Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Objective: Easy w/ cadence drills, tapering

Weather: 40s F, partly cloudy w/ starry patches

15 min core & weights

I am distraught this morning.  My father-in-law, whose emergency surgery I reported about 3 weeks ago, suffered a pulmonary embolism yesterday and is in very bad condition.  He has spent most of the past 3 weeks in the hospital, with complications from the surgery that removed most of his colon (necrotized).  He has been in poor health for so long, years really.  What reserves could he have to fight for his health?  The cardiologists are trying to decide whether another surgery is even possible.  

On top of my sorrow and anxiety for him, my mother-in-law and my husband, there is the comparitively frivolous sadness that I will not get to run my marathon.  In comparison to  what is happening, and what may happen in the next 24 hours, missing a marathon is as inconsequential as dropping a big ice cream sundae one has constructed, but it is bringing me to tears nonetheless.  Or maybe the whole mess is doing so.

Objective: Moderate w/ extra effort on hills, and fast finish (last .75 @ VO2max). Tapering.

Weather: 47 F, cloudy, calm, heavy mist (not quite rain) 1st mile only

15 core & weights, last day for any leg work

My sincere thanks to everyone who left comments yesterday.  I think I have recovered somewhat from the trauma of yesterday's news. My FIL is still hanging on but remains unconscious.  We talked with my MIL last night, who declares -- with some temper -- that everything threatening my FIL right now has come by his own actions: he did not follow the diet he was supposed to follow, he pulled out his tubes, he refused to walk the halls after his surgery, etc.  At the same time, we know that certain medical procedures were neglected by his nurses, such as putting on the leg massaging socks that might have prevented the first blood clot from forming.  I can tell MIL is struggling terribly with her emotions over this situation.  My DH seems pretty stable, but he is coming down with a cold; the body will sometimes express what the mind cannot.

During the past 24 hours, I have come to the conclusion that I must strive to "let go" of the outcome this week.  FIL may leave us today, tomorrow, next week, or not for years to come.  I have to continue to carry out my marathon taper and travel plans as if nothing is happening, and yet be ready for anything to happen.  I have to accept my own lack of control, not something I am very good at.  But it's going to drive me crazy if I keep thinking "I'm not racing," then "I am racing," back and forth, back and forth.  I've got to find a way to just float through this, que sera, sera. 

Objective: easy

Weather: low 40s F, cloudy but dry

15 min core & pushups 

Just an easy jaunt today. I don't feel energetic in the least, probably due to life circumstances and the 2 nights in a row of 7 hr sleep.  (I think I really need 7.5 minimum.) 

The fact that nothing has changed w/ my FIL's condition is somewhat heartening.  I guess he could still slip away but it doesn't seem like a crisis anymore.  But we are geographically far away and I don't know what quantity of information we might be missing.  No news is good news?

Objective: Last Run Potluck: mostly easy w/ 1 mile @ MP, 2 very steep hills and 4 x 1 block strides

Weather: low 30's F, part foggy, part starry

Everything holding steady.  I threw in a bunch of little extras to bolster my psyche.  Legs feel good. Spirits are up a bit. My FIL was conscious for the first time yesterday, but he may have another blood clot in his arm.  I am ready for whatever may come. 

Thanks again to everyone on the blog. I am so encouraged by having this support and by reading others' blogs.  This is my last entry before the marathon.  Happy running, everyone.

California International Marathon

Marathon #16

12/07/08

(1st half 2:11:42, negative split difference of ~4:33!)

Weather Mid to high 40s? and foggy :D  Bit of a head wind at times

Fuel: 4 Accelgels, Cytomax at 2/3 of the stations, water at others, skipped the last aid station.

Executive summary:  I am delighted with my race! Time of 4:18 & change was one minute off my PR, but I am thrilled to have achieved my two primary goals: having a happy, positive experience and running a negative split race.  It is my 2nd fastest marathon, but the very best ever in terms of endurance, mood, smart pacing, and strong finish.  I learned a lot and had a great day.

