better.

I'm also not convinced that it is inevitable for me to get a PR over my 29 min 5K from five years ago.  It's true that I'm running twice as much weekly mileage, have improved my marathon time by over 30 minutes, and have mostly likely become a much more efficient runner.  But I am also 5 years older, at an age when 5 years can make a big difference. (There's a reason the BQ standard falls every 5 years!)  And I do not have a lot of talent, training, or enjoyment at this distance.  

Moreover, Saturday's course is very hilly.  My one mile today at 8:30 pace had me on the edge of my aerobic zone and if I had encountered a hill at any time, it would have knocked me down quick.  Earlier in my run I covered one of the hills that will be on the course; approaching it well within my aerobic zone (10:15), and I still managed to slow to 11:00 by the top. So what hope is there of me hitting 8:30 miles, or 9:30  miles for that matter, throughout the course?  I don't mean to be pessimistic, I just want to be clear about what I can or cannot hope for.   Any thoughts on this would be welcome.

Today's tidbit... There are a couple of interesting videos on technique you might enjoy.  Part 1 & Part 2

Resting today (ah, sleeeep).  5K tomorrow. Long run Sunday.  

~40F, light wind, raining. 

In a nutshell:   I am overjoyed, amazed, absolutely thrilled.   Thank you, Bonnie!!!! I did just what you advised.  PR of over 3 minutes.  :D

Before the race: I kept my jacket on trying to stay dry for the warm up, an easy jog with some strides and a couple of hill sprints.  Although I live less than a mile away, I brought the car to leave clothing and store different clothing if needed.

Mile 1 (8:28): A smallish crowd of about 400 runners, we took off down the first block, with a very slight decline, turning into a paved forested path. At this point I felt totally walled in with the bodies; there was no method for lining up and the whole field was scattered with walkers and runners of all speeds.   A runner just in front of me tripped and nearly fell, flailing arms for about 4 yards.  I broke through and took off a little too fast to get away from the mass of bodies.  Had to rein myself in when I realized I was breathing far too hard (teensy glance at watch - 7:38 - yikes).  We went a short way down the path, and then made a hairpin turn to come up the other side of the little wooded area - uphill.  Emerging back onto the residential streets, the next few blocks were uphill, then flat, then uphill, then flat, finally flattening out for a stretch before the 1 mile marker.

Mile 2 (8:41):  This mile began with seeing my wonderful family by the side of the road as we passed near my house.  Waved quickly and pressed on.  Long downhill with some turns - at times too steep to be helpful or comfortable - then a long uphill, the worst on the course.  Some time in here I was thinking, "Me no like."  I never felt like my legs were having trouble (even now, they feel great), but my lungs burned and I never could quite exhale enough.  I followed Bonnie's advice and didn't look at my watch,  just tried to stay on the edge of what I could tolerate and paid attention to my form. 

Mile 3 (8:03) and last .1 (8:08):  A big part of this mile was on another paved, forested path.  Only one uphill stretch here, but some other challenges.  A steep downhill on gravel, a sharp turn, some ice at the edges of the path, and one short, snow-covered bridge.   When I knew there was only about .5 left to run, and I knew there were no more hills, I pumped my arms and just went as fast as I could maintain.  Approaching the finish, I saw the clock and really could not believe it.  Got a little teary even.  Remained gasping for breath for at least a minute after the finish.

Post race - I finally met Jeff!   I got a wonderful little trophy and a Footzone gift certificate. 

You guys can now all say, "I told you so."  I've earned that.  I promise I will never burden you all with whiny predictions of doom again.  (You can remind me of this if I forget.)   I was not being falsely modest in my doubts this past week, I truly had no idea I could perform that well.  I can't say I really enjoyed it - until it was over of course!  It was extremely uncomfortable.   And the AG award reflects the small, uncompetitive field that was racing.  But I don't care.  I just might have to sleep with the darn thing.  I am so pleased and encouraged by this. 

Objective: slow & easy

7:30 AM:  32F, snowing and blowing (15-20 mph, gusting to 30). Snow wasn't sticking to streets at first, traction was an issue after mile 5.

