| Location: Snoqualmie,WA, Member Since: Jan 31, 2008 Gender: Female Goal Type: Boston Qualifier Running Accomplishments: Marathon PR: 4:17 at Portland Marathon, Oct. 2007 5K PR 24:37 2009 10K PR 52:58 2010 Have run 22 marathons to date. No injuries, ever. :)
Short-Term Running Goals: Qualify for Boston (4:05 for my age/gender) - or, perhaps, to use my desire for a BQ as a way to get in the hated speed work so I don't just get slower and slower over the years. This goal is "under (re)construction" right now, until I figure out whether it is truly what I want. :)
Long-Term Running Goals: To continue learning about myself and about running, and to enjoy being a fit, happy runner for life. To always know why I am running and the best way to get the most (both mentally and physically) out of my runs. To keep a sense of humor and remain optimistic about myself as a runner. To enjoy running more and more with every passing year. Personal: Baby boomer generation. Jogged a little in my 20's and 30's. Started running seriously in 2002. Low-carb runner since January 2010. I love long runs and cold, cloudy weather. I don't believe in "junk miles." I am an optimist. I adore dark chocolate, fog, my family, and knitting -- not necessarily in that order. "As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is about our lifestyle and who we are." -- Joan Benoit Samuelson
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2207.11 | 148.51 | 44.80 | 44.44 | 2444.86 |
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| Blue Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 11.54 | Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 250.73 | Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 174.99 | Nike Span 5 Miles: 12.70 | Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 446.24 | Brooks ST3 Miles: 716.02 | Saucony Progrid Ride Miles: 48.51 | Triax 12 II Miles: 102.00 | BF Miles: 4.48 | Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 15.19 | Brooks ST3 II Miles: 458.28 | Lunaracers II Miles: 116.63 | Softstar Moccasins Miles: 1.00 | Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 32.19 | Sockwa Aquasocks Miles: 1.00 | Saucony Fastwitch 3 Miles: 24.85 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.62 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.62 |
| Objective: easy + drills: 3 x (20 butt kicks, 20 high knees) Weather: 37F, steady rain, windy (7-15 mph) - 9:30 AM
I went to bed with a bit of a sore throat, but thanks to the holiday I got a nice long sleep. Still, I felt kind of low this morning. But I didn't think blowing off a run was a good way to start the new year. :) We don't stay up late or do anything special for New Years, so I had plenty of rest.
My resolution for 2009 is to get my morning chores taken care of (along with any core/weights) before I start blogging and messing around on the computer. I really don't think it's reasonable for me to say "I resolve to spend less time blogging and surfing the internet," (won't happen), but I do think that might be the end result if I leave it until after the nitty gritty. Moreover, lately I've been blogging the little time I spend with weights before I actually do it, and I think I felt better when I did it right after the run -- body still warm.
This resolution means I'll probably be blogging a little later in the morning than usual. Or like today, in the afternoon. I guess that will work out. We'll see. I'm also going to try to list the time of day (start of run) in my "weather" section. Not much of a resolution, but in my own weird way I think it will help me get out the door on time. Here's to a wonderful year of running.
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| Blue Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 7.62 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.51 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.51 |
| Objective: moderate, w/ fartlek @MP Conditions: 8:15am, low 30s F, cloudy & calm, 1" new snow 20 min. core & weights
We woke up to the prettiest blanket of snow this morning; just an inch, but without our usual gales it settled nicely on even the tiniest branches. Everything looked so beautiful. The clouds were very colorful and high enough for some spectacular views of the valley and surrounding mountains. About half way through my run, a slightly familiar looking yellow thing came out from behind the clouds for about 5 minutes. Thanks to an abundance of sleep and a moratorium on sugar yesterday, I am feeling more like my old self today and had a very good run. (I do attribute some of the sluggishness of the past couple of days to a late xmas gift of truffles we received. The 3 of us went through them like a house afire, with the result that DD had a canker sore, DH experienced a relapse of a chronic tooth absess, and I had a sore throat.) The "fartlek" was a collection of short periods at MP whenever I could manage it with the road conditions; I am just guessing that it added up to about a mile.
Note to self: I may not have needed the Yaktrax this morning. They were helpful on the icy places, but they also have a tendancy to accumulate snow in these conditions. With just 1 inch I probably could have done well without them. |
| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 9.51 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 19.05 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 19.05 |
| Objective: endurance w/ moderate pace Conditions at 7 AM: 32F, overcast, wind 5-16 mph. During run, increased clouds and wind (to 15-30 mph). Patches of ice, still lots of snow around, streets mostly bare. As the wind picked up and I got into an icier neighborhood, I got a little discouraged about the pace and stopped looking at the watch. Just as well. Going by effort level was the order of the day. I had a good workout and enjoyed one of the prettiest sunrises I've ever seen up here.
Completely off topic: I came home to a surprise. My DD is studying Greek mythology and reading a wonderful book series (first book is "Lightening Thief") about Greek gods interacting with mortals. With a little help from my husband, she decorated the whole house with various gods' altars (Hermes' had one of my marathon medals and some old sneakers), a temple with an oracle, and an entrance to Hades (the basement). I was given a supply of drachmas (pennies) and some coupons (free ride on Hermes' elevator - to go upstairs) and a Greek lunch at Dionysus' Diner, complete with olives, feta, dates and "ambrosia" (juice). Then we had a tour, and I had to go on a quest to find a golden fleece (polyester, fleece-like cat bed). Completely delightful! Right now she's off having a guitar lesson at Apollo's Music Shop.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 19.05 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.22 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.22 |
| Objective: easy/recovery, ending with 5 x 8 second hill sprints Conditions at 5:22 am: 40F, raining, wind 5-15 mph (estimate). Mostly bare streets with patches of slush and slush/snow covered sidewalks. 20 min. core & strength work
It snowed and blew like crazy from about 4 PM until I went to bed. Sometime in the night it turned to rain, but not before filling up my driveway again. Arg! The rain is melting it, thank goodness. Nice run today. My legs don't really feel any effects from the long run but I took it slowly anyway. On the hill sprints I tried to concentrate on my hamstrings and heel lifts. I'm a little obsessed with heel lifts at the moment. Such a small adjustment but it speeds up my pace by a huge amount. I guess I'm making another New Year's Resolution: to get in the habit of lifting the heels and stop being a "shuffler." My push up program is still going so slowly. It's very difficult for me to get through even 6 or 7 with full form. Just out of curiosity I tried the girl-form pushups this morning and found I could do 20 before I started feeling the strain. The full form are so much more difficult, and they work the core as well. I may decide to mix them with girl pushups for a while though, just because I am getting kind of discouraged. With 5 sets of reps, I don't think it would hurt to make one of them "girly style- as many as possible." I'm afraid if I don't feel any success I'll give up on it; they're not fun.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 4.22 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.53 | 0.00 | 0.80 | 0.00 | 7.33 |
| Objective: lactate threshold (of sorts, see below) 3 mi easy + 7 x (1 min tempo, 1 min jog) + remainder moderate pace. Conditions at 5:15 am: 39F, raining, breezy (~5-10 mph) Mostly bare pavement.
I think I'll have to go back and read Hudson's book again with
regard to this tempo run plan. I kept thinking, "what good will 1
minute intervals do at this pace?" But maybe it's a prelude of sorts,
since it's still pretty early in the training plan. All the same, I
think I might revise the plans for future tempo runs and use Daniels'
formulas on tempo days: 4 sets of 10 min, building up to 2 sets of 20
minutes and then I think you run a 30 minute segment.(Not all in one run! Those are the levels of progression during the training cycle.) I
must say, it is very difficult to run at LT pace with that bulky rain
jacket. I almost went out in a fleece with a nylon vest, but the rain
really looked thick out there. The cycling jacket always makes me feel
completely dry and comfortable, but actually I do get quite wet. Maybe
the illusion comes from the wind-breaking feature, in which case I
could do with a lighter running jacket. Snow is still piled up in places, and the slush got into my shoes several times. Ice water - no fun. A bit tired today. |
| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 7.33 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.11 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.11 |
| Objective: moderate Conditions at 5 am: 49F, heavy rain, windy (5-15 mph gusting to 25). I had to write this one off and come home. I severely misjudged the conditions and became too uncomfortable to finish the workout. My bad. I suppose I was just so giddy over the incredible number "49F" on the weather website that I thought I was back in summer, when rain didn't mean jackets. My clothing was soaked through almost immediately and with the wind blowing I just could not get warm. For future reference... what I wore: tights, tech fabric turtle neck, nylon vest. What I should have worn: tights, thinnest tech shirt possible, medium weight gortex jacket. This proves, once again, that gear is everything. I was more comfortable when running in the teens a few weeks ago than I was today. I cannot exactly make a chart of temperatures for dressing, because there are so many variables. If the wind hadn't been as strong or the rain as heavy, I might have been fine. Or if I had been having an "up" day (not), I may have been able to tough it out. Instead I had only one thought by the time I decided to turn back: "if I do not get into a hot shower soon, I will die." (When the going gets tough, the tough sometimes yields to the melodramatic.) I'm sure I'll have a better (and hopefully much longer) run tomorrow.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 3.11 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.38 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.38 |
| Objective: moderate, with focus on cadence Conditions at 5 AM: High 40sF (dropping), windy (~10-30 mph, felt mostly in open spaces), light rain first 2 miles. Roads are wet, saw 2 flooded spots where water was gushing over curb (Carmichael at Elderberry & the area on Stellar by the pea patch). Quite tolerable compared to our poor neighbors down the hill. 15 min core & strength A fine run. Take that, Winter.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 8.38 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.65 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.65 |
| Objective: easy, w/ form drills (see below) Conditions at 5:15 am: 36F, mostly cloudy & dry (!), wind 6 mph, waxing gibbous moon peaking through. After warming up, I focused on various aspects of form, each one in turn for about 6-7 blocks. Every other mile I just relaxed and let my mind wander. Next mile I would start up again with the form focus elements: arm swing, lower leg movement & heel lift, psoas and core, cadence. Remarkable change in weather conditons today. I hope the rivers are subsiding, but I haven't turned on the news yet. I'm feeling rather tired this morning: not quite enough sleep and a strenuous day yesterday. It amazes me how much my daytime activities can affect my run the next day. I'm looking forward to my day off tomorrow.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 6.85 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 20.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.70 |
| Objective: endurance, w/ hills Conditions, starting at 7:30 AM: 39F, rising to low 40's, wind 4-10 mph, steady rain first 3 miles, thereafter: light showers, occasional fog, cloudy, pleasant. A good run: very challenging but also satisfying and fun. I always have hills on my long runs, but today I explored a new neighorhood (up near Ridgestone), which added some hills. I also pushed myself a little harder on the hills than I usually do. I am experimenting with my running form on hills. I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow! Weirdness: I stopped at mile 16 to go to the bathroom and discovered that my nose was bleeding. I mostly "cowboy sneeze" on runs, but I also have a hankie along to keep things dry. I just hadn't noticed the spots. The bleeding soon stopped, however. I was laughing to myself afterwards: "those hills must have been steeper than I thought!" |
| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 20.70 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.92 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.92 |
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Objective: active recovery Conditions at 5:30 am: 42F, foggy, light rain/heavy mist, breeze (0-7 mph) 20 min core & strength
Very tired and slightly sore today (did my work right yesterday). I had to cancel the planned hill sprints. I will mostly likely do them on Wednesday. The hill sprints in my program are always scheduled at the end of the Monday "easy" run; I don't think that's going to work most weeks. I work pretty hard on Sundays and aside from the psychological challenge (just getting out to run at all!), I'm going to need Mondays to be Pure Easy. I think it would be best to evaluate it on a week to week basis for now. Some weeks it might be doable. Later that same day.... I forgot to mention a couple of things earlier. The first is rather trivial: I am retiring the blue Nikes today. They felt a little weird this morning. The second is not trivial. Believe it or not, my father-in-law has still not left the hospital. Last night we heard they had to put him back on the ventilator. He now has pneumonia. Some blood thinners made his lungs bleed. And he has 5 different bacterial infections. How can a man survive so much? My poor MIL practically lives at the hospital and cannot do much of anything for him. It's just one thing after another. All so sad.