This race report is mostly about my thoughts, observations and strategies rather than a detailed course description, which you can see at www.runcim.org.  The elevation chart is there as well, which is relevant to my mile splits (below).  The chip time and half time came from the official results; the mile splits are from my Garmin (which thinks I ran 26.34). 

1-5  10:08 - 9:58 - 9:44 - 9:56 - 9:55 

6-10 9:55 - 9:35 - 9:58 - 9:48 - 9:27 

11-15  10:13 - 9:37 - 9:30 - 10:11 - 9:43

16-20 10:06 - 9:38 - 9:49 - 9:30 - 9:48

21-26.2  9:46 - 9:55 - 10:24 - 9:46 - 9:45 - 9:42 - (last .2) 9:02

****Actual running paces included scheduled walk breaks through the aid stations. 

We never know what might happen on race day.  As one of my primary goals was to have a fun experience, I felt very much at the mercy of fate for certain aspects of the race.  Each time one of these aspects turned favorably my way, my expectations for a fine day increased: first there was the fog.  So much fog.  I adore fog.  It made me so happy to have that load of cool, gray air around me.  Another detail of my imagined happiness was to meet a nice person to chat with on the bus, to take my mind off the seemingly endless ride (it always seems longer by bus -- do they go the long way round on purpose?).  And there she was; we fell into conversation in the hotel lobby while waiting for the bus, as naturally as if we'd been friends all our lives.  We were about the same age, had similar goals, and she even lives near me (about 30 minutes).  

We arrived at the start to find more porta-potties than I have ever seen at a race (thank you CIM!).  I took advantage of them 3 times, and only had to wait in line once.   At 15 minutes before gun time, I stripped off my layers and got into the roiling sea of bodies to reach the sweat bus.  Remembering my last CIM pre-race chills (ran it 2 yrs. ago), I had brought hand warmer packets, which I used to rub down my legs and keep the chill at bay as I waited.  

Mile 1: stayed relaxed and tried not to look at my watch at all.  "You want a negative split, and you want a happy race.  No pushing yet."  Though I was taking it easy, the first mile is mostly downhill, so the warm up didn't seem to cost me much time.  For my future BQ attempt, I will have to remember this when planning; I would be foolish to sacrifice that warm up period. I believe that easy first mile may have been the greatest foundation for my good race. 

Miles 1-5: As the hills appeared I tried to stay relaxed, and not panic as people surged ahead of me. The early hills at Portland in October were part of my undoing, I believe, so I consciously held back and kept the pace moderate, going by effort level rather than the actual pace. This part of the course is very pretty, what I call "California Rural."  There are very large fields by each house, wooded areas, horses in pastures, but not the stretches of uninhabited land that one finds in less densely populated places. 

I attended a sports psychology clinic at the expo in which the speaker talked about the benefit of mantras, or "power words" during a race.  I've always liked the idea but haven't used it systematically before this race.  I had some prepared words, and added to them when I found myself needing more encouragement.  During the first few miles I kept thinking this phrase: "Trust your training."  

Miles 5-13: By mile 5 I felt really great and the pace became delightfully comfortable.  I lost about 30-40 seconds somewhere in this section when I needed to remove one more layer and get it tied around my waist comfortably. (Now I see why people choose to wear Thrift Store finds and just leave them by the road.)  Though CIM is a net downhill course, it is FULL of hills, especially in the first half. My first CIM 2 years ago was a real shocker because it's billed as such a fast course.  They call them "rollers." I was pleased with my pace through the hills.  These are the magic miles, when you are all warmed up but not yet exhausted. When my flat-terrain pace crept up to 9:15, I knew enough to pull back and say, "no faster, girl -- save it for later."  A few times I consciously switched to a bit different gait, one which I've been trying out in some training runs for the past month: I let my feet contact the ground for just a bit longer and let the hip move backward slightly. It may be unorthodox, but with the terrain changing all the time I think it was good to mix running styles and let some muscle groups have a rest. The course support at CIM is fantastic, with great aid stations and people calling splits at frequent intervals throughout the whole course. At mile eight we had Santa and the Grinch calling splits, just one of many delightful details on the course.   It was during this part of the race that I had to swerve to avoid the first of 4 road kills: 3 squirrels and what might have been a rat, mostly unrecognizable.  My power words during this segment: "Nice and easy," and then "Tower of strength." I had a couple of miles where I was inexplicably dizzy. Fortunately this passed.  