I would have liked to make this a much longer run, but winter got me on this one.  I could have used some goggles and an extra layer on the legs.  Painfully cold hands, painful stinging of the snow on my face and in my eyes, etc.  I was pleased to see, however, that my legs felt pretty good and my energy level was good until I started getting cold. 

I'm still grinning like an idiot over this...

...the gold bumps on the shoe are the bottoms of golden wings. :D

Objective: easy & slow

5:15 AM: Mid 30's F, snowing hard through mile 4, wind 5-10 mph, thin layer of snow on roads, building steadily throughout run (by mile 2, wished I had Yaktrax on)

20 min strength & stretching

Another run in sloppy conditions.  I couldn't help getting a little stiff in the neck and shoulders, trying to keep the snow off my face and eyes.  I wonder what it would be like to run with my big, warm ski goggles and a balaclava.   :)  At least my legs did feel really good today.  But I became tired a little early, possibly because of traction issues. 

This week's mileage will be a bit low.  It was scheduled for a recovery week, even before I had to cut Sunday's run short.  Thu-Sat will be part of a mini-taper for a half-m on Sunday.  I can't figure out what planet my brain was on when I decided to race two weekends in a row.  Maybe the half will just be a training run. I'll see how I feel. 

I am starting to think about fall marathons.  It would be nice to find one that is not too challenging (in case I am still after my BQ), not too hard to get to, possibly a good destination for a family vacation.  It would be so easy to just do Portland again, but a bit boring as I've run it 3 times already.  It could be nice to redeem myself there, as my last Portland was disastrous, or it could be just plain uninspiring.  It sounds crazy, but I am thinking about Billings.  I have cousins in Montana whom I would love to see, and we could perhaps go to Yellowstone.   My other thought is So. Calif., with a trip to Disneyland for my DD.  I'd love to hear other ideas! ???

Objective: 1 easy, remainder moderate.  Recovery week & mini-taper.

5:15 AM: 35F,  heavy precip. - rain mixed with wet snow.  Wind 5-10 mph except in some open spaces; seemed like ~20 mph around Eagle Lake.  Traction: good in 1st 3 miles, after that it became part solid snow, mostly slush swamp.  Muck-o-meter on high.

Miserable weather!  We seem to be in this pattern where it rains all night and starts snowing 2 minutes before my run.  I don't know whether the rest of the country gets a lot of this wet snow, but it is horrible: huge (1+ inch across), wet flakes. And when they hit skin, clothing, or shoes, they stick.  They collect on the ground and make a deep layer of slush.  I'm so tired of being wet and cold.  Dry snow with colder air would be far easier.

Not that I would have relished being out in this weather even longer, but I am frustrated by my  late start today, especially because I did manage to drag myself out of bed on time.  But my favorite cat, the Cat Who Must Be Obeyed, was badly injured in a fight yesterday.  I underestimated the time it would take for me to get his needs taken care of this morning. His swelling is down and he is eating well, so I'm sure he'll be ok, but he is quite beat up.  I wish he would consent to be an indoor cat like the other two, but he needs a bigger world.  For now he is willing to stay inside, thank goodness.

Now, where did I put that silver lining to this mucky morning?  ...Oh yes, here it is: no treadmill!!!  :)

Objective: easy to moderate, w/ 2 mi @ MP.  Recovery week and mini-taper.

5:05 AM:  36F, wind 10 mph, dry!!! :D

15 min. abs and upper body only

Traction, oh sweet traction!  After spending the past 3 runs huddled over in the driving rain and snow, I felt like a turtle coming out of its shell.   It's still plenty cold, but it's funny how that's quite manageable when one is not being plastered with wet snow. 

I just had a look at the course map for Sunday's Half-M.  Whoa.  I've run this before; the course has changed!   The start and finish are in a completely different location, and the course covers some new terrain.   Hm.  I'm going to have to get my brain wrapped around that.  You'll be all right.  Change is good. It's probably an improvement.  It's an adventure. You'll be just fine.