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| Blue Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 3.92 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.38 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 7.38 |
| Objective: VO2 max / Hill repeats : warm up, 5 x (.2 mi hill at maximum effort, 6-10% grade), moderate miles to finish. Conditions at 5 AM: 40F, partly cloudy with patches of thick fog, waning gibbous moon showing. 15 min. core & weights
My legs are still sore today from Sunday's run,. But I kept telling myself it wasn't about legs today, it was about oxygen. During the hill repeats I may have had gimpy form and no speed whatsoever, but as long as I was gasping for air I was doing well! lol I won't be doing a lot of these hill repeat workouts, partly because I get hill work every single day and I do hill sprints regularly, but also because they cut into my mileage so deeply. The slowest VO2 max workout imaginable, imo. On the bright side, my energy level was pretty good compared to yesterday. It's amazing what difference a day can make. I'm adding another race to the calendar: March 22, Mercer Island Half Marathon. My DH said, "why aren't you running it this year?" (I've run it a couple of times before.) I replied "Well, it doesn't really fit into my training schedule for Eugene..." But then I looked at the schedule and saw that I had a 15 mile run for that very day, followed by a cut-back week. So actually, it does fit! The cut back week will be a recovery week. I can use it as an intermediate goal, and as a time trial for my progress, though the course is hillier than Eugene by far.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 7.38 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.58 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.58 |
| Objective: easy w/ strides (x5), mini-tapering Conditions at 5:10 AM: 32F, breeze (0-9 mph), clear and frosty. Frosty, pretty morning. The sky was just one wee click this side of Utter Darkness, so I could see the outlines of the mountains and the tops of conifers against the starry sky. I continue to go back and forth as to whether I'm racing this weekend, or sort of... attending a race. I guess I'll have to see how I feel Saturday morning. I have two race plans, just in case.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 7.58 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.19 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.19 |
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Objective: easy w/ 1 mi @ MP Conditions at 5:35 AM: 32F, calm, thick fog 15 min. core and upper body
Today, I would like to talk about elbows. In college I had an anatomy-in-art professor who liked to say "as goes the elbow, so goes the angle of the scapula." I wonder if we runners should have a similar saying that ends with "...so go the legs." I have a couple of bad running habits I'm trying to break. One is curling my toes. I can't imagine why I do that but it has got to stop. The other is what I call my "chicken arms." It's mostly the right arm now, since I've been working on it and the left is coming along nicely. But the right elbow likes to float outward and stop swinging. When I concentrate on making the chicken arms swing properly, it's like someone flipped the turbo switch. It makes a huge difference in speed and fluidity. I often watch my shadow as I cross through the light from street lamps to see whether I look like a "real runner," and the elbow swing makes a difference there too. And then I ran across this little gem in one of my old running books (Miller, Programmed to Run, p. 32): "...during the later laps of high schooler Alan Webb's sub-four-minute mile... his coach Scott Raczko 'implored him to "Keep going! Drive your elbows back!"'" I have a photograph of Deena Kastor, taken by a friend of mine at the Women's Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston last year. Deena was practically flying down the home stretch and my friend snapped her photo at the exact moment when Deena was directly in front of her. (So there is no trick of the angle.) Deena's elbow is so far back that it's practically level with her shoulder. I can scarcely make my elbow go that far back while sitting in this chair! Add running, and making sure the shoulders stay down and relaxed, and that's a real challenge. But later on the same page of Miller books, we read this: "Craig [Poole, women's track coach at BYU] pointed out that both turnover and push-off are managed by posture and arm swing. ...He went on to say not only that running technique is the foundation of perfromance but also that it can be taught and learned." [My emphasis.]
So here's to reaching for our goals with our elbows. :)
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 6.19 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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It's Thursday night, and I'm pre-blogging my non-run. lol Resting Friday for a Saturday race. But since I've got a minute, by special request (see Thursday entry and comments), here is Deena, goddess of the arm swing... 
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Nookachamps Winter Runs (13.1 Miles) 02:04:06 | | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.40 | 12.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 14.50 |
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Misc. details: Warm up before race: 1.4 miles easy w/ some short strides. Low to mid 30's F & very foggy. First mile of race at easy pace. Hills at mile 1, 6, 10.5 (big one). 1 gel. Driving time to race: 1:35 each way. Time listed above is from my Garmin (haven't checked for official time yet). No chip timing, old fashioned hand entries. The race finishes with an up hill climb, hate that.
The good news is that I love fog and it was very foggy. The bad news: no swan sightings. I could hear them out there in the fields but it was just too thick to see them. (This race is known for it's traverse through an area where migrating Trumpeter Swans stop to feed and rest.) The very good news is... PR's!! Six minute course PR and 1 minute PR for the distance. When I woke this morning I was pretty sure I would race this course at a hard level. I just felt really good. I can honestly say I left nothing on the course; I worked really hard. 2:04 does not bode particularly well for a BQ (4:05), but I've got over 3 months of hard work between now and May, so maybe I'll have a shot. The most exciting aspect of the course PR is that I think it reflects the fact that this is the very first winter where I've really kept my running up. My 1 minute PR for the half-m is such a wee little thing, but I'll be running the course of my previous PR in March (Mercer Island Half), so we'll see what that race has to say. :) Not much to report about the race itself. This is a well organized but small race, with (imo) a fast field of runners. (Who else wants to race a Half in the dead of winter here?) This is my third running of this course, and I have always felt that the bulk of the runners are very fast and competitive. Not great for my psyche, being a slow one, but it's also very inspiring to me.
Most of the course runs through farmland, with a bit of woods and small town. There is a pretty lake around mile 6-7. Not much to see today, due to the fog. I had one real problem during the race, and I believe it may have cost me. There seemed to be a lot more cars on the road this year than I remember. A police car came through at about mile 3 and warned us all to keep to the right, after which we all went single file while the cars whizzed past us. It was frightening, but the worst consequence was trying to pass people. After starting the race slowly, I began to steadily pass other runners by about mile 3 [insert crazy happy dance here]. But it really screwed up my pace to do so without being run over. Trying to keep my pace between 8:55 and 9:10, I'd hover behind someone at 9:30, getting all stressed about having to slow down, then speed up to 8:45 or even 8:30 to pass them, getting winded in the process. We made a turn around mile 5 and the traffic lessened, but there were still enough cars (going quite fast) to keep us crowded to the side of the road. So much for practicing steady pacing! Gr.
One thing I love about this race is the gym. The race is held at a small college in Mt. Vernon, WA. The runners get to stay inside in the warmth until it's time to warm up. After the race, runners may use the showers and locker rooms, and the race provides hot foods in the warm gym -- perfect for a January event. My splits: 9:56, 9:04 (downhill), 9:24, 8:57, 9:01, 9:19 (small, steep hill), 9:22, 9:14, 9:07, 10:06 (long hill),10:08, 9:46, 9:04, last .1 @ 9:25 (uphill finish).
I've go to scoot. I'll come back for editing and adding later when I have time. :) Sno [More details added above.]
With the long driving time, I just had enough time to enter my draft report, take a short nap, and get tidied up for our evening out. We had a lovely dinner in Seattle and went to see The Pearl Fishers. Excellent production! But even with the nap, I was dead tired by the time we made it home.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 14.50 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.61 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.61 |
| Objective: easy / recovery Conditions at 5:15 am: 49F, clear & starry, windy (15 mph gusting to 27 mph). 15 min. core & upper body strength
In the middle of January, a clear sky and strong east winds normally means: cold! What a weird phenomenon to be having this little "heat wave." Not much explanation on Cliff Mass's blog, just that the cold air got "scoured out." Huh? But where did the warm air come from? It's 27F in Ellensburg (just over the Cascades).
The legs feel only a bit sore today, but very heavy and tired. I am so glad that I was able to push myself on Saturday. The experience left me with a great feeling of motivation towards training hard in the months to come. I had a little time this weekend to read the recent issue of Running Times and found 3 particularly interesting pieces: 1) a short interview with Deena Kastor (she may be able to start racing again this spring!), 2) an article by Brad Hudson about hill sprints (nice to have the review) and 3) a column on mid-foot, forward leaning running style (sort of a review of all the different approaches and what they have in common - very relevant to what I've been working on). There were also some interesting articles on Masters running. A good issue.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 6.61 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.53 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.53 |
| Objective: easy, w/ 3 mi @ moderate pace (after 2 mi warm up), MP + 45-50 sec
Conditions at 5:15 am: 40F (colder in spots, eg icy in Stellar Park area), some wind (5-15 mph w/ gusts to 20), mostly clear. I think it may have been a little early (since my race) to throw in those faster paced miles. At the moment it felt wonderful, but then I paid for it. I grew very tired and even got a little cold. I ended up cutting the run short by about a half mile.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 7.53 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.69 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.69 |
| Objective: easy run Conditions at 5:00 am: 34F, wind 10 mph, gusting to 18, clear 20 min. strength work
How many times have you read this statement? "Running is such
a simple sport; just put on some shoes and go..." It should be
illegal. Or, perhaps anyone who wants to print it should be forced to
do just that -- in my neighborhood, in the dark, in January -- just put on some shoes and go. I timed myself at 5 minutes this morning, from "time to go" to actually being on the sidewalk. Maybe it's just me and my style, but there is an awful lot more than shoes to put on. A couple of years ago Marathon & Beyond (Vol. 10, # 5) did a series of 3 articles by Guy Avery called "Training and Racing Within Your Personal Marathon Zone." At
the risk of over-simplifying Avery's article (which provides quite a
bit of information beyond this little tidbit), he advises the runner to
add six minutes to the "realistic" goal time when calculating pace "for
purposes of training recommendations:" miles 1&2 (of the marathon) @ MP + 30 seconds,
miles 3 & 4 @ MP + 20 seconds, and miles 5 & 6 @ MP + 10
seconds. "Essentially, this cutdown gets you to start slowly and ease
in to training and racing at your operative goal pace." He points out
that there are many variations on this cutback formula.
Last summer I asked what people thought about this on another marathon forum and the response was surprisingly negative. "Even pacing is best" was the counterargument.
One 2:40 marathoner whom I respect a great deal warned me that to be 2
minutes behind goal at mile 7 is not something she would intentionally
do. I proceded to attempt even pacing at Portland and had a very bad
race, partly due to inadequate warm up, imo. At CIM, I started slowly
and had a wonderful race, though not my fastest.
So now I'm back to thinking about Avery's cutback formula. In
order to use it, one's pace after mile 6 would have to be that much
faster. On the other hand, that faster pace would be maintained for
fewer miles, and with a better warm up period. Avery goes on to
describe why it works, how it works, and all the advantages, so I may
be over-simplifying it here. I continue to ponder...
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 7.69 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.37 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.37 |
| Objective: 4 easy, 3 moderately hard, 1+ easy (coming to end of recovery/cutback week) Conditions at 5 AM: 36F, mostly clear & calm, heavy fog in part of neighborhood 15 min. strength work I was slightly underdressed this morning and had a hard time with the cold. My hands and face never did get comfortable. I'm ready for daylight to start coming back. I had a terrible nightmare last night that involved running in the dark, and I felt that lingering sense of anxiety on my run this morning. The streets can be awfully deserted, especially very early in the run, and sometimes it feels like I'm the only person on the planet. It will be months before I'm running in complete daylight again, but a lighter sky is just a few weeks away I think.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 8.37 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.80 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.80 |
| Objective: easy, finishing w/ 4 x 40 butt kick drills Conditions at 5AM: 36F, patchy fog The front of my clothing was covered in frost when I came home. But I did dress more comfortably today, which made a big difference in my enjoyment of the run. The trouble with counting the start of the week as Sunday is that it sometimes makes one's mileage appear inconsistent. In my paper log, the week always begins on Monday, so that either a Saturday or Sunday long run will "belong" to the same week. Last week's 60+ miles included a long run on Sun. and a Half Marathon on the following Sat. "Snoqualmie good." This week's sub 40 miles show a rest day on Sun. (post race) and a rest day on Sat. (before Sun. long run). "Snoqualmie bad." If I "equalize" them with my paper log, I get a week of ~45 followed by a week of ~48 (if my 18 miler comes through on Sun.). "Snoqualmie a little low, but consistent."
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 7.80 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.13 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.13 |
| Objective: 4 easy, 4 moderate, 1+ easy, with hill sprints (sort of; see below) Conditions at 4:50 AM: Same as yesterday: 39F, heavy mist, SE wind 5-10 mph After run: 15 min strength work OK. About those hill sprints... With apologies to Mr. Brad Hudson, I decided to sprinkle them throughout my run instead of bunching them at the end, seeing as how I get a steep grade hill at least once every mile in this neighborhood, and "rollers" in between. I'll admit, I have a very hard time following rules. Not to say that I won't do it "right" in the future, but I really liked just throwing the sprints in here and there when a short, steep hill presented itself. I have an addition observation about arm swing, to continue the discussion from last week. Thomas Miller recommends the arm swing that Deena is using, where the forward motion brings the hand up and in, close to the heart. The Chi Running guy says to keep the arm at a 90 degree angle. Both recommend (along with other coaches) that the elbow come backwards pretty far (for speed anyway). Sooooo... today I did an informal experiment with both methods to compare them. I believe the Miller/Deena Way felt easier and more natural. It seems like the concept of centrifugal force is at work here: that the arms require less energy to swing when they are kept close to the body. What do you think, bloggers? And by the way, I am equally preoccupied with the whole push off vs. heel lift motion, but I just don't have anything to say about it. haha Special treat today. A guy on Ravelry (that's my virtual knitting community) posted a link to his wonderful photo essay of his Boston Marathon, here. (Surprised at guys who knit? Don't be!) Hope you're smiling by now. :) Sno
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 9.13 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 18.36 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 18.36 |
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Objective: endurance/moderate (Meant to be a progression workout, but just didn't have it in me today.) Conditions at 7 AM: 32F, occasional light snow, some fog. Windy at times. 1/2 to 1 inch of new snow, streets mostly bare but icy in spots. Sidewalks covered in some areas. Not a very good run today. I had a problem with my energy level to begin with and I might be fighting a cold. Then about mile 8 I decided to try working (mentally) through a personal conflict I've had the past couple of days. Instead of the usual running-inspired flash of genius and resolution, it ended up with a private pity party and a drain of what little energy I had left. Ah well. That can sometimes happen. The goal of the run then became: "finish the miles," and I'm pleased that I was able to do it.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 18.36 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.10 |
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Objective: just get out the door. Conditions at 5:45 AM: 23F, wind ch. 18F, wind 4-9 mph, clear. Very icy. 15 min. strength work
I was so stiff this morning. Around mile 2 I started feeling good, but still glad to come in. Just a wee three this morning. Like yesterday, lots of snot. (Excuse me.) I don't think it's a cold exactly, but maybe there is a bug I'm fighting. To get better footing on the icy streets, I've been running in the sand and gravel at the edge of the road, that was left from the snow plows back at xmas time. My shoes were starting to make a lot of noise, so I took a look at the bottoms and all the little grooves are filled with tiny rocks. Studded tires! lol
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 3.10 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.18 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.50 | 8.68 |
| Objective: VO2 improvement - warm up + 6 x (4 min hard, 4 min jog) + cool down miles Conditions at 5:00 AM: 31F, light wind (2-10 mph), snowing lightly. Pavement went from bare and dry to white within 1st 4 miles, then snow stopped falling. I'm just guessing at the number of VO2 miles. I went by time and by effort level but I think I was pretty slow for a VO2 session due to the snow and the tiredness. Nevertheless, I feel really happy with this workout because I pushed myself.