Miles 13-20: Remembering there was a stretch of extremely ugly scenery at around mile 13, I had planned to sing some favorite xmas songs in my head through that mile, but thanks to the lovely fog it was hardly necessary and we were soon out of it.  During this second part of the course, the hills decrease and the scenery changes to suburban, with gorgeous fall colors and nice gardens.  As we moved through these miles, I really began passing a lot of runners.  While passing people towards the end of a race is invigorating to me, I was psychologically pulled down by it at this point.  I hate the plodding sounds of heavy feet, or sloshing fanny packs, or labored breathing. These sounds and the sight of people walking in exhaustion (not the obviously planned walk breaks of run/walkers who are on target)  -- all seemed to speak to my least confident Self. "You are blowing it. Pretty soon it will be you."  Isn't that ridiculous? I think it might be an insecurity from childhood or some kind of malfunctioning consequence of birth order.  So I added to my power words to get past them, "Horse among cattle, horse among cattle." It's not very nice, but it worked. My other phrases during this section were "Strong and smooth," and "I am Deena." lol  My biggest challenge in these miles is psychological.  I focused as much as I could during these miles on my Happiness goal, smiling as much as I could, enjoying the fog (have I mentioned I love fog?), thanking volunteers, and occasionally waving at spectators. I got lots of cheers and "nice smile!" comments.  Several times I had to extricate myself from conversations so I could concentrate and save all my oxygen for running. Nice people who could be running faster, imo. 

Miles 20-finish:  Right after mile 20, there is a huge crowd at an inflatable "brick wall," and two people dressed as Grim Reapers. This was a fun high point for me. I cannot remember ever reaching mile 20 and still being able to maintain my planned pace in a marathon.  It was wavering for sure, and I was experiencing some bad moments when my form would fall apart a little, but I was still moving forward and having fun.  I wanted to shout out to strangers, "I'm still on my pace!!"   After the party atmosphere at the "wall,"  the course became very quiet and I had my worst crisis of confidence.  I was in Terra Incognita, running so close to planned pace this late in the race. My legs and feet were starting to hurt a bit, and I was tired.  The negative thought of "you cannot maintain this" crept into my head.  I know that saying, "whether you think you can or can't, you are right."  But not all physical achievement is the product of will -- otherwise we wouldn't need to train at all!  I still do not know if my voice of doubt was correct, but it was strong.  Those splits at miles 21-24 are not slower due to hills, just doubt.  I wish it was like a gas tank on a car, with a clearly visible gauge telling me what's left.  I believe this kind of doubt can really only be conquered by layering success upon success over time, and taking incremental leaps of faith. After about mile 23 I took that little leap and decided to try to run faster, and found that I could.  Maybe it was that I knew it wasn't that far anymore, or that I had taken a "rest" by slowing down for a while, or that I was suddenly feeling like a bullet compared to the carnage around me (groaning, walking, barely jogging, weird postures), or that I went to my last power word, the one I always use at the end: "Courage, courage, courage."  I cannot begin to describe what a happy feeling it is to pass runner after runner: big guys, young men, women half my age. The final mile was a mixture of pain and pure joy -- where else but in distance running can those go together? OK, maybe childbirth. 

My only CIM course complaints: 1. Mostly horrible music on the course, thankfully very little of it.  2. The finish area was chaotic and disorganized, I was handed a bottle of water, but I never did find the refreshments (no post race food until I returned to my hotel - a first for me) because they buried them outside of the runners-only area, where I could scarcely make it through the crowds and gave up to find my family.  3. Although our roads were closed to traffic throughout the race (yay), there was no crowd control in the final mile, where two walls of bodies closed us down to less than one lane. Here I had the strength to push my pace that last mile and couldn't get around the slower runners. 