Objective: 4 easy, 1 MP, remainder easy. Mini-tapering for Sunday half-m.

5:15 AM:  40F, wind 9-12 mph, occasional light showers. Very pleasant.

I really love these shoes, the Brooks ST3.  It has taken me a while to figure this out (or maybe taken a while to arrive at this point of view), but I like running better when I can feel the street a little more. I don't like a lot of cushy bulk around my foot and I seem to run a lot better without it.  Whether I would feel that way for 26.2 miles is another question.  I'm going to find out about half of that question on Sunday as I try out these shoes for a longer race.  Vocabulary word for the day, proprioception.

ETA: Today I crossed paths with my old running buddy (ran with her for a little while about 2.5 years ago.  We ran together for a couple of miles.  It was  nice to see her.

Age place: 15th of 34, Overall place 411 of 1,619. Time from gun to start mat: 2:14!
40F, light wind (except strong head wind last mile), occasional light rain
2 Accelgels
Attire (worked quite well): Nike tights (light), thin tech shirt plus thicker half-zip top, cap, Smartwool gloves

Splits 9:28, 9:27, 9:08 , 9:20 , 8:53 , 9:08, 9:01, 919  , 9:01 , 10:12 , 8:58 ,10:05, (last .1) 9:32  PR of about 2 minutes.

I am very happy about my results, but not very happy with the race overall.  I did not enjoy myself as much I thought I would, for reasons below, and I do not think I paced myself well. But I learned a lot and it was an excellent workout.  It is very gratifying to see my time come down, especially given the challenging course.

If I said I had a course PR of 3 minutes, that would only be about 70% true, as at least 1/3 of the course was completely new to me, including the challenging finish miles.  The happy me says, "This course is gorgeous: woods and beautiful homes and Lake Washington views almost all the time!"  The grumpy me says, "This course is nothing but hills, hills, hills! When you're not going up, you're going down. It's a Leg Eater. It's a series of ski hills, minus the chairlifts."  So, yin and yang and all that jazz.

The start area was up an alley behind the Community Center. Not good.  All of us late-porta-potty users scrambling to get into the alley entrance without going near the chip mat and trying to move down to our own corral through a mass of bodies. Not pretty.   It took me about 4.5 miles to stop feeling boxed in by slower runners, and I really think it's because people felt relieved just to make it into the alley, let alone move back to where they belong by pace.  

Around mile 5 I was no longer fighting bodies to keep my pace and I had a few fun miles on the "rollers."  The long hills come later in the race, when your legs are nice and thrashed.  But until around mile 9 I was pretty happy.  I saw I was on course for a possible sub-2, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't last.  As I mentioned before, the pacing just didn't click for me early and I spent a lot of energy trying to get around people.  

Mile 10, the dark times.  Here is where one of my great character flaws comes in.  When I get to a certain level of tiredness, I have a hard time caring.  Goals are reevaluated.  Not walking becomes a great virtue.   Mile 11, I rallied, as you can see.  Mile 12, I had the school spirit but no pom-poms.  Did my best.  The last .1 is uphill. Dang those hills.

The good: beautiful course, perfect running temperature.  DD & DH were there at the finish as well as my Ravelry friend, who won 1st in the 10K for our age group.
The bad: rotten start area, poor endurance through the hills (despite where I live! sheesh!).
The ugly: trying to get away from the guy at mile 11 who was retelling the account of his friend's eyewitness report of Rwanda.  Machete count.... I don't want to know!!!

Burning questions:  Does a hilly, tough, 2:02 half-m mean I have a shot at my 4:05 BQ in May (on flat)?  Should I be worried that I actually faded at mile 10, despite my 50 mpw and hilly terrain running?  Did I have a "bad day," but it doesn't show as much because I am just so.... (stop laughing!)?  Did the 5K I raced last weekend have a lingering effect on me today?  If I loved, loved loved these shoes at 13 miles, will they be ok for a full 26.2?  If my calves are hurting already (usually there is at least 24 hours delay), does that mean the shoes aren't ok for distance, or was it just the hills?  