There is an interesting discussion about cadence on the Running Times marathon forum. Lots of points of view & lots of things to mull over + some links to drills videos but I haven't watched them yet.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 8.68 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.45 | 0.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.95 |
| Objective: easy, w/ fast finish Conditions at 5:20 AM: 39F, light breeze (2-10 mph), something between a light rain and a heavy mist coming down. After run, 20 min strength work
Not much to report today. Pleasant, uneventful run.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 6.95 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.13 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.13 |
| Objective: 4 easy, 4 moderate, 1+ easy, with hill sprints (sort of; see below) Conditions at 4:50 AM: Same as yesterday: 39F, heavy mist, SE wind 5-10 mph After run: 15 min strength work OK.
About those hill sprints... With apologies to Mr. Brad Hudson, I
decided to sprinkle them throughout my run, seeing as how I get a steep
grade hill at least once every mile in this neighborhood, and "rollers"
in between. I'll admit, I have a very hard time following rules. Not
to say that I won't do it "right" in the future, but I really liked
just throwing the sprints in here and there when a short, steep hill
presented itself. I have an addition observation about arm swing, to continue the discussion from last week.
Thomas Miller recommends the arm swing that Deena is using, where the
forward motion brings the hand up and in, close to the heart. The Chi
Running guy says to keep the arm at a 90 degree angle. Both recommend
(along with other coaches) that the elbow come backwards pretty far
(for speed anyway). Sooooo... I did an informal experiment with both
methods to compare them today. I believe the Miller/Deena Way felt
easier and more natural. It seems like the concept of centrifugal
force is at work here: that the arms require less energy to swing when
they are kept close to the body. What do you think, bloggers? And by
the way, I am equally preoccupied with the whole push off vs. heel lift
motion, but I just don't have anything to say about it. haha Special treat today. A guy on Ravelry (that's my virtual knitting community) posted a link to his wonderful photo essay of his Boston Marathon, here. (Surprised at guys who knit? Don't be!) Hope you're smiling by now. :) Sno
|
| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 9.13 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.65 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.65 |
|
Objective: easy to moderate w/ form drills Conditions at 5:15 AM: 33F, clear and calm. Bare pavement except icy in Stellar Pk. area (as usual). This was a very sluggish run. I just couldn't get going. Since tomorrow is my (much anticipated) day off, that's it for January. I'm over 200 miles for the month, so I am pleased. In February I hope to add more fast paced runs and concentrate on staying consistent. Regarding my battle with Winter. I guess I have 1-2 months left for potentially harsh weather, but really I feel like the main victory is complete. I no longer look out at the street in the morning and wonder if I can stand to run in whatever is out there. I don't question it. For the first winter ever, I just assume I'll run. There is a little voice of doubt in my head that tells me I've been lucky, and that the weather just hasn't been that bad. Probably true. I've had some great days for my long runs, and the winds have really not been too bad most mornings. Still, I feel confident that I am going to emerge victorious. :)
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 7.65 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| No run today. I'm just posting so that you all can see that little number under "sleep time." Nine. Niiiiiine... This feels really good. Could someone please remind me later, when I'm posting a crappy run and the number says seven? I would also like to share this little celebration with my blogging friends: I mentioned yesterday that I'm very pleased with my January mileage, but here is the gold medal to make it real. I was going through my old running logs to see how this winter compares to my past Battles With The Elements. It looks like I didn't keep mileage records until 2004 (funny, I don't remember why I didn't, or what made me start doing it). But we can assume that 2002 and 2003 were in the 50 to 60 range at the most. I don't believe I ever even ran in the rain in the early days.
Jan. 04: 87.8 miles
Jan. 05: 127.9 miles
Jan. 06: 95.7 miles
Jan. 07: 111.9 miles I was going to end my post with a snappy quotation about perseverance. But I can't choose, they're all so good! Go ahead and have all of them...
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 20.21 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.21 |
| Objective: endurance Conditions: 31 F up to 36 F, varying wind speeds and directions (5-15 mph, gusts to 20), overcast/cloudy. Another good night of sleep -- you guys have got to try this! It is heavenly. But I guess it is making some part of my brain nervous, because just before dawn I had a nightmare that I slept all day and missed my long run entirely. It is always a pleasure to have a run in daylight, and I enjoyed the scenery, though I noticed people's gardens are looking bleak indeed. Lots of evergreen broadleaf plants look burned (from frost I assume) and the pea patch down near Stellar Park looked desolate. The final four miles of this run were somewhat difficult and a bit painful. Legs did not want to run 20 and put up a pretty good argument for capping the run at 16. However, they were overrulled by the tyrannical Brain, who pretends to listen to what everyone wants, but really just does what she pleases in the end. So, I hear there is some kind of sporting event going on today? Oh yes! It's Super Bowl (of Steroids) Sunday! To those of you who watch, enjoy the game, enjoy the commercials, and don't eat too much junk. :)
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 20.21 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.04 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.04 |
| Objective: easy / recovery Conditions at 7:00 AM: ~40F, breeze, partly cloudy. Pretty morning. Another lovely daylight run, thanks to DH being off work to come on a fieldtrip with us to the Pacific Science Center. On the down side, I had to share my run with the morning commuters. I like the quiet better. While we're in Seattle today, I might get a chance to visit my favorite running store! I can't believe both pairs of my shoes are in the retirement zone, though I intend to wear them for short runs a bit longer. I am particularly interested in trying out a mid-foot strike shoe. Otherwise, I might just stick with these Triax 11's. They have been pretty good for me. Some people on the blog seem to have a lot of shoes. Do you rotate through them? Use different pairs for different workouts? I'm very interested to hear from you!
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 6.04 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.28 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 8.28 |
|
Objective: VO2 intervals, 6 x (4 min @ VO2, 4 min jog) Conditions at 5AM: 48F (!), wind 9-16 mph, mostly clear. 15 min. strength work after run
I actually took off my windbreaker today. It was nice at first, while warming up, since the wind chill was around 40F, but once I got going I had to tie it around my waist. It's been a long time since that happened. Winter is trying to lull me into a false sense of security, lower my defenses. hmf So let's get right to the good part of the story, In Which She Gets New Shoes. I spent good long time at the greatest running store on earth, and came home with 3 pairs of shoes! Yesterday's discussion about shoe purpose and shoe rotation was very helpful to me, and was reiterated by Chet James, the owner of said store, whom I was very lucky to have helping me. I tried on a ton of shoes. My old Triax's still felt the best. We talked a lot about mid-foot striking, and what that means for me. (EG, most of the fancy innovations of new shoe technology show up in a part of the shoe that, basically, I don't use.) Shoe after shoe was, as usual, comfortable to stand/walk in, but "too much shoe" for the running: too stiff, to much bulk around my foot, too much under the heel. This store encourages runners to go outside and run up and down a hill - quite illuminating. After running in many "too much" shoes, Chet brought out what looked like a neon green bowling shoe. "I wouldn't even show you this if you were not a mid foot striker." Hm. [Insert fleeting fantasy image of Chet showing it to me from inside a big overcoat, and hot Rolex's dangling around it.] It was completely different from anything I've ever run in, but so fun! A men's Nike Lunar Racer. So, I impetuously bought a pair, along with a new pair of my standby Triax's, and for some variety in my shoe rotation, a similar shoe, the Air Span. My run this morning in the Lunars was fantastic. On my 3rd interval I dipped down to 7:49 pace, which is unheard of for me. I do have a suspicion, however, that it is not really legal for a 50 year old woman who runs as slowly as I do to wear a man's racing shoe. When spring comes and I wear them in daylight I will probably hear someone say, "Now hold it right there, ma'am." I'll get pulled over and receive a citation of some kind, and be forced to run in those black leather granny orthopedic shoes as punishment for my hubris and to serve as a warning to other presumptious, slow-moving females. But until that day.... woohoo!
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 8.28 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.60 |
| Objective: easy/recovery Conditions at 5:10 AM: Low 40s F, breezy (5-10 mph) Mostly clear. 20 min strength work after run
I'm quite sore and stiff this morning, especially in the calves and hamstrings. DH says, "Congratulations! That's wonderful!" This shoe (the Air Span) may have to go back. I'd like to wear them one more time when my legs feel better, but they were not as comfortable as I remember from the store. In fact, my left forefoot still feels kind of stressed out, as if I had been sitting on it or something. tsk tsk And there goes my shoe-type rotation plan. :( I would really like a third type of shoe, especially since I'll be using the Lunars somewhat sparingly. But perhaps the Triax is really the only all purpose shoe I can wear right now. I'll try the Spans again in a few days and see.
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| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.27 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.27 |
| Objective: general aerobic, 3 mi easy + 6 mi moderate Conditions at [groan] 4:50: Low 40's, clear, light breeze. 20 min. strength work after run This is probably my favorite kind of run, though I'd have liked to go up to 11 or 12 miles: a lengthy warmup for my old body, followed by a strong but not exhausting effort. I'm still a bit sore from Tuesday. I used the Stick before going out, which helped.
One of my Ravelry buddies was telling me about a drill where you do butt kicks with only one leg for about 100 meters, then do the other leg. I started to give it a try this morning, but I'm still too sore and so abandoned the trial for another day. She was also taught to do this drill at the beginning of a run (though I waited until after my warm up to even try it). New Shoes Update: Back in the Triax shoes today. Ah. These are the new 12 models, which feel exactly like the 11's. I couldn't tell any difference. I'll give the Air Spans one more chance, maybe tomorrow, but if they still make my feet grumpy they're going back.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 9.27 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.10 |
| Objective: general aerobic/moderate
Conditions at 5:20 AM: 40F, light rain and patchy fog
20 minutes strength work after run
I think I ate something bad yesterday. I missed nearly a half hour of run time this morning getting out of the house late, since I had to wait for my insides to settle down and stop auditioning for the ballet. Once running, I felt mostly ok - except for 1 bathroom stop - and enjoyed the fog and the light rain falling. My legs are still a bit sore from Tuesday. Guess I'm not recovering very fast.
The verdict is in: these Air Spans will have to be returned. I've given them 2 runs now, and I think I know what's wrong. They are great on the downhills, which is probably the only time I'm really using that heel crash pad. The rest of the run they feel clunky, like they just have too much cushion or bulk underfoot. Or maybe it's just too much in the heel. Anyway, the feet are not happy, so I'll have to make another trek into Seattle soon and see if Chet can come up with a better shoe for me. I do think having a different model (ie not always running in the Triax shoes) would be beneficial.
| |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 15.10 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 18.10 |
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Objective: endurance + progression (6 mi easy, 6 mi moderately hard, 3 mi very hard, 3 mi easy) Conditions at 7:30 AM: 40F, windy (6-9 mph w/ gusts 28 mph - increased through run), sunshine with increasing clouds I changed into the new shoes at 11.7 mi (went past my house) and I just love them! Smooth and flexible, they feel like they're not even there. These might be my favorites. The Air Spans went back to the store. I seem to be having some trouble "deleting a shoe." In shoe manager, I clicked "delete shoe" but they are still on the list. Any suggestions? I had a pleasant run for the most part, though the wind was brutal at times.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 11.70 | Brooks ST3 Miles: 6.40 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.22 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.22 |
|
Objective: easy/recovery Conditions at 5:30 AM: 32F, snowing lightly for first 2 miles, about an inch of snow on ground (very pretty), full moon peeking through clouds. A Yaktrax day. 10 min. abs & pushups
I guess Winter isn't done with me after all. But really, the poor dear doesn't stand a chance at this point.
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 4.22 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I dwell in the land of tissues and aspirin... This hit me so fast yesterday afternoon I scarcely had time to begin my immune defense routine. (At 10:00 AM I felt a little weird in the back of the roof of my mouth; by 4:00 PM I was horizontal.) Today I will put it into action in hopes of a quick recovery.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.52 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.52 |
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Objective: easy, hard, easy hard, easy... etc. : form drills, cadence drills, butt kick drills, easy jogs between. Conditions at 5:15 AM: 36F, partly cloudy, breeze, pretty crescent moon 15 min strength work after run
In about the same amount of time as yesterday's run, I covered a full mile more! (Hence the estimated MP mile.) Other than my warm up and cool down, which probably amounted to a total of 3 miles, I just kept rotating through various form drills as I ran. They sure do put pressure on the gas pedal. When I felt tired, I would just jog easily for a while until I got restless again. It was a fun workout. I think my personality is well suited for this kind of free form workout. I hope that doesn't doom me in terms of my marathon goal. My shiny key to the track is still sitting there untouched...
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 7.52 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.89 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.89 |
| More snot than sweat, but I'm back in business! My first 2 miles were full of walking and worrying ("am I being an idiot?"), but after the warm up I was able to maintain a respectable jog, walking occasionally only to use the tissues. The weather website said it was in the high 30's, but I saw plenty of icy patches in the shade. Wind was up around 15 mph w/ hold-on-to-your-hat gusts of about 30. Throat feels ok, legs feel ok. I just hope I haven't lost a lot of fitness this week. |
| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 6.89 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.46 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.46 |
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Objective: easy Conditions at 5:30 AM: 32F, occasionally breezy, fog, very icy on roads, less on sidewalks. 15 min. strength work
I felt stronger today. :D I was surprised to see how much lighter it was during the last 10-15 minutes of my run, since I haven't been out in the early morning for a week. The equinox is like a slowly approaching car on a highway: it seems like it will never get here, and then whooosh! --it passes by at top speed. Spring will be here before we know it. There is a variety of ornamental cherry that blooms around here in February and I saw one this morning. Makes a person want to go out and buy primroses!