Why this is a better race than my PR: If I do a few somewhat dishonest mental tricks by factoring in the hills and the extra time for clothing issues, I can take off about a minute and find a number that is lower than my PR from Portland 2007. But I don't really have to do that to feel better about this race than my PR race, or any other in my life.  First of all, I achieved my two main goals: happiness and negative split.  The negative split is something I have never done before.  My PR  of 2007 was a positive split by a long shot -- a brilliant 18 miles followed by an 8 mile death march. Furthermore, I had a great time!  And though I walked through the aid stations as planned, I did not add ANY walking throughout the whole race (also a first).  I learned what it feels like to run on or close to my intended pace in the later miles, an experience I will surely draw on for confidence in the future.  I also learned what it takes to stick to a goal while racing.  More than once during my race, both of my goals required me to deny the temptation to go after a faster time.  

What is next: Obviously I will be picking my next race for the spring.  For training, I would like to add a bit more speed work, and just continue the workouts I have been doing.  Although I like my weight in general, I may try to take off ~5 pounds to support my BQ goal. I'd like to continue my hill work, and stay strong in the winter months, which may be a challenge.  I need to find an extra 13 minutes to get my BQ.  That seems like a lot. On the other hand, I did not have "run fast," or even "run a PR" as one of my goals for this race.  I may be wrong, but I don't think I'm quite as sore today as usual; could I have run faster? Maybe so.  But I do not think I could have run any smarter -- this was a truly wonderful marathon experience. 

Objective: slow & easy (still recovering)

Weather: mid 30s, cloudy

Core & pushups

It was great to get outside and move, though the legs are pretty dead.  My pace was in the 12's and 11's most of the time.  

I spent a good deal of the run thinking about my next training cycle and what training elements I want to include (ie I want it all, lol): long runs, tempo runs, mile repeats, hill sprints, butt kick drills, strides, progression runs, Yasso 800's, MP long runs... What did I leave out?

Carolyn - I forgot to answer your question about the voice recorder.  I wouldn't dream of bringing it on a race. All the important stuff gets burned into your brain anyway.  I only forgot one funny story, about some "on course entertainment:" Some time in the first half of the race a guy came running in the opposite direction wearing nothing but his shoes and a pair of red bikini underwear.  I was running with a bunch of women at that point and they were all whooping and cracking up.   And BTW,  I am starting over with the pushup program. I don't think I've lost that much, but I believe part of my improvement was from working faster (momentum) and not going deep enough.  I want to do this right. :)

Objective: easy/recovery

Weather: Low 30s F, cloudy, light precipitation (snow/rain/sleet/mix?)

15 min. core and weights

Another lovely jog through Snoqualmie Ridge.  There was a pretty, thin layer of snow on the grass and trees, but the sidewalks and streets were just wet -- great conditions for running. 

I have a relatively new, fleece, half-zip top that I am finally able to wear comfortably since it is so warm.  I think I tried it once last month in 40s weather and it was too hot. It was almost too hot today.  Fleece is incredible -- and that's saying a lot since I am a die hard Wool Lover. 

These shorter runs feel really weird.  My legs are not recovered yet, but I keep thinking "I have to go in now?"  Of course, it could just be my mental conditioning: I am accustomed to running in daylight only on my long run days. I'm going to get spoiled!  DH goes back to work Monday, but he has some more vacation days he must use before 2009. 

Objective: easy/recovery + fighting mental battle to run in winter conditions

Weather: Thanks to this website that gives more accurate neighborhood weather, I can be more specific now: 25F, wind 24 mph gusting to 40, wind chill ~10F.  Partly sunny, thin layer of snow on top of lots of ice, a few bare patches.

OK, so it's me against Winter now, and one of us is goin' down.  Or... we might just make peace and be friends.  But today, as I looked out at the frigid dawn, I could have sworn Old Man Winter was taunting me. (Did he just call me "treadmill carrion" or was that the wind?)  It was war -- the gloves were going to have to come off! Or rather on, as the case may be. 

True, it's a record low for December around here, but things aren't so bad. For one thing, it is not technically snowing although a lot of snow is blowing around.  Furthermore, it is a gorgeous morning. And it's icy, but I was able to find plenty of rough spots and snowy places to put my foot.  (Just for record, Yaktrax are wonderful unless it is solid, bare ice.)