Best thought of the day:  I was about 2 minutes faster today than I was on my half in January, on a harder course!  Thanks everyone, for encouraging me along!!! 

Objective: recovery. Oh so slow.

5:20 AM: 37F, wind 10-15 mph, dry.

Survey of body parts below the waist: ain't nobody happy.  Loudest complainer: the calves, which are so sore that they actually woke me up at night a couple of times when I moved my legs. I might have to carry the Stick around with me all day today.

So I guess I'll be changing my blog title now.  I had a little bit of dim daylight towards the end of my run and the birds are singing.  I didn't realize how much I missed that. I ran well through the winter and my reward is to know, now and forever, that I can do it.

I wanted to share a little mental trick upon which I stumbled yesterday, but the race report was getting so long that I left it out.  But I think it could be useful to others and I certainly will be using it again.  You know how so much of distance racing is a mental game, battling self doubts and uncomfortable periods of running? Well, this is something that bolstered my psyche more than once yesterday. I don't know how I thought to do it, but I suspect there is a tiny place in my brain called The Department of Cheerful Thought.  Ok, so this is what I started telling myself: "I am actually an 8:30 pace marathoner. I'm holding back right now. I could be running about 30-60 seconds faster if I wanted to.  I just feel like taking it easy.  8:30 is my normal pace."  In fact, 8:30 is more like my 5K pace, but pretending somehow made the true pace feel easier, even though I knew quite well it was a hoax. 

Objective: recovery

5:30 AM: 39F,  light rain at times. 

20 min. abs, upper body, stretching, and massage.

I am the kind of person who gets Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, so I wasn't surprised to find myself getting more stiff and sore throughout the day yesterday.  By noon, my quads had joined the mutinous calf muscles and by evening, after seeing me hobble around, my family was making comments like, "But it was only a half!!"  YYYep. 

So, I resigned myself to a sort of "hair of the dog that bit you" workout this morning.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to run at all, and overdressed a bit in case walking might be all I could manage.  A walk wouldn't have been a whole lot slower than the thing I was doing.  I won't call it "running."  But, velocity was not the point, was it?  I really hope I get my legs back in the next couple of days. I've got work to do! 

I am still in a quandary over the shoes.  I know I busted myself on the hills Sunday, but I also believe that my beloved ST3's make my feet (and hence, my calves) work harder.  Is it too much for 26.2?  Should I wear them on my long runs for further testing? Or is it foolish for someone at my fitness level to consider wearing racing shoes for a full marathon?   The Triax 12 shoes have worked well for me in the past; maybe I should just stick with those?  Any ideas/input welcome!

Objective: recovery, still - ug

5:20 AM:   33F, wet snow mixed w/ rain coming down, white blanket on yards, plants, cars, & slush on streets and sidewalks.  Bright side: no wind.

How surprising, to wake up to  a white world when our forecast called for 38F and raining.  I don't know who told Winter he could have a curtain call. 

My legs feel better today, though they are still sore.  It's nice to see them getting better rather than worse (as happened between Monday and Tuesday).  Mentally, I am really ready to get back to my normal mileage and routine so it's a bit frustrating to have to wait for the lower-body-part gang to catch up. 

I decided on another blog title that I like even more.  It's a bit more positive, and sums up where my head is at right now.  Of course, I"m old enough to be Deena's mother and have none of her inborn talent, but her passion for running and her intelligence are part of my ideal goals.  Some favorite Deena moments:

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/speaker/2-deena-kastor/208-choices

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/speaker/2-deena-kastor/63-140-miles-a-week (Favorite quote: "People talk about overtraining. For most people it's not a question of overtraining, but of under-resting..."  (I love sleep!))

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/speaker/2-deena-kastor/13405-deena-kastor

http://www.deenakastor.com/

Objective: easy

5:05 AM:  34F, clear and starry, wind 10-15 mph, a bit of black ice where water remains from yesterday.

15 min. abs, upper body, and stretch-n-Stick

A very pleasant run.  My legs feel much better, though still a little "dead."  But I got my pace below 11:00 for the first time since the race, and even went down to 9:30 when I lost track of time and had to rush the last 1.5 miles.