I think Winter was not pleased to see me out there this morning, and coated the road with ice in his rage. It seemed to get even icier during the run. But not being able to run for nearly a week made me twice as eager to be out there, so any little victory for Winter has backfired on him. bwahahaha
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| Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 4.46 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.86 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.86 |
| Objective: moderate effort Conditions at 5:15 AM: 38F, dry, calm, cloudy Every day I feel a bit stronger, but my pace -- oh! Pathetic. Horrible. Dismal. I'm not even going to tell you the number. I was pushing my cadence and trying to run in that notch just above "easy" but the Garmin still mocked me. Sigh. I'll share something that is still just cracking me up. I was already a bit late this morning because I decided to take a couple of minutes to relace my new shoes. When I finally did get out the door I encountered another delay. About a half block from home I heard a familiar "meow?" coming from the bushes. One of my cats, the only one who goes outside, was in there "checking his p-mail" as we say. Knowing he would follow me just long enough to be lost, I had to take him home and put him inside. "Come on, honey! Come on!" And there he was, trotting by my side as we ran back home. (He is very dog like in this way.) I was just thinking how funny it would look if anyone saw us: A Lady And Her Cat Go Jogging. Right on cue, a car came up the street slowing down to watch the spectacle.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.52 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.52 |
|
2nd time writing this entry - the first disappeared! Gr! Why does that happen??? Objective: easy, hard, easy, hard, etc. : form drills, cadence drills, butt kick drills Conditions: 36F, partly cloudy, crescent moon 15 min. strength work after run. In almost exactly the same amount of time as yesterday's run, I covered a full mile more today! (Hence the estimated 1 mile MP.) Those drills really turn up the gas. I go for a block or two concentrating on one or two aspects of form, such as arm swing, hip pivot, cadence, heel lift, etc. Then I switch to another aspect for the next block or two.
It was a fun workout, with all the freedom to push as long as I wanted to, rotating through the drills, and then go easy for a while until I felt restless again. My personality is well suited to that kind of freedom. I hope it doesn't doom me, in terms of my marathon goals. That shiny key to the track is still sitting unused...
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 7.52 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.03 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.03 |
|
Objective: slow & easy Conditions at 4:50 AM: 36F, light wind (10 mph), starry skies w/ rising crescent moon 15 min strength work I am pleasantly sore this morning, and unpleasantly sluggish -- but that's to be expected. I finished knitting these mittens I've worked on for so long. I kept setting them aside to work on other projects, so although they weren't very hard they took over a year to make. They were nice and cozy on my run, and especially since I always get a little cold when I run slowly. Ta-da! 
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 8.03 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.70 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 6.70 |
|
Objective: Tempo run. 3 mi easy & slow, 2 mi LT pace, remaining slow. Splits: 12:02 - 11:19 - 14:00 (trouble w/ watch, walked for a couple of minutes while trying to fix)- 8:54 - 8:30 - 11:07 - 11:24 Tempo miles were mostly flat but some hills.
Conditions at 5:15 AM: 30F w/ pockets of warmer and cooler air about, clear & starry My Garmin has filed for divorce. The metal (or is it?) buckle broke this morning and I had to carry the little traitor in my hand. Not fun. Then towards the end of mile 3, it suddenly went berserk (beeping, switching screens, light not working) and stole a couple of minutes of my running time while I walked along trying to get it back on track. I would have just ignored it but I had to do my tempo run. It settled down, but the buckle is irreparable, snapped right off. I don't know if I need to send it back to Garmin for replacement, or if I can just go into REI and get it over with. Fortunately I know exactly where the receipt is. Well, about the workout: I am quite pleased. The tempo section was not completely flat, so those are really good splits for me. I didn't think I could do it. Last night I felt even more sore than I did yesterday morning (DOMS), and so very tired. I couldn't imagine doing a tempo run this morning, and I was beating myself up a bit for being so foolish to think I could follow a training plan that included two quality workouts during the weekdays "at my age." But I took some Ibuprofen and got to bed early, and despite my Garmin's betrayal I did ok today. I will still be rethinking my training plan. But maybe I always do; I'm a little restless that way.
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 6.70 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 18.55 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 18.55 |
| Objectives: endurance, dealing w/ elements, practice taking gels on the run, winning mind games...
Conditions at 7:15 AM: 50F, very windy (15-20 w/ gusts 40), light rain. Later, during run, variable... Wind lessening at times. Rain heavy at mile 7, gone by mile 10. Some sun breaks, one rainbow. I'll try to keep the whining to a minimum. I really don't feel well today. It's like the cold was almost gone and then yesterday I started feeling cruddy again. So today's 20+ planned miles turned into 18+, and I was very happy to get that much, since I thought of going home a lot sooner. I know better days are ahead, so I'm not going to worry about this. What was really a treat was being able to face the elements and actually enjoy the morning. There were a lot of robins out today, and I saw a rainbow. :) Now I get to spend the rest of the day sitting, knitting, eating, and (later) watching the Oscars.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 18.55 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.49 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.49 |
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Objective: easy/recovery Conditions: 45F, wind ~10 mph, cloudy, a few spinkles 20 min. strength work
I'm pretty stiff and tired this morning, but as the run progressed I felt my muscles loosening up. It was light enough towards the end of the run that I could run up around the duck pond. (I tend to avoid dark trails, even w/ my headlamp, for safety reasons.) It was just gorgeous. |
| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 6.49 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.47 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.47 |
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Objective: general aerobic. 4 mi easy, 4 mi moderate, fast finish (I was late .) 45F, windy (5-15 w/ occasional harder gusts), rain showers turning to steady rain Pleasant run. I can't really complain about the rain, since we've been in somewhat of a drought the past month. I've had it coming to me. Is it just my computer, or did all our comments disappear last night? ETA: Ok, this is just really weird. I can't see any comments on my own blog, nor the comments that I make on others' blogs. But my comments are listed in the "recent comments" box. For example, on Deborah's blog, Carolyn had already commented and I saw her comment; but when I added mine, they both disappeared but mine was listed in "recent comments." What can the matter be?
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.55 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.55 |
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Objective: easy / one notch above "rest day" 40F, gusting breezes, showers 4:15 AM is a bad time to revise running plans, but that is when The Cat Who Must Be Obeyed woke me up to let him go out. (The litter box is beneath his dignity, but the bedroom carpet is not.) Being awakened just 30 minutes before the alarm is so frustrating. Although my running has been fairly good quality this week, I've been feeling more and more "run down" later in the day. Last night I could barely function after dinner. The residual congestion from my cold is still hanging on too; I don't think I ever recovered enough. Enough for...? Well, maybe I'm splitting hairs here, but I think I have been well enough to run, but not well enough to get by on less than 8 hours night after night.
Anyway, I opted to sleep a bit more, and skip my speed workout. I just hated to do that, but I think it's the right way to avoid Doing Something Stupid. It's hard to make these choices about when to push and when to pull back.
A word about running in the rain. I love getting the kudos in my comments, but it's not really that big of a deal with the right gear. If anyone is interested, there are 3 essential pieces to my rainy-run wardrobe:
1) Tights. The legs can get wet without feeling heavy-laden or cold.
2) Cycling jacket. Cycling jackets are heavier and more waterproof, they have vents, and they have super long sleeves that can be pulled over the hands. People who get extremely hot while running will have a hard time with cycling jackets, but I can wear one in temps below 50F.
3) Baseball style cap to keep rain out of eyes. As long as I'm feeling a little cranky anyway, I have soapbox moment to get off my chest. This has nothing to do with running, just a rant that's on my mind. I heard last evening about an acquaintance with a young child who is getting a divorce. This is the second one I've heard about this week, and the fourth one in the past three months! I know people make mistakes, misjudge character, etc. and I will not sit in my glass house picking stones to throw. But what is eating me is this: out of these 4 people, I know that 3 of them viewed "having a baby" as a kind of experience on a bucket list. Go to college, get married, visit Paris, have a baby, get promoted at work... "Have a baby" is not something to put on a list -- it's one tiny component of something that none of these women ever seemed to even consider putting on their list: "Dedicate years of my time, energy and resources to raising a child." I knew them intimately enough to see how they viewed the choice, but not intimately enough to feel I could point out the mistake. Now I have to watch the aftermath and see the children get hurt. OK, end of rant. Well, I'm just a ray of sunshine today, aren't I? Thanks for listening, and have a good day. :)
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 3.55 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.30 |
| Objective: easy/moderate 29F, light snow flurries turning into steady snowfall. About 1cm of snow on everything except the pavement at first; snow sticking everywhere by end of run. Streets very icy, sidewalks tolerable. 20 min. strength work A pretty good run. The snow is always nice from the viewpoint of aesthetics. That is, a run in the dark is no longer a run in the dark. Being able to see more of my surroundings adds a lot of the quality of my running experience. Slipped a little at times, but I did pretty well considering I had no Yaktrax on.
I have some questions for my fellow fastrun bloggers. The first is about naps. I recorded yesterday afternoon's nap (yeah, I got a nap!) on today's post because it occurred to me that it only affects today's run. I used to add naps to the previous day's post, ie on the day of the nap. But this way, the nap plus the night sleep will add up to a total number of hours that have their impact on the next run. Does that make sense? Which way do you all do it? Never nap? Well, which way would you do it if you did? My second question is about cadence. I may have mentioned this before, since I've been wondering about it for a while. There is a school of thought that recommends a cadence of 170-180 (about 3 foot falls per second), no matter what your overall pace is. So an "easy" pace would still clip along at that cadence, but the steps would be very small and not very powerful. I have yet to be able to achieve this. No matter how small I make my steps, moving my legs/feet that fast always gets my heart rate up. And in the first couple of miles of run, when I'm warming up, it's just plain uncomfortable. What are your thoughts about this philosphy and what is your cadence:pace relationship?
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 8.30 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.67 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.67 |
| Objective: moderate / general aerobic 32F, mostly cloudy, wind 11mph, snow remained on plants but pavement dry & clear My plans for a Friday-off, Saturday-long run fell apart yesterday when DH and I sat down to have one of our much needed Planner Pow-wows. Very illuminating. (Gr.) We don't keep a family calendar. I guess we need to have these little chats more often. So I'm on mom duty Saturday morning and that means no run. Ah well. I wanted to sleep in Sunday after staying out late Saturday but I guess I'll manage. Speaking of illuminating.... I feel both stupid and happy about the cadence question I posed yesterday. Stupid, because I hadn't really counted steps with my watch for a while, just assuming that my intuitive "feel" for the cadence was still accurate -- it was not. And therefore happy, because I am at 180 even on my easy pace. I have been working on it for a while, and I don't know when I crossed over to success, but this morning's count -- this time using the watch instead of my faulty mental clock -- was right on the dot. It was funny, really: "twenty seconds yielded 60 steps, times 3... oh no that can't be right. Try again...." I finally did the waltz thing, watching the seconds and thinking 1-2-3, 1-2-3. Yep, 180. I guess I can move on now and start focusing more on push-off and other speed enhancers. So that's February, since I won't run again until Sunday. I'm not as far along as I had hoped probably due to a week off from illness and this past week of still feeling kind of run down. I hope you all had a good month. Three weeks until the official beginning of spring! I'm planning my victory party. :D
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 13.31 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 17.31 |
| 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. |
| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 17.31 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.45 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.45 |
| 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.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 6.45 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.45 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.45 |
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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!
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.23 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.20 | 7.43 |
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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.
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 7.43 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.32 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.32 |
| 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! :)
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 8.32 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.33 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.33 |
| 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.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 15.17 | 1.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 20.17 |
| 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. Sorry for such a long post. I
seem to do that a lot. Fast typing skills meet girl who loves to go on
and on about her running. Have a great week, everyone.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 20.17 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.11 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.11 |
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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.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 5.11 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.93 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.93 |
| 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.
Jeff, if you are trying to spot me, I'll be the one looking like
I'm wondering what on earth I'm doing there. I'm going to show up
early so I can pick up my number and go warm up, but hopefully we can
say hello and officially meet just before the race. I like the course
changes Sean made in February. Did you look at that? It seems so
stupid, but I think I might drive my car the few blocks to the start so
I can leave stuff in it. Is that what you'll be doing? I hope I can spot you. :)
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 6.93 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.78 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.78 |
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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.
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 6.78 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.38 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 8.38 |
| 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
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| Saucony Progrid Ride Miles: 8.38 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Resting today (ah, sleeeep). 5K tomorrow. Long run Sunday. | |
| | Race: |
St. Paddy's Day Run (3.1 Miles) 00:26:02, Place overall: 81, Place in age division: 1 | | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 1.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.10 | 4.60 |
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~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.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 10.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.70 |
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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
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 10.70 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.40 |
| 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! ???
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| Saucony Progrid Ride Miles: 5.40 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.40 |
| 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!!! :)
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 7.40 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.51 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.51 |
| 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.
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| Saucony Progrid Ride Miles: 8.51 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.41 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.41 |
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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.
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| | Race: |
Mercer Island Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 02:02:38, Place overall: 411, Place in age division: 15 | | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 13.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 15.10 |
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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!!!
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.32 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.32 |
| 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.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 5.32 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.86 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.86 |
| 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!
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| Saucony Progrid Ride Miles: 4.86 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.45 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.45 |
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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/
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 5.45 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.86 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.86 |
| 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. |
| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 7.86 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.62 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.62 |
| 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. |
| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 7.62 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 22.19 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 22.19 |
| 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!