Today's run was great practice for January when I'll have plenty of ice, longer harder workouts, and no cheery xmas lawn decorations to lift my spirits.  My quest and my vow is to keep running outside unless I have a speed work day scheduled and it is icy.  The laws of Physics must be respected.

For my own records, today's attire (from the ground up): Yaktrax on my Nikes, Smartwool socks, Sugoi Midzero tights (needed one more layer on legs), unmentionables, Smartwool top, Brooks fleece top, Cycling jacket (impenetrable), Nike gortex cap, fleece Balaclava, Smartwool gloves + Nathan neoprene LED gloves.

Objective: easy

Weather: Clear and starry. 20F, wind chill 10F, wind 10mph gust to 23. Pavement mostly clear in parts of neighborhood, very icy in others.

20 min. core & wts.

It was part running, part dancing this morning. I ran about a half mile and returned to the house to take off my Yaktrax, since the pavement seemed clear enough for normal running.  About 2 miles from home I found that the dry streets and sidewalks were not consistent.  And that's when the dancing began.  Hopping from one dry patch to another, doing a little slow tread across ice, and leaping sideways to run on the snowy grass -- I must have looked pretty funny if anyone was around.  But it was pretty quiet this morning.

While trying to run on the snowy grass without twisting my ankle, I was reminded of a question that I've had for a long time.  Title IX didn't come about until I was in high school, where it did me very little good, so I am very ignorant about cross country running. Is it a figure of speech, or do they really run on grass and uneven ground?  If the latter, how do they avoid twisting an ankle?  I can scarcely do a little trot movement and stay upright. let alone race. 

Attire: same as yesterday except: 1) heavier fleece top, 2) Extra layer on upper legs (I have an old pair of REI fleece long underwear that I had cut at the knee a couple of years ago. I just wore them on top of the tights. It was great.  No stinging cold on legs today.)  What I should have changed: as the wind was not as fierce today I wish I had worn a lighter windbreaker; the cycling jacket was too much, but I did need a wind shield.

Winter tip! Burt's Bees Lip Balm - not just for lips!  All over the face for freezing temps and wind -- feels great, protects skin, lasts longer and is less sticky than Vaseline.  (Do not use the mint flavored! Br.) 

Objective: Moderate

Weather: Clear & calm, 17 F

20 min core & weights

Welcome to Minnesota!  Obviously, we are breaking some records this week.  But since the winds are not howling anymore and I wanted to work a little harder today, I pared down my layers a bit: same bottom half as yesterday, but on top: Nike thermal t-neck, fleece half zip, nylon vest, neck gaiter, Nike gortex cap (it has ear flaps), Smartwool gloves & stranded mittens.  "Stranded" refers to the method of using two colors by carrying or "stranding" the unused color on the wrong side of the fabric; it means there is a double layer of wool -- very warm. 

The neck gaiter is a simple tube knit in a 2 x 2 ribbing with soft Merino wool (the knitter in your life can whip this up in about an hour or two).

This outfit worked well once I warmed up,  but the first couple of miles were a bit uncomfortable.   But it was a beautiful morning, with lots of moonlight to see the surrounding mountains.  Yesterday was gorgeous too. 

Objective: easy

Weather: 32F, snowing lightly. Windy in open spaces (gust to 17 mph). Thin layer of snow over mostly bare pavement w/ icy spots.

15 min core & weights

I never thought 32F would feel so pleasant.  If we had a spike to the 50s (as sometimes happens in winter around here), I might just get heat stroke.

Now that I have settled on Eugene for my spring marathon, I started the happy task of working out my training schedule, to begin around the first of the year.  Although I did plan to include his workouts, I was not going to use Brad Hudson's Run Faster schedules because they were not quite right for me.  The Marathon 2 schedule was a bit too light and the Marathon 3 schedule too heavy. But buried there in the chapter on how to put together your own schedule was another sample schedule, and it was (ala Goldilocks) just right. 