Long ago, this morning, I had a very nice run.  When I arrived home, I found my husband seriously ill and we all piled in the car to the ER.  Serious, but not life threatening, and he will be ok.  I'll just say that it is really, really hard to watch someone you love writhing in pain.  We got home from the hospital around 6:30 PM. It's been a long day.

Objective: endurance.

9:15 AM: 34F climbing to 42F, mostly cloudy w/ a few brief sleet showers, about an  inch of new snow on the ground (yards and trees - pavement just a little slushy)  which mostly melted by noon, a few sunbreaks and some wind in the last hour.  Traction good after the first couple of slushy miles.

A fine run, w/ spring and winter duking it out around me. Melting snow, birds singing, heather in bloom.  Having brought my Dearest home from the hospital yesterday afternoon, I felt a lightness and happpiness throughout the run.  And check out that sleep tally!  I generally prefer to run pretty early in the day, but I knew the snow was going to stop and melt around 9 or 10 so I enjoyed some extra z's. 

Bravo to all of you who raced this weekend!  We've got some pretty swift folks on the blog!

Objective: recovery / easy.

5:30AM: 36F, wind 10-15 mph, cloudy, dry.

15 min. strength wk

A little stiff this morning, but I felt pretty good all things considered.  I ran extremely slowly, even when I felt like I was moving faster. 

I have a couple of commercials I would like to deliver this morning.  The first is that I hope everyone will consider making a donation to the blog if you have never done so. I figure it is at least as valuable as a subscription to Runners World, if not more so, and I'm sure Sasha appreciates some help paying for it all. He has a lot of little mouths to feed. There is a handy "donate" button on the page.

The second commercial is for ladies only; unless you gentlemen have female runners in your life who struggle with hormonal interference, feel free to wander off and discuss basketball or barbeque methods amongst yourselves...   Back in January, my NP gave me an herbal supplement for the hot flashes I was having at the time.  It not only stopped them immediately, the supplement had some very positive effects on the monthly fluctuations in running quality I have always experienced.  It used to be that if a race or a long run fell on the wrong day of the month, I could depend on poor performance, dead legs, and a feeling of heaviness that sapped my energy.  Since I'm going through the big M, I wasn't sure at first whether this supplement had "evened out" my running during the month, or if I was just closing shop so to speak.  But I now feel there is a definite benefit, having tested it for the past 3 months.  I take this supplement every day and increase the amount I take as soon as I feel my hormones slipping out of control.  It is called MMS Pro (brand) Women's Formula H (440 mg).  My NP said she does recommend it for PMS as well, and that some women take quite large doses if necessary, with no ill side effects.  I wish I had found it long ago, so I pass it on in the hopes that it can be helpful to others.  :)

 A little pre-blogging... it looks like I will have an opportunity to go skiing tomorrow (Tuesday).  It is the end of March, and I have not been skiing even once yet this year.  Amazing. There was a time in my life (before DD) when I skied every weekend in all conditions. Perhaps I'll get more snow time next year, once I've conquered some running goals, but I'm so pleased about my running this winter that I cannot complain.  And this might be the last ski day as well...

Foiled again. We were about 5 miles from the summit (Stevens Pass) when we found ourselves in a line of stopped cars. Avalanche control. When the avalanche danger is high, they stop all traffic and shoot dynamite off the sides of the highway. Then they have to clear the snow.  After we had sat there for about 40 minutes, I got out and hiked up to where I saw a patrol car had stopped earlier, to ask the people standing around there if they had any news. The pass wasn't expected to open until 1 PM, and the ski area closes at 4 on weekdays this time of year.  So we turned around, came down the mountain, had Mexican for lunch, and stopped at the Reptile Zoo (after all, we had a free day and no place to go). Saw a two headed turtle and a ton of scary animals.

We were home by 3:30 PM, so I decided to get a few miles in.  Low 40's, rainy, breezy.  I like morning runs better. For some reason I always seem to have invisible sand bags strapped to my legs in the afternoon.