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 22.19 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.10 |
| 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. :)
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| Saucony Progrid Ride Miles: 5.10 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.98 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.98 |
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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. | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.34 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.66 | 8.00 |
| Objective: VO2... ~30 min. warm up, 10 x (2 min. hard, 2 min. easy) plus an 11th rep of 3.5 min by accident (misunderstanding between me and the Garmin), cool down
5:15 AM: 36F, windy (15mph), cloudy, dry. I have an announcement. This was a difficult workout. Too difficult as a matter of fact. I've had it. I'm giving up running and will devote the rest of my life to the goal of eating at least one gallon of every flavor of ice cream produced on earth. ... April fools! Garmins are amazing. With all the hills and the wind, I wasn't looking at my pace during the reps but rather going by feel. But with the Garmin, I later saw that they were all pretty much the same: about .22 to .25 miles for each 2 minute segment. Given conditions and terrain, I think that's a pretty good pace for me, but it's the consistency that surprised me. So, bye-bye March. And what a fabulous month it was for me. I am so pleased with myself it's disgusting. I survived the time change with not too much suffering (albeit with quite a bit of whining), I raced two back to back weekends and did well on both races, and I ran about 225 miles in mostly crappy weather. Woohoo! Onward to April! I've got about 2.5 weeks of more hard fun work and then a 2 week taper for Eugene on May 3.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.70 |
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Objective: easy 5:05 AM: 43F, light rain, wind 3-7mph w/ gusts to 17 20 min. strength & stretches
I've got dead legs this morning. Even after my warm up miles, when I felt a lot looser, I was still slug-slow. I'm going chalk it up to my hard workout yesterday. It was nice to have the temps above 40. But I do wonder whether I'll have an opportunity to practice a little running in my skort before I do it on marathon day. I'm still in tights; we old ladies get cold easily. Comon' spring! Edited to add: Couple of recommendations for all my blog buddies... 1) A great tune for your iPod: Michael Tomlinson, "Run Like the River Runs" - not the solo version! 2) Spring cleaning inspiration website: http://organizedhome.com/
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 7.70 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.21 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.21 |
| Objective: just miles, and try to have some fun... 5:15 AM: 33F, snowing hard, 1-3 inches on ground during run, light breeze 3-7 mph. 15 min strength & stretches after "What the? Oh surely not." Those were my words when I looked out the window this morning. Even the Cat Who Must Be Obeyed was hesitant to go through the door. I know it hadn't been snowing in the night, because I got up a couple of times and it was just foggy and wet looking. Maybe the anticipation of our forecast for 50's this weekend made it so unbelievable. Ah well, I do live in the mountains and it's been a pretty hard winter. To wit, my husband informed me last night that our March weather was the coldest in 33 years! I found that rather comforting, actually. It did seem overly harsh to me, but this is only our 4th winter in this house and I thought perhaps my benchmark for a "normal winter" had been erroneous. I love believing that next March will be much warmer! :D
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 6.21 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.80 | 10.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 17.80 |
| Objective: marathon pace practice -- 4 mi easy, 10 mi MP, remainder easy. 8:15 AM 50F and climbing, mostly sunny, very windy (14-21 mph w/ gusts 35). I knew there would be sunshine and I knew there would be warmth. I did not expect that wind. Our "hurricane season" is supposed to go from October to March, but I guess that's just a guideline... Maybe it was the wind, but this run was so difficult. And thus the door to Doubt creaks open. Why oh why haven't I run more MP miles this winter? How can I possibly maintain that pace for 26.2 miles if just 10 wiped me out? ... All the usual shadowy ruminations I have experienced many times before. In a way, it's good to doubt. I don't think I run well when I feel I have to reach a certain goal. That was the main thing I learned at Portland last October, when I was so nervous I destroyed my own race. Doubt is good when it enables me to let go of the immediate outcome without giving up on the long term certainty. I've got to say to my BQ, "Someday we'll meet. It's just a matter of time. Perhaps in May, perhaps in the fall..."
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 17.80 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.54 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.54 |
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Objective: recovery 5:15 AM: 47F, mostly clear, breezy (5-15 mph). The bad: My legs don't feel good. Running slowly isn't as much fun. I
didn't eat as well over the weekend as I should have and I feel it. The good: A little more daylight every morning. Saw bats. (I love bats.) I'm healthy. If I felt really great today, it might have meant I did not do my job yesterday.
Is anyone on the blog going to run Boston this year? Two weeks from today! For those of us who still have some running to do before we can get there, here is the virtual Boston. (Should I be embarrassed that I have it in my favorites and have watched it numerous times? lol) Strap your laptop to the console of your treadmill and zip through the course at 35 mph. :D
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| Saucony Progrid Ride Miles: 5.54 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Well, it seems insane with the sun finally shining and the air so warm, but we are making one last attempt at a ski day. It will be spring skiing for sure (soft & wet). My goal is to have just enough fun, but not so much that I interfere with my running for the rest of the week. lol A little ding in my mileage this week, but if I look at the big picture it's ok: life is short and both of these sports are dear to me.
PM update: hellooooo quadriceps! ouch.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.72 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.72 |
| Objective: general aerobic and form focus. 3 mi easy, remainder moderate except for last 5 min easier for cool down 5:00 AM: 45F, mostly cloudy (but I did see the near-full moon set), windy in open places (10-20 mph), dry. 20 min. abs & upper body, stretches & Stick
I thought my legs would be less cooperative today after yesterday's skiing, but perhaps there will be a delayed soreness. It was a good run. As of Monday night, the frogs are now singing - first of the season. I found two muscle groups that were almost completely unprepared for skiing yesterday. No surprise, since I'm not trained for it. The first doesn't bother me too much: quads. But the second does bother me: obliques. (The side of the core, for twisting motion.) I am so faithful about my crunches, upper and lower, but I have neglected the sides. The only other time I notice their weakness occurs right after the marathon, when I always find myself surprised that they are sore. So, a bit of work there in the next few weeks! Apropos to nothing, what are people from Utah called? Utahsians? Utahers? Utes? I've wondered for a while. So many Ut.... whatever here on the blog, and occasionally I'd like to know the proper way to say stuff like, "We have such slushy snow here in the spring, not like the velvety, dry stuff you U-------s enjoy."
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 8.72 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.17 | 0.00 | 4.50 | 0.00 | 7.67 |
| Objective: tempo run by time and effort (4.5 miles is a guess). Warm up, 2x20 min at effort which was harder than MP but not as hard as 5K with 5 min. recovery b/t, cool down. 5:15 AM: 42F, rain then occasional light shower, little wind. I found my legs felt worse today than yesterday, the usual DOMS, and I really wanted to bag the plan for a tempo run. But I decided to go by effort level and time and just do the best I could on the theory that this would be better than nothing. As with my VO2 workouts, the biggest problem was oxygen, though my legs were not happy either. An observation: I can turn up the cadence (higher than 185) or I can get better stride length with push-off and heel raising, but I cannot seem to do both at the same time. At a higher cadence, my feet slap the pavement uncomfortably when I add the "better" running form. I do like the feel of the stride length effort better. Up and down hills, the higher cadence with lower foot action seems to work well and on the flatter bits (teensy bits, in my neighborhood) the more powerful stride seems more efficient.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.17 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.60 | 8.77 |
| Objective: Fast Finish Friday
Warm up: 2 min walking, 2 mi @ 11:00-12:00
After warm up: moderate (~10:00, + or - for hills)
Penultimate 5 minutes @ 8:40
Cool down: last 5 min @ ~10:30 5AM: 45F, light rain, no wind. A very pleasant run, though I felt like I was about 90 years old for the first mile. Stiff and tired; I did not get quite enough sleep last night. Saw a raccoon and heard an owl -- it's the time of year I usually start seeing more wildlife on my runs. The rain was light enough to be refreshing. Bonnie, I did the even-effort exercise on my hills today (except the fast finish bit), and also the fast running at the end. (Everyone, Bonnie has been helping me a bit offline with some training issues.) And just for you Bonnie, I have decided to list my paces more often. I still think any number I put down is kind of misleading, because of the hills. For example, today I was doing the "even effort" thing up a hill of about 5% grade, and I glanced at my Garmin: 13:40! Mile 2 of my run today was almost entirely uphill, and mile 3 was almost entirely downhill. But if I check myself on the occasional flat block or two, I can see what the "effort level" pace is, so I'll report that. How does that sound? :)
To all my Christian friends, a very happy Easter! This heathen won't be blogging again until Sunday, though I'll try to "stop in" and see how everyone's Saturday runs went. Sunday will be my last mega run (though not my last long run) before Eugene. Have a great weekend, everyone!
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 8.77 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 23.26 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 23.26 |
| Objective: endurance
7 AM: 44F, raining and windy. Blech...
Well, I got the job done. It wasn't the first long run I've had to do in the wet, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Unfortunately, I seem to be coming down with a cold. I have felt a signal coming from the back of my throat since Friday night, but since it is not severe I decided to get this run checked off my list. I can skip tomorrow's short recovery run if an afternoon of rest doesn't bring me back.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 23.26 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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I'm not feeling too bad this morning, though I definitely have some junk in my throat. I think this one will pass quickly; I compare it to the cold I had in February that knocked the life out of me for nearly a week. This doesn't feel anything like that. (Thanks, Carolyn, for telling me about yours.)
I did promise myself yesterday, at around mile 16 (that was when my shoes started to "squish") that if I finished the miles, and if I didn't feel well by nighttime, I could skip today's run. That was the deal: long miles for additional miles. Because goodness knows, I was tempted to go home so badly that even stopping by for some dry shoes may have ended it. I'm just rambling here... (A mental subsitute for running?) I have read many marathon training plans that suggest long runs up to 20 miles, or long runs up to 3 hours, and I am very conscious of my abnormal practice of going beyond that. Confession time: I was running yesterday for nearly 4.5 hours. That's some slow running, chugging along like the proverbial tortoise. But what I really want to say is how impressed and inspired I am by Bonnie's run of the same distance. Someday, when I am fitter, and when it's not pouring, and when I'm not coming down with a cold... I want to be like her, and combine the distance of my race with a progression of pace. I look forward to Eugene and I feel really positive about this training cycle, but I also feel like I have a lot more improvement to pursue. One last bit of mental flotsam: do you all know about Ed Whitlock? He was the first (only?) 70+ y.o. person to run the marathon in under 3 hours. His training comprises 2-3 hours every day of running a ~400m circuit through a cemetery in his neighborhood, around and around...
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.18 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.18 |
| Objective: easy. Average pace on flat terrain: 11:10
5:10 AM: Snowing, 34F, traction poor. 15 min strength work I believe that Spring will come. I believe, I believe... Other than a lot of phlegm and some tiredness, my cold is very mild and not affecting my running much. The legs felt good, though a little heavy. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being elephant-on-valium and 10 being Pegasus, they were at about 6. But no soreness or stiffness. Needless to say, I am disgusted with the weather. Silver linings: it didn't do this on Sunday, I was just having an "easy" run anyway, and it really cannot last much longer.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 7.18 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.04 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.04 |
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Objective - Moderate run, pushing pace a little: w.u. 1 mile easy & slow (11:00-12:00), 5 miles MP + 30 seconds (~9:30, +-w/ hills), c.d. 1 mile moderate (10:00-10:30) w/ walking last 1 minute. 5:15 AM... 35F, mostly clear, no wind :D, icy on short cut trails. What a nice morning, though cold! It was getting light by 5:45 and I even turned off the headlamp during the last 30 minutes. (I often keep it on for safety, being visible to cars in dusky light.) Once I got warm, it was a very pleasant run. I had scheduled myself to do some intervals today, but I still have so much phlegm from my cold, perhaps even more than yesterday, and with the temperature so low I did not want this thing going down into my lungs. So, what to do? I decided to work on running faster without a really lengthy warmup, only 1 mile, and then to focus on my form and keep the effort very even, just a bit easier than marathon pace. Who knows whether this was the best plan, but I had a good time and was very pleased with my workout. Still a bit of hacking cough when I finally stopped, but not too bad. It is a pity that my feet and calves are not strong enough to wear racing shoes for a whole 26.2. These Lunars and my ST3's feel so wonderful and make it so much easier to go faster. I might try to build up to longer distances with them in the coming year. I know that stronger runners do wear them in marathons; perhaps that can be me someday.
I have an observation about pace, hills, and self-image. Naturally, my pace slows down when going uphill, and the steepest hills took me down to 11:00 today, even with my harder effort. But the downhills were not that much better. I got 20-30 seconds faster on slight declines, but as soon as the downhill was steep enough for me to land on my heels (I am not normally a heel striker), I slowed to 10:00 and even slower on the really steep hills (>6%). I've tried to lean forward more so that I am not braking, but it only helps a little. It makes me wonder, with all the hills I run every day, how differently I might view myself as a runner if I lived in a flatter area. A few hills to build strength would always be welcome, but if I did 75% (instead of 20%) of my running on a flat surface, I might not have so many "false readings" about my abilities, if it can be called that. There is nothing I can do about it, but I just wonder sometimes. More Ruminations from Snoqualmie's Brain.... thanks for listening.