I still wanted to adjust the printed schedule for my own little preferences and needs but it is looking very good to me.  I substituted some of the workouts for ones I want to include, reduced the number of "recovery weeks," eliminated the Saturday runs in favor of resting, and cranked up all of the long runs to the distance I like to cover.  It took me about 90 minutes to get it all polished and copied into my planner (in the tiniest possible print, and in pencil of course).   It's like a little work of art to me. :)

Objective: moderate effort

Weather: 25F, variable wind (0-10 mph), snowing lightly.  2-3 inches fresh snow on top of patchy ice. 

15 min. core & weights

Random observations: Cars that can normally be heard 5-6 blocks away are only heard 1-2 blocks away on snowy ground. Running in 2-3 inches of snow is a lot like running on sand.  People seem friendlier when it snows.  When the whole world is white, a headlamp is superfluous.  In the time it takes me to select, put on, and adjust all my winter gear, I am losing .5 to .75 miles of running time.  Snow is best when it's fresh.

Newflash: Yesterday I did what I have procrastinated about for months. I drove to the school district office, filled out a form, showed them my drivers license and received... a key to the track.   The next step is to decide how on earth I'm going to get to use it. Lttany of excuses: I am not permitted to go while school is in session,  I don't want to give up my weekend long runs for track work,  if I go during my normal pre-dawn running time the track will be pitch dark and scary... 

I will work something out, but I am pretty sure I'll still be doing most of my speed work here in the 'hood.  One thing for which I really wanted that track key is to do Yasso 800's.  Ever since I met The Bart Yasso at Portland, I've been meaning to include them in my training cycle, about 6  and 4 weeks from race day.  In any case, it's always nice to check something off the to-do list that's been there so long it's growing moss.

Objective: easy

Weather: 19F, partly cloudy. A couple of inches more snow on the ground today.

I stayed in the compacted snow of the street whenever I could.   A pleasant run.  I'm in a rush this morning...  Cheers.

Five miserable miles on the Dreadmill.  I really don't know how you all do it, you who like the TM.  My hat's off to you!  Then I did about 20 min. of core and weights, and then I dug snow out of my driveway for 3 hours...

 You can see my helpers, whose mother drove by and took pity on me. They were wonderful young men and I was happy to pay them for freeing me so I could go to get DH from the airport...

Which brings me to my very important point: I did not run the TM this morning because of the weather! Let us be very clear about that.  lol  My FIL is still gravely ill and my wonderful husband has been at his bedside for the weekend.  I don't leave the DD home alone yet, so I had to grin and bear the TM.  It would actually have been a lovely morning for a run, with the winds finally calm and the streets all plowed nicely...

Which brings me to my Story of Drama. Remember last week when I ran in the lovely 3-4 inches of snow? Then we got a little more, fine.  Then Saturday afternoon came.  I know I go on and on too much so I'll summarize: 50-75mph winds, DD and me alone in the house, house shaking and screaming from the exposed windward side, very frightened, awakened every few minutes by gusts.  (Disliking the TM so much, and being so tired and emotionally worn, I blew off Sunday's run altogether. Shame on me.)  But there is this golf course behind us, you see. And all that snow on the course got hit by all that wind and voila! 3-6 foot drifts.  My neighbor has one that is over 10 feet high and people are stopping by to photograph it.  This just doesn't happen in Western Washington. (See 12/21/08 entry on that link.)

Looking forward to running the roads tomorrow - oh so much! 

Objective: moderate

Weather: 27F, slight breeze (4-7mph).

It was great to get out and run today.  For me, there's nothing like a run on the TM to heighten my appreciation of the open roads.  And the icy roads. We had enough of a thaw yesterday to create good sheet of ice out there.  There were also stretches of bare pavement, and almost always some snow at the edges for the Yaktrax to grip. (They will not grip pure ice.) Occasionally there would be a stretch of deep snow, all churned up with sand.  (The drifts were piled up in places and had been chewed up by cars.)  I really wanted to pick up the pace today but had a hard time doing so.  It was more like fartlek, fast-slow-fast-slow, etc.   It looks like we will have a white Christmas, not the usual green and grey.  That will be lovely, but I'd just as soon have my rain back after the 25th.  Will someone please remind me of that when I'm whining about the wet in March? :)

Before I forget, does anyone know how to widen the margins of this formatting?  When a picture is inserted, the margins go wider so I'm wondering if it is something that can be controlled.  ??