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 7.04 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.45 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.45 |
| Objective: general aerobic, fun. Pace on flats after warm up: ~10:00 5 AM: 41F, breezy in open places, mostly cloudy, a "normal" spring day in the NW, finally! Beautiful morning and a fabulous run. Lots of snot, but lots of energy too. First mile very slow (12:30) and then picked it up a bit. By mile 3 I tried to keep the effort very even. I experimented with some different gaits on the downhills; the only way I could improve the pace was to take short, fast little steps. Really fast. But I'm not sure that's a good way to run. Speaking of running styles, Dale has a link to a really funny Youtube clip on his blog. How not to run. Then you can look at this other amazing video of Josh Cox and Ryan Hall on a run together. BEEEautiful running form. Look at how consistent Josh's form is as he continues the run alone, up to 31 miles. Look how high his heels come up in back. Her Majesty Deena runs like that too.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.55 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.55 |
| Objective: easy, w/ fast finish (easy running until mile 5.2, one mile hard, and then cool down)
5:20 AM: 45F, raining
Today felt like a recovery run, very slow and stiff. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, since both Wednesday's & Thursday's runs were fairly vigorous. But they seemed too easy to have wiped me out this much. I dreaded doing the fast mile. When the time came, my pace was always a little slower than MP (~9:20) and my effort level was much harder than MP (felt like 5K effort). Looking forward to sleeping late tomorrow!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 6.55 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 11.65 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 15.65 |
| Objective: progression on mostly flat terrain
7:10 AM: Low 40sF, rising to low 60s, mostly sunny, variable wind 0-15 mph
I made some big mistakes today. The first was wearing my Camelbak
fanny pack for hydration. Venturing out of my nice,
drinking-fountain-endowed neighborhood, I knew it would get warm today
and smugly filled up the little bladder, figuring I was all set! The
fanny pack was awful. Oh yeah, this is why I stopped wearing it. It
chafed and bounced, unless I cinched it up so tightly that it
interfered with my belly breathing, sometimes even producing side
stitches. So I did my best with that.
(Before I describe the second mistake, lest you think I had a miserable
time today, I should note that it was mostly a really fun run with some
beautiful moments, and a good workout.)
Would it have taken that much time to look at a map with regard to
distance and topography? I did take the trouble to call the City of
North Bend to inquire about the construction over the bridge on Boalch
Ave, but even that did not completely keep me out of trouble. It was
morning service at the Church of the Unwarranted Assumption, as I went
trotting off on what I thought would be a) flat, and b) 8-9 miles each
direction. Neither was true. For your amusement, here is the blow by
blow....
Mile 1 & 2 (11:34, 11:02) Warm up, starting from my parked car down
in old Snoqualmie. Took stupid wrong turn and went the long way around
the high school, into 40 mph traffic. Found my way back, and noticed a
lot of people at Centennial Park. Maybe it's always this way? (no)
Some guy says to me in a cranky tone, "You better save it for later!"
huh? whatever. (Later, all is explained.)
(10:30, 10:31, 10:59) I head down Boalch, finding it to be so deserted
that I might as well be on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, but everything
feels good except that I'm running into a stiff headwind all of a
sudden. I get to the bridge, where the aforementioned construction
work is blocking car traffic, and I find the "scaffolding that you can
cross on." I guess I was expecting something a little bit wider and
more stable? It was about 20 inches wide, 12 feet long, crossing a deep chasm.
Dead stop. Oh my goodness I was frightened. Turn back? No, I can do
this. Slowly, easy... Funny, because I just watched the movie "Man on
Wire" a couple of nights ago. Further down Boalch I had to run on Hwy
202 (cars 50 mph), where the shoulder seemed a lot smaller than it
always has from my car. After going through part of North Bend, I
decided to get on the SV trail after all. Ug- gravel. How I hate it.
It saps my energy and I feel every pebble underfoot.
(10:43, 10:47, 11:29) Some time during mile 5 I started up the Mt. Si
road. Last night this seemed like such a fun idea. And in many ways it
was. But it is not flat. I found myself surprised by the incline,
partly because it gets steeper as you go up and I underestimated how
far I would have to go up to get the miles. Maps, Snoqualmie,
maps! They're incredibly useful, and easy to find on this very computer
in front of you. The cars were whizzing by, so I had to keep going
into the gravel on the shoulder (more gravel - ug) and the headwind was
worse than ever here. As slow as that mile 8 pace looks, it was worse
on the Garmin. I can laugh now, but the wooded road blocked the signal
so much that at one point it said pace = 18:35! And the % grade read
minus 37%! Crazy Garmin.
(9:44, 9:41, 10:16) The turnaround was a welcome change as I now
headed downhill, with the tailwind, and fewer cars in this direction.
I intentionally slowed a couple of times, once to look at the river
through the woods - gorgeous! - and once to jog up the short driveway
to the horse barn where my daughter rides. I thought I'd say hello but
no one was around. At the bottom of Mt. Si Road I learned the reason
for the weird comment of that guy at mile 2. A huge crowd of runners
with bib #s was coming out of the SV trail as I was going in. I asked
a volunteer at the street crossing -- it was the "Mt Si Relay and
50K." It was fun to run "against" them and see their faces. Lots of
Marathon Maniac singlets, lots of friendly greetings. But I was back
on the gravel, and it was time to kick into a higher gear. :(
(9:21, 9:13, 9:54 (oops), 9:03) About 1.5 miles on the gravel before I
could break free back onto the roads since I didn't want to "walk the
plank" again. But the new route shortened the run too. :( Maps,
Snoqualmie! When I got back onto the asphalt it was such a relief,
but I was definitely tiring and the warm air was affecting me a lot. I
am so unaccustomed to running in anything above 45F; Eugene could be a
real disaster if it's warm. I don't know why that 14th mile (the oops)
got slower; I wasn't looking at the Garmin very much here. The last
half mile of the 15th was positively anaerobic. And I'm supposed to do
that for 26.2? I don't know, I don't know.
(11:54) Cooldown for a few minutes by going around the block at my car. Feet hurt. (gravel?) I feel too hot.
Well, I don't know why I had to make this so long, but I learned a lot
and I hope it was a workout that will help me on race day, two weeks
from today. I now enter my taper. Oh! My eyes teared up when I typed
that. I wonder what my brain can be up to. Although I'm kicking
myself for not consulting a map before going out, I might not have
picked this route at all if I had. And I would have missed a good
adventure.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 15.65 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.67 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.67 |
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Objective: recovery/easy 5:40 AM: 43F, breeze 3-9 mph, mostly clear, light enough to go out w/out headlamp! It is very hard for me to get out the door for these short runs, or get out of bed for that matter. They hardly seem worth the trouble of gearing up, and washing out all the running clothes afterwards. Does anyone else have trouble going on short runs? I reached a little milestone in that my paper blog (which is where I keep all the really juicy secrets; just kidding) filled up with yesterday's entry. I now begin a new book, purchased way back in December. This is my 4th book now. The 3rd book was started 12-3-06. It is so much fun to look through old entries and race reports. OMG! Time watch Boston marathon now! Very exciting race, for both the women and the men! Amazing athletes - just incredible. Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher both taking 3rd place - wow. They probably hoped for better, but I am totally impressed by their getting on the podium with that strong field of runners, and both are so young in their marathon careers. That was only Goucher's second marathon of her life. They are both just getting started!
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| Saucony Progrid Ride Miles: 4.67 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.39 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.39 |
| Objective: easy, enjoy the morning, hill sprints on the shorter hills after mile 2 5:10 AM: 47F, clear, breeze 3-9 mph 20 min. strength afterwards We're in the midst of a little heat wave, with temperatures up to the 70's by day. But I've still got a Smartwool layer on for my early morning runs. Smartwool under my tech top and bare legs! lol I am enjoying the No Swish running- no jacket, vest, etc. - just quiet fabric. Busy day today...
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 7.39 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
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Objective: (Tapering) Practice marathon pace (or effort, as the case was). 3 mi
easy, 3 mi MP (adjusted for hills) - ran out of time for the cool down.
See below... 5:30 AM: 46F, light rain, breeze ~7 mph 15 min strength work
My 3
MP mile was a little short due to running out of time; last .1 was
jogged/walked for a cool down. Splits: 12:26, 11:14, 11:39 (2 big
hills), 9:21, 9:26, 9:11. I was trying very hard to keep the effort
even, beginning the MP section on my little ~400 meters of flat sidewalk on Ridge St.
to dial in the effort level (shooting for 9:10). But I must say, the
pace was actually all over the place, probably because of hills. A bit
distressing was the fact that it really felt kind of hard. I have run
enough marathons to know how different it feels on race day, with that
last week of taper (fresh legs!) and the excitement of the race. But
that is an intellectual fact, one that has to work hard to break
through the emotional information: "I cannot possibly do this for 4
hours! I am doomed!" lol :)
Here is a little food for thought about running shoes. Oh
yes, there is definitely a part of me that likes these subversive,
fringe, and anti-establishment ideas. ;) That is the libertarian in
me. But I would go even farther off the beaten track than this article
(which asserts that high priced running shoes weaken the feet and cause
injuries), in that I believe we live in an Injury Culture that actually
promotes pain. There are constant subliminal messages telling
us that injury is inevitable (such as "running hurts your knees," and
"high mileage leads not to stronger bodies but rather to injured ones"). The messages appear in magazines (most of which now feature a column on injuries in every issue), blogs and internet forums, and are used by the brain to create credible psychosomatic pains. The physical mechanism for the pain is the closure of capillaries by the brain. The
purpose of the pain is to protect us, through distraction, from severe
anxiety and anger. But it must seem like a credible injury or the
distraction will not work, hence the advantage of "epidemic" type
illness or injuries.
I know I have mentioned this phenomenon on my blog before, but the
very interesting article above makes me want to mention it again,
because widespread publicity regarding an injury type is crucial to the
psychosomatic process. Years ago, there was a lot of publicity about
tennis elbow -- and more people got it. Carpal tunnel syndrome also
had its heyday. I am not saying that no one really gets these
disorders (or true running injuries), but that many instances of them
are actually psychosomatic. I am also not saying that psychosomatic
injuries are "all in a person's head." The pain is totally physical
(the closing of capillaries) and very real and horrible, but in these
cases it is generated by the brain for psychological reasons and can only be cured through psychological means. I
am not making this up; it is well documented. (Probably the most
extensive single bibliography of research reports can be found in this book.) I
do hope I'm not sounding preachy. Somewhere out there, possibly here
in blogland, someone has this problem. About 6 years ago, that someone
was me, so I keep bringing it up from time to time in hopes of helping
another person, as I was once helped. :)
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
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Objective: general aerobic 5:15AM: 35F, mostly cloudy, wind 5-10 mph A nice run on this surprisingly chilly morning. Though running a different route, I covered the same mileage as yesterday. The exact same. I find that weird. The difference in total time for the two workouts was only 1 minute. I was going to do 7-8 easy miles, but got a late start. Then, I was feeliing really good and not looking at my watch, and I seem to have run comparatively fast for an "easy" run. This is why I find the "average pace" number to be so meaningless. These were 2 completely different 6 mile workouts with the almost the same average pace. Yesterday's MP workout: 12:26, 11:14, 11:39, 9:21, 9:26, 9:11. Today's splits: 11:51, 11:03, 10:08, 10:09, 10:15, 10:39. ETA: p.s. Today I'm beginning my 10 day Veggie Challenge. Wanna join me? In the 10 remaining days before Eugene Marathon, I am going to have a serving of vegetables at every meal - even breakfast - and 1 for a snack. Minimum 4 per day. I am trying to make sure at least 2 of the 4 are raw.
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.94 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.94 |
| Objective: easy & slow, break in new shoes. (Tapering)
5:35AM: 35F, wind 5-10, clear. 20 min strength & stretch after Pleasant run. I need to relace my new pair of Triax 12s. I am planning to run the marathon in them, though a small rebellious part of my brain still wants to race in my Magic Shoes, the ST3s. Feel free to yell, "What are you thinking!?!?" It's just an urge at this point. After wearing racing shoes Wednesday and Thursday, my feet feel clunky and heavy in these trainers, even though they are new. :(
Veggie challenge, so far successful.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.85 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.85 |
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Objective: easy 5:45AM: 39F, calm & cloudy I am supposed to be getting a bit more sleep this week, but at 4:25 my eyes just popped right open and I could not get back to sleep. Not usually a problem for me; sleeping and eating being 2 of my specialties. This was a crappy little run. My anxiety levels are rising and I felt tired and cranky. And I must just put this in black and white: large Mexican dinners are not good running the next morning.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.32 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 12.32 |
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Objective: 6 easy, 5MP effort level on hills, 1+ cool down (14:08, 11:23, 10:41, 10:36, 11:01, 11:04 // 10:17, 9:14, 9:46, 9:55, 9:34 // 9:50, 11:19) 8AM: 38F rising to 45F, wind 10 mph, mostly cloudy w/ sun breaks It
was a bit of a weird run. First I had a false start, when I got about
25 yards and realised the brand new running skirt I was testing would not work out. I just hope I can get my money back; although I removed the tags, I did not sweat on it. lol It is an awesome skirt for distance running, with cool pockets all across the back, but the under-shorts rode up on me. I
guess that 14 minute mile came from all the walking. If I cannot get
my money back, anyone want to buy it? It will work well for someone who
has less, um, "curve" in her thighs. Size is medium (waist 27-29").
Weirdness continued as I seemed to have boundless energy during
the easy 6 (had to constantly remind myself to hold back), and not
nearly enough energy during the 5 MP. The first "fast" mile
unfortunately began with a half mile of up hill climb, and by the end
of the mile I was going anaerobic to get the pace right. That is not
something I can do for 4+ hours. After fretting over my pace for about 10 minutes I decided to stop Garmin Gazing and only go by feel. Much happier. And considering the hills and the wind, the paces are not too bad. They are also (mostly) not BQ pace, which is 9:20.