Objective: moderate (intended more miles, didn't succeed)

Weather: Oy.  Started at 31F, dropped to 29F. Started w/ light snowfall, ended w/ blizzard. Started w/ winds 12 mph gusting to 26, ended w/ 19 mph gusting to 30.  www.wunderground.com not to be trusted!

15 min. core and weights .... as soon as I warm up enough to go into the cold basement. :o

As you can probably guess from my weather report, what began as a challenging but pleasant run turned into a monument of misjudgment.  Attire: Sugoi midzero tights, polypropylene (sp?) shirt + tech fabric t-neck + Pearl Izumi wind breaker, Smartwool glove liners + Nathan LED gloves, knit gaiter, Nike cap w/ ear flaps.  What was missing: ski goggles (snowflake bullets in eyes - ouch!), larger gaiter (fleece skiing gaiter would have been nice), extra layer on legs, warmer, waterproof outer layer on hands (ski gloves or stranded mittens).

Although I could not have guessed how wrong the immediate forecast was to be, I should have been wiser about a couple of things.  Even a light snowfall with wind means snowflake bullets and I might have known I needed to take goggles, or at least leave them conveniently on my porch to swing by and pick them up if needed (instead of packed away in the basement).  I also should have seen the connection between the temperature and the snowfall. The snow was not cold enough to blow off of me (as it has been in the past weeks), but rather the wet snow we call Cascade Concrete. It stuck to my gloves, my gaiter, and my clothes, and made everything wet.  Wet + wind = cold!   Another effect of Cascade Concrete is that it really builds up under the Yaktrax, so you either end up skidding your feet every few yards to get it off, or feeling like you've got chunks of frozen hamburger meat glued to the bottom of your shoes.  Many little almost-ankle-twists.  But that cannot be helped.  I ran before the plows were out. 

So, it was a very educational run. lol  Would I have traded it for the dreadmill? No way! :) 

I wish all of you a very merry Christmas and happy Channukah, or whatever other winter celebrations you have in store! 

Objective: moderate

Weather: 30F, cloudy.   About 10 more inches of snow on ground since Wednesday. 

Since no Eastern metropolis has come forward to claim this obviously misplaced weather, I had another snowy run.  The roads are slippery and lumpy, but it was a pleasant run. I was glad to get more miles, thanks to DH being home again today (so that I could take my time).  The major arterials are smoother than the smaller side streets, but I had to keep hopping onto the very deep snow at the sides of the road when cars came.  I'm going to see about sewing a pair of ankle gaiters to keep the deep snow out of my shoes.  That's the sort of thing that might invoke Murphy's Law of the Umbrella (if you bring it, no rain) and keep the rest of our winter snow at a minimum.

Objective: endurance, getting back to long runs (3 wks since marathon)

Weather: 33 to 36 F, raining. 

Ah, bare pavement.  I'll take this rain any day.  It was so nice to have smooth, solid ground underfoot.  I did have to hop into the mountains of crud at the sides of the road, but it was glorious to have the road back again. I think I will never be much of a trail runner.

A huge interruption -- of time and emotional well-being -- occurred at about mile 7.  I was running down a hill towards the entrance to the golf course at Eagle Lake, which was blocked by a pickup truck parked sideways across the road.  A man by the truck looked frantic and I thought for a moment his truck was broken down.  He asked me whether this was the only exit from the golf course. "Yes." Long story short: he was in construction, had been working at a nearby site, had his tools stolen and followed the thieves to this point, where he was blocking them in.  The thieves thought they were headed for the open Parkway, but were trapped in the golf course grounds.  I found out that he had not phoned 911 yet, so I did that on my own cell (so glad I always carry it!). 