We'll see how the rest of the taper leaves me feeling, but at
this point I am not setting my sights on a BQ in Eugene. Not
specifically anyway. In my mind there is a big difference between
hoping and planning. I am going to keep my effort at the aerobic
level I was today, try not to look at my watch, keep good form, and
enjoy the ride. I plan to run my first mile somewhat easily (~10:00),
and when I get to around mile 23 I hope to push as hard as I can. With 7 days to go, that's the plan. :D ETA: Veggie challenge report... Friday 3 out of 4 (missed the snack), Saturday - successful.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.85 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.85 |
|
Objective: easy
5:45AM: 39F, calm & cloudy
I am supposed to be getting a bit more sleep this week, but at 4:25 my eyes just popped right open and I could not get back to sleep. It is very unusual for me to have sleep trouble. More taper madness I guess. This was a crappy little run. My anxiety levels are rising and I felt tired and cranky. And I must just put this in black and white: large Mexican dinners are not good for running the next morning.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.32 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.32 |
| Objective: 1 easy, 2 MP by feel - no Garmin-Gazing, remainder easy c.d. 5:40AM: 41F, cloudy, wet streets but no rain 15 min. strength & stretching
I wanted to see how it felt to run at MP effort after only 1 mile of warm up. Can't say I liked it. I rarely feel good until I've run 3 or 4 miles, but I won't give myself that luxury on Sunday. But I think one mile ought to protect me from the "went out too fast" blues in miles 20 - 26.2. I also wanted to see what my pace would be if I did not look at my watch at all. I only listened for the mile beeps to know when to start and stop. MP mile splits were 9:27 and 9:11. The first mile shows that I could not get into MP so early I think. The second mile looks good, but I did keep the effort just a wee bit harder than MP to compensate for a few hills and the lack of race day excitement. Veggie challenge, Monday: successful (Good thing it's grocery day. I'm down to a carrot, some kale and a few celery sticks.)
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.04 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.04 |
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Objective: easy (4 days to Eugene) 5:40: 41F, mostly cloudy. Pretty morning. Nothing
felt good until the 4th mile, as usual. I'm trying to not worry about
it though. I will blog a couple of distractions, how's that? I
watched "The Long Green Line" (from Netflix) last night. It is a
documentary about York High School's cross country team as they pursue
their 25th straight state championship. It was worth watching, though
not a must-see. Two things struck me about the story. First, I am
always just baffled by cross country running. These guys are clocking 5
minute (or faster) miles on grass and dirt, and I can barely make it
across a parking strip without rolling my ankle. How do they do it? Is it those cool spikey shoes? Second,
I found myself feeling uncomfortable and quite sad that there was no
mention about a girls' program. (Rant alert.) One of the main themes
of the movie was the portrait of this coach and how supportive and
caring he is, and how he recruits and welcomes even the "fat little
freshmen." Every team member is important, with many repetitions of the
concept of being a good person in life and how that carries over into
running. I cannot reconcile those sentiments with a complete disregard
for girls' running. Not a peep. I know, the movie wasn't supposed to
be about anything but this winning team, but the more they talked about
boys' potential, boys' this and boys' that, the more I longed to see a
girl running. I probably have a giant chip on my shoulder about this,
having grown up mostly before Title 9. Plus I'm cranky you know. Taper.
Another distraction: planning some new goals for my next
training cycle. I have made notes on some workouts I've read here on
the blog and I would like to try some of those. I want to work a little
harder at fitting in at least one 10 miler on weekdays, perhaps two. I
also would like to work up to my full long runs with my ST3 shoes. And
lastly, I hope to experiment with some homemade fuel recipe ideas
instead of giving so much of our income to the Accel Gel company. Need to buy one of those little 6 oz. flasks at the expo. Thanks for listening. :)
ETA: Almost forgot again. Veggie challenge: 3 out of 4, missed the snack again. But the bin is full again so I'll be ok until Eugene.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 1.80 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.50 | 3.30 |
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Objective: confidence building, last run of taper. 1 mi easy, 1 mi MP by feel, .5 mi hard, ~3/4 mi cool down. Paces: 10:53 // 1 @ 8:59, 1/2 @ 8:18 // 3/4 @ 10:53
5:55 AM: 38F, wind 5-10 mph, mostly clear Lookie there. I guess I'll crest 200 miles for the month of April, which I doubted would happen with my taper. :)
It's funny how my warm up mile and cool down mile were run at the exact same pace. That is a fast warm up mile for me, and Sunday will have to be even faster. The workout I did on Tuesday started out the same as today's (1 mi easy, 2nd @ MP effort) but look how much faster today's pace was: 10:53 and 8:59 compared to 11:45 and 9:27. I credit the improvement partly to tapering and partly to the shoes. These Nike Lunars are the lightest and fastest shoe I have. (Too bad I can't run in these for 26.2!) You can watch Kara Goucher doing a 20 mile workout in what looks like Lunars here. I ran with my iPod today too (rare for me), just to give my brain that extra boost. So that's it for me for a couple of days. I don't know how soon I'll have internet access after my marathon, but I'll let you all know how it went as soon as I can. You blog-friends have been a very important part of my life and my training. Thank you for caring about me, putting up with my long-winded entries, and giving me the benefits of your advice and friendship. Cheers. Edited to add: I just had to add this video, which I just found. This is what our blog community is like, with Sasha's code being the earphones we all wear. Stick with the video, it takes a couple of minutes to get interesting!
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 3.30 |
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| | Race: |
Eugene Marathon (26.2 Miles) 04:38:20 | | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 26.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 26.20 |
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Time 4:38:20 -- div 30/63
Rain, showers, and sun, 40s-50s F, humid, breezy at times.
4 Accel gels + Gatorade on the course
HOW NOT TO RUN A MARATHON
Splits (1) 9:52 -- (2) 9:04 -- (3) 9:47 -- (4) 9:28 -- (5) 9:40 -- (6) 9:29 -- (7) 9:20 -- (8) 9:27 -- (9) 10:02 -- (10) 9:41 -- (11) 9:58 -- (12) 9:37 -- (13) 10:01 -- (14) 9:47 -- (15) 9:55 -- (16) 10:29 -- (17) 11:07 -- (18) 10:55 -- (19) 14:08 (bathroom stop) -- (20) 11:36 -- (21) 11:48 -- (22) 12:25 -- (23) 13:35 -- (24) 12:02 -- (25) 11:43 -- (26) 11:31
Chip mat splits: 5K=29:39, 10K=59:08, Half=2:06:19, 30K=3:08:26, 40K=4:21:22
What a disappointment. The agony of it came as it was happening. The sorrow came in the shower afterward. (I was wet anyway...) Now, it is time to think, analyze, and try to understand what happened. If I had to explain it in a couple of words: leg cramps. But why? and how? still hang in the air.
I felt good on race day. I think my training went pretty well (I always wish I did more). I ate well and tapered as usual leading up to the race. The odds seemed to be in my favor and I expected good things to come.
Before I looked at my splits, and even as early in the race as mile 12, I would have said that I pushed my pace too early. But the splits don’t seem to support that. I was planning to run my first mile at around 10:00, and the pace is pretty close to that. The effort level must have been harder (there was a hill there). Mile 2 is definitely too fast. I had a plan to get pretty close to 9:10-9:20 by mile 2 or 3. The splits don’t show that, and yet I remember the pace feeling kind of vigorous. (I am very glad I wore my usual shoes --some of you know I considered another --or I might have blamed all this on a stupid shoe choice.)
I am inclined to say I don’t believe in “just having a bad day.” But I guess what I mean is that I don’t think “having a bad day” swoops down invisibly on people who feel great and have trained fairly well. It happens when you wake up feeling “off,” or are not feeling well --- but then there is Making a Mistake. I may have made a mistake. I wish I had structured my race plan closer to the way I ran CIM in December, with several easy miles at the start. I let myself believe I could do it differently and succeed. The splits don’t show speed, but in my mind I was pushing and feeling some tension. Why it does not show in the splits I cannot really say, except maybe that maneuvering through the crowd took more energy than I knew at the time. Of course, I could be wrong, but it’s the only explanation that makes sense for what came later. Or maybe I was just completely delusional about my goal pace. I’ll never know for sure.
Pre-race: It was so great meeting Bonnie!! We hung out with her and Dean and had dinner together on Friday night. The expo was fun, and I enjoyed the speakers: some local Eugene coaches, Brad Hudson, Dathan Ritzenhein, Mary Decker Slaney, and Kathy Twomy Bellamy. The pasta feed was so-so (aren’t they all?). The expo was small but adequate; packet pickup was very organized and easy. Favorite quote from one of the expo speakers: “Don’t be braver than you are smart.”
Race: The start area was well organized, with 2 corrals, for under and over 10:00 pace, and pacers with balloons within each corral. It was raining at the start (tapering to lighter rain soon after, then showers) but not too hard. I wore a singlet, topped by a throw-away sweatshirt from a thrift store, and a garbage bag for the rain. I left the garbage bag at the side of my corral. The sweatshirt came off at mile 2 - I could not wait to dump it once we started running. The humidity seemed very high and I was grateful for the light rain.
In the first miles, and occasionally later in the race, the road surface was truly awful. In the first hundred yards or so, when we were packed tightly (couldn’t easily watch the ground), my right foot landed on the edge of a pothole and my ankle started to roll. I caught myself, and hopped over another pothole right after that, but if I had landed even a centimeter further over, I would have probably hurt my foot badly, fallen, and possibly taken other runners down with me in that crowd. Even on the bike path, there was quite a bit of uneven ground and some kind of cobblestone-like speed bumps, very uncomfortable to cross over. The second half of the race was “flat,” meaning no real hills but still plenty of little ups and downs.
The course was BEAUTIFUL! Everything was so green and most of the course ran along the river. I think the only course I’ve run that was more beautiful than this was Big Sur, with Yakima River Canyon & Deadwood tying for third. Maybe it’s just my love for the color green.
The course runs mostly on streets in the first half and mostly on a paved bike path in the second half. The hills came as expected in the first half: at about 0.5, 4.5 and 8.5. The “scream zone” at around mile eight was a brief, unexpected rush of sound. We had to funnel through a kind of narrow, winding path, where there were suddenly crowds of people on either side. Since I had my name on my bib, I got the full force of their “encouragement.” That was a trip, as the old Eugene hippies would say. Since it was brief, I rather enjoyed it.
The steepest, longest hill comes at around 8.5, a hill which I went up fairly easily. But shortly after that hill, I began to feel less energetic. I tried to ignore it, but a little later I started thinking that the pace felt too hard. I started looking at my Garmin and sure enough I was slowing down. But I pressed on, thinking “there are good miles and bad miles,” a truth with which I am familiar.
I soon began to pass the 4:15 pace group at ~ mile 10. There were about 20 runners and two pacers, who were talking almost continuously. I decided to run with them for a little while to try to get my energy back (not knowing that doom was about to strike). This was a very interesting part of the run, and I wish I could have stayed with them. The main pacer was a feisty, petite woman with a booming voice who talked about a number of interesting things (such as why your Garmin will always show a higher number of miles than 26.2). I liked the way she was breaking down the race into mental sections and giving advice for each part.
Then it happened. Somewhere between mile 12 and mile 14 my right quadriceps started to cramp up. I’m trying to remember if I have ever had a leg cramp while running. I don’t think so, though I could be wrong. It began slowly, but by mile 14 or 15 I felt crippled and the 4:15 pace group was gone.
I did a little walking while massaging the leg. Running again, my form became ragged. At mile 18, I met up with the second pacer from the 4:15 group, who had turned back to help out with the 4:30 group, and he ran with me for a while. I had electrolyte tablets, and he encouraged me to take one, which I did at the next aid station. I also had to take a bathroom break, reflected in the mile 19 split.
The rest of the race was made of walk/run, a lot of leg pain, and a lot of tough emotions. My form when running was stiff and slow. Instead of being the strong one, like I was at CIM 08, I was the “road kill” being passed by other (smarter?) runners.
Sometimes I think that the beginning of a marathon brings out the worst in some people, like the woman who elbowed me in the arm at mile 2, possibly by accident but I don’t think so, when I called out and gestured that I was coming to pass between her and another runner. But the final miles bring out the best in people. Everyone was so supportive. At around mile 22, there was a man running past me, looking pretty strong, and I murmured “good job.” He did not turn his head at all, but began a stream of encouragement to me that was very touching. Another woman who had been run/walking and leap-frogging with me came up behind me about .5 from the finish and said, “come on, let’s go, we’re almost there.” I guess these comments seem somewhat unremarkable in cold print, but the way they were spoken, with so much sincerity, was very moving at the time.
Highlights: 1) Meeting Bonnie and Dean and spending some time with them. Bonnie, you are such fun!! You are funny, smart, generous, and kind. It was great to meet you. 2) The beauty of the Eugene marathon course. I definitely want to run this one again. 3) I enjoyed the Expo speakers very much.