A fist fight between the good guys and the bad guys, flashing police cars and a car chase later,  I was running again but somewhat shaken.  I observed as much as I could and related it to the dispatcher as it happened, until my cell phone died. Regret #1: not keeping my cell phone charged every day. (I use it so little.) Regret #2: not politely ending my 911 call so that I could take a picture of the thieves with my phone -- completely forgot I had that option.  Regret #3: forgetting I had pepper spray right there in my hand -- I got so frightened when the men were fighting and I backed way off,  putting myself out of view of the thief's truck.  When a truck just like it sped away past me, I told the dispatcher I didn't think it was the thief because a) I no longer had his original position in my sight and b) I didn't think he could get around the victim's truck. Otherwise, why on earth would he have stopped in the first place?  The police arrived seconds later and could have stopped that other truck if they suspected it. The thieves abandoned their truck a few minutes later and fled on foot. 

Although I know I helped, by calling 911 (I believe the victim couldn't find his phone at first), I feel bad that I wasn't more helpful and that I was mistaken about the fleeing truck. On top of this,  I feel terrible that a man's livelihood was almost taken from him, in the middle of a depression.  I don't know whether the thieves were caught. A good deal later I was stopped by one of the police cars to discuss the man at large, for whom they were still searching. They did not know about the second thief, a young woman, and I was able to give them a description of her (partial redemption). They were very nice to me, and didn't even tell me to stop running in the street, probably seeing that the sidewalks were still a good place to break one's neck.

Objective: easy

Weather: 39F, windchill 31F, windy (13 mph gusting to 22 mph), light rain

20 core & weights

A peaceful run (compared to yesterday), except for the car that ran the stop sign when turning right and nearly hit me.  A lot of people seem to do this: being only concerned with the traffic coming from the left, they slow down for their right turn just enough to see if any cars are coming, and they only look left.  To further endanger the pedestrians, this little slow down isn't executed until they are well past the crosswalk or the stop line.  Come to think of it, there were a lot of speeding cars this morning, more than usual.  Getting back to work on the late side I guess.

I had a situation similar to the one Carolyn recently described, where my body temperature was never quite right: too hot going with the wind, too cold going into it.  But I'm still relishing these bare streets after all our snow and ice.

Objective: progression run: 3 easy, 3 moderate, 3 harder but still aerobic + .5 cool down.

Weather: mid 30's, cloudy, increasing wind (started around 5 mph, up to ~15 mph by end of run).  Patches of black ice all over the neighborhood.

15 min. core & weights.

A very pleasant run, despite the wind and the ice. I enjoyed all the different paces of the run, and surprised myself by hitting my marathon pace for most of the 3rd segment (give or take for wind, hills, hopping into the crud for cars to pass, etc). I didn't mean to, so I guess that's a good sign!

I like to think of what specific movements make the pace faster.  The first 3 miles were "jog miles," where I didn't really think about any form elements, just keeping it easy.  The second 3 miles I only added increase in cadence.  The last 3 miles I added a more deliberate and vigorous arm swing, and more power in the lower abs and legs. 

You know how far-away events on calendars like to suddenly get closer, jump out and startle you?  Boo! I have a half marathon two weeks from Saturday!!  lol  I'm not going to worry about it much. It's got some bad hills on the course, and the weather conditions can be miserable. In other words, I may not have very high expectations for my race -- just have fun.  I'll see how I feel and what the skies are doing on race day.  I signed up for it in November, mostly to add mid-winter motivation, and for the shirt. ;) It's a really pretty course and often filled with migrating trumpeter swans.  Should be fun.  I'm so glad my paces went well today; at least I won't embarrass myself.  Well, probably won't.

Objective: easy

Weather: 38F, occasional light rain & sleet, windy (~7-20 mph).

Abs & pushups.

I was so tired today, and no surprise. Yesterday was a physically demanding day (housecleaning, errands, groceries) and we had quite a bit of wind noise last night so I did not sleep well.   It's always nice to have a reason for a sluggish run! 

Happy New Year, everyone!  I'm going to try to go and retro-blog my pre-August monthly totals so my yearly mileage will be accurate.  Cheers!