In conclusion, this experience shook my confidence so much as to nearly overshadow all of my recent accomplishments. I will spend some time in the next few days looking at my training log and my race reports from December - March. I need to feel the reality of those runs in order to internalize that this was an abnormal, one-time experience. To put it in perspective, I want to list my marathon times to date, with that 3rd race of 2006 being my first attempt at training for a time goal (everything before that was “to finish”):
2004: 4:59, 4:37,
2005: 4:58, 4:47, 4:55, 5:09, 4:47, 4:57, 4:50
2006: 5:15, 4:55, 4:27
2007: 4:28, 4:17
2008: 4:29, 4:18
2009: 4:38 (this marathon being my worst time in three years)
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I took a forty minute walk this morning, now that I am not hobbling quite so badly. The difference in how my legs felt by the end of the walk was quite noticeable. When I can go down stairs without bending over like a granny and clutching the rail I will start some easy jogging. (But hey! I'm already going down forwards - that's progress.) If this recovery goes like all the others, that should be by Friday. When I look back at the qualities I loved in the Eugene Marathon, I have a clearer vision of what kind of marathon I want to run in the fall. I suddenly found myself not wanting to run Billings and had to tell The Support Crew we were not going to Yellowstone in September. Bless their hearts, they took it well. I don't know what I did to deserve such a supportive family. Now I'm considering Cowtown (Sacramento), Baltimore (I could visit my brother nearby), and Silicon Valley (I could visit my sisters), in that order. If any of you have run these, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Marathon Guide seems to be mostly favorable on all of them.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 1.77 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.77 |
| I forgot that it is possible to "jog" slower than you can walk. It's great humor value. Let me tell you about May in the Pacific Northwest. The first time I ever saw Washington State was in May 1980. The incredible verdure made a huge impression on me (even more than Mt. St. Helens, which was erupting at the time), and it still does every year to this day. Washington is called the "Evergreen State," and Seattle is the "Emerald City," so of course this part of the world is pretty lush. But May and early June are simply unbelievable. Here at last is the payoff for our wet winter! :)
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 1.77 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.81 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.81 |
| 5:45 AM 42F, cloudy with showers. Recovery. Only the right quad is still a little painful, but the legs are super weak. 20 min core & upper body, stretching
Another shuffling little joglet. There were an amazing number of unfamiliar runners out this morning. The good Sno welcomes them warmly; the evil Sno asks in her mind, "Where were you when it was dark and cold and icy?" Bad Sno! Whine Department. 1) The roadwork that has shut down the express lanes on I-90 makes it necessary that my DH leave 10 minutes earlier on his non-carpool days. For now, it doesn't make much difference, but in the next two months or so it means getting up even (groan) earlier. 2) My daughter has the flu. I've spent the past 36 hours trying to keep her hydrated and comfortable. Poor thing.
Here is a little tidbit about marathons. The full distance of 26.2 is certified, but the individual miles are not. That means there could be slightly short or long miles. Also, always cut the tangent when it is safe and legal to do so. Don't go outside traffic cones or swerve into people, but whenever there is a bend or turn, take the shortest path; over such a long distance as 26.2 you will really save a lot of steps.
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 2.81 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.97 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.97 |
| 7:45 AM: low 40s, mostly sunny. Recovery run. I usually do not run Saturdays, but last night it occured to me that Saturdays are a rest day, and I don't have anything to rest up from. No reason not to go out and enjoy the good weather. The legs are only slightly stronger today. Every step is still really slow, like 14:00 slow! It is nice to have no pressure right now, regarding time, distance or pace. I did notice a mental pang when I passed other pedestrians and runners; the part of me that wants to justify everything wanted to call out, "I'm recovering from a marathon!"
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 2.97 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.65 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.65 |
| 9:30 AM 50s F, sunny. Easy run. Still pretty slow but starting to feel like a non-cripple at last.
Happy Mothers Day to all the blog moms, and Happy Beautiful-Day-of-Spring to everyone else.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 5.65 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| It's a day off for me, inspired by Bonnie's article from Greg about recovery. (Thanks, Bonnie!) Since it's week 2 now, I'm not sure it will make that much difference. But when I got to bed a little later than I planned, I made the final decision to opt for more sleep. It's kind of nice to have more freedom right now and be able to skip runs at random, but I also long to be back at it. If only I could put that desire in a bottle and save it for those hard weeks. Here is a video of the women's finish at the recent London Marathon. With all of the tapering and recovering going on this week, we might as well be entertained...
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.78 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.78 |
| Easy run. 39F, showers and breezy. Pretty good run. When I realized how good my legs felt today, I wished I'd headed out a little earlier, but there's always tomorrow! And I do have to still keep things easy. Spirit of the Marathon is now available in "watch instantly" mode on Netflix. (Free to Netflix members.) I saw a bit of it last night. There are parts of the movie I really dislike. I won't tell you which in case it might ruin it for any who haven't seen it yet. It's probably just me anyway. I do love the way the movie was put together, the music, the Deena parts (of course), and the final scenes that show the actual marathon. Going downstairs to do some abs and upper body now.
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| Saucony Progrid Ride Miles: 2.78 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.30 |
| 5:30 AM: 41F, mostly cloudy, dry. Objective: easy run. 20 min. strength & stretching after run.
A very nice morning for running. I haven't forgotten my promise of a picture. I have taken a couple of pictures, but then I look at them and they just don't convey how beautiful it is. Maybe you have to see it in 3-D. And maybe it's only beautiful because I'm seeing the contrast from late summer through the winter -- months of yellow grasses by the roadside, where now every sprig of plant material is either green or covered in flowers. Or maybe the camera in my phone is just really awful.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 4.30 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.45 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.45 |
| 7:00 AM: 44F, fog, steady rain. Objective: easy. Man of the hour: Jefferey. I was less than two miles into my run when I had the pleasure of seeing him at one of the drinking fountains. He was soaked through and had been bitten by one of the extendable leash dogs in the neighborhood just minutes earlier. What a warrior! Jeff, I know you have that treadmill option, but I'm so glad you were out on the streets anyway and I hope it pays off big time in fitness and, um, mental fortitude. :) We are all drawing up plans for building our arks here in the Northwest. The rain has been relentless the past couple of days. But everything is so green and lovely, not like November rain when one is surrounded by All Things Dead and Dying. And we had fog! (You know my views on fog.) I owe my 9 hours of sleep and the lateness of my run to the sad fact that my husband now has the flu. Daughter has recovered however. And I'm fine. Like the shirts I saw in Eugene said, "It's a great day to be a runner!"
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 6.45 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.97 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.97 |
| 5:45 AM: 40F, partly cloudy, dry & calm. Objective: easy run. It was a pleasant run. My pace is still quite slow, though the legs feel pretty good. That's the way it goes. I did tackle some of the longer, steeper hills today for the first time since before my marathon. I observed a weird paradox in that I climbed them at the usual effort level and was slower than ever -- but aerobically and psychologically it was not a big deal. I never thought "oh, this is hard" or "wish I could walk." Just rose up slowly, like an elevator. That was a great feeling. I'll see if I can start getting my mileage back next week.
To everyone racing this weekend: I wish you all a happy, successful experience. We are so lucky to have this great sport in our lives, and to be healthy enough to enjoy it. Remember that as you run and have a wonderful time. I look forward to reading all the reports as they come in.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 15.41 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 15.41 |
| Sunny day. 50F rising to 67F, with a few high clouds moving in. (Felt hot to my winter trained body.) Objective: easy, rebuilding mileage. That was about the limit of what I can run right now, especially after working hard in the garden for a couple of hours yesterday. Not sure that was such a good idea. Now that I've had some food and cooled off, the temperature feels quite moderate. We have our windows open to prevent the AC from kicking on (cooler out than in). But, man, when I was running it felt like an oven. These early warm days are always a bit of a shock. Bonnie, I know you are probably laughing your head off, with those "cool" 79F runs in AZ. It's all what you're used to I guess. Keep blogging, you Ogden Marathon runners! We need to hear all about your sore muscles and your post race thoughts. :)
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 15.41 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.70 |
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6 AM: 50F, mostly clear. Easy run. 20 min. strength afterward As expected, the legs were pretty "dead" today. It was good to get out and just loosen them up a bit. Gorgeous morning. Maybe it's because I'm feeling quite old today, but here are a couple of tidbits about age.
First an interesting article on Age Graded BQ Standards. I learned about it on another forum, where someone suggested that there shouldn't even be a qualifying standard for 80 year olds: "they're 80 frickin years old! If they can run a marathon, they should get into Boston." LOL Does anyone get Running Times Magazine? Speaking of older -- oops -- "Masters" runners, there is a piece about Yoshihisa Hosaka, the 60 year old record holder for the marathon (2:36:30). He runs the same 2 workouts every day. No hard/easy rule for him. His workouts total about 20 miles per day, "with more than 10K at or faster than marathon pace." It is a fascinating story, if only for a bit of healthy mind bending.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 2.70 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.72 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.72 |
| 47F, light showers, occasional wind. Easy run w/ form focus and a yikes-I'm-late accidental fast finish. :) 20 min. strengh, stretching & Stick. That was some fun running. Still slow but who cares. Everything feels great. At the very end of the run I was coming through a short-cut path next to some woods and startled 3 deer, who "ran with me" for about 25 yards. Very cool, though I was sorry to frighten them.
It is a great gift to be able to amuse oneself with so little effort. I had to stop at the park bathroom this morning, but I told myself I could make it a quick stop, no problem. For some reason the bow I tied on the drawstring of my running tights turned into a knot when I went to untie it. So I'm rushing and trying to get these darn things over my hips, and it's really hurting, but the whole thing struck me as so funny. I could not stop laughing. Every solution that came to mind made me laugh even harder, like the thought of trying to chew through the string. I eventually did a Houdini maneuver and got free, but then I had to get them back on again. It's still making me chuckle. I actually had to cut the drawstring when I came home. Hope it doesn't ruin the tights' usefulness.
I think I've chosen my fall marathon, in Victoria BC. It is a race I've dismissed, probably because I glanced at the elevation profile, which looks quite hilly. But yesterday I was just browsing through the top BQ'ing marathons on this list and there it was at #11! It seems the hills are more like gentle undulations, though after 20 miles I usually think any rise at all feels like the Himalayas. The race is very easy to get to from here, and the area is fun to visit so Support Crew will be happy. It feels right. And I have decided to stop thinking "this is THE race for my BQ," and switch to thinking "little by little I shall arrive."
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 8.72 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.75 |
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41F, mostly cloudy, calm. (Rained in the night; everything wet and fragrant.) Easy run. Another splendid morning of running. Project Magic Shoes has officially begun, and I will be wearing racing shoes for more and more of my training runs. I believe that their effectiveness is not due only to their light weight. It's the way they make the legs and feet work harder, or maybe more efficiently. Or maybe both. Anyway, I totally love running in them, even for a little easy run like this. Scary thoughts about: How the Victoria Marathon May Have Gotten Onto the BQ List Without Actually Being a Fast Course (see yesterday's post): First, there is a 5 hour time limit, which would tend to produce a bias in the field. If you are a slow runner, you can sign up for the early start, but it still might limit the field I think. Second, I just noticed that elites receive free entry. I don't know if that would pad the field with a disproportional number of fast runners. Elite is men @ 2:30 (masters 2:40) and women @ 2:50 (masters 3:00). Shut up, brain.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.26 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.26 |
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42F, clear & calm w/ waning crescent moon sliver. Easy run. The regular training shoes feel slow and clunky after 2 days in the racers. I am experimenting with a downhill stride that involves a kind of sinking down into the quads to see if I can get a better pace. If I can find a way to feel more comfortable on my heels I think that might work well. Towards the end of the run I was pretty happy with it. The Cat Who Must Be Obeyed got beat up pretty badly last night. Lately he's been fighting another cat who has come into our yard. I know it's not the worst of his injuries, but a piece of his little ear is missing! His beautiful ear will never be whole again. :( Here he is when he was whole... 
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.05 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.05 |
| 46F, clear. Easy to moderate effort. Long warm up. 20 min. strength, stretch & Stick.
More happy running in the Magic Shoes. Gorgeous morning. It looks like I may have to do my long run tomorrow instead of Sunday, but I am still not sure yet. My daughter has a 4H event on Sunday but the leader wasn't sure when the start time was so I will find out this afternoon. I can do my usual Sunday long run if we don't have to leave too early. That was on my mind this morning; I usually don't like to run the day before a long run. I like that long run to happen on fresh legs. Which leads me to some thoughts about the running club I just joined. I want to support local running, meet some other runners, and get those awesome club discounts (and the shirt!), but the Saturday runs may not work for me. I am planning to go to the first one, next week. After that, I'll just have to play it by ear. If there is a short run option, or if I can sometimes make that run my long run, Saturday running would work I think. But I do love to sleep in on Saturday and be fresh on Sunday. I know some folks on this blog run 7 days a week; if that's you, I'd love to hear any thoughts you have about running daily, adjusting, resting, etc. I'm like a little kid when it comes to change. My first thought is "no way!" and then I slowly adapt if I know deep down that a change is for the best or unavoidable. In this situation, it might be that I just choose from week to week and practice "being flexible," another nemesis of my inner child. lol
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 18.18 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 18.18 |
| 45F rising to low 60s, clear and sunny, breezy. Objective: endurance, easy but negative splits. This was a great run that went exactly as I had hoped. After about 9 miles I stopped by my house to switch shoes (note my new short term running goal) and trade my gloves for sunglasses. I am not ready to push my pace very much, but I wanted to just relax a little more in the first half and think about form and cadence in the second half. Just a slight difference, and my splits were 4 minutes apart. Just right. I tried two new things this morning. One was Rattletrap's Banana Routine, a banana at least 20 minutes before running. In my case it was more like 40 minutes. That seemed to go ok. (Usually start the run on empty.) Secondly, I had my first experimental homemade fuel. It was pretty good, but I have some tweaking to do before I reveal my recipe! ;) Get yourself a 6 oz fuel bottle if you want to try it. I'll be "publishing" it soon!
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| Brooks ST3 Miles: 9.23 | Triax 12 II Miles: 8.95 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.27 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.27 |
| 47F, another sunny day. (How long can this last??) Easy/recovery run. My Old Lady Persona was in full force this morning; that first mile was humorously slow and stiff. I was almost warmed by the time I came home. lol Just a toe in the water today. What a busy weekend it's been. Now I'm off to get everyone fed and ready for Folklife, where we're going to play a little music today. Fun! :D
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| Saucony Progrid Ride Miles: 3.27 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.27 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.27 |
| 54F, cloudy and breezy. Easy run. 20 min strength, stretching. It sure felt like a recovery run, and I think I am recovering - from a busy weekend! Too much being on my feet, too much noise, and too much sun. Yes. I want my fog. But I will gladly accept these clouds instead. I read once that the true meaning of being an introvert or an extrovert is not whether you like being with people or whether you are gregarious. It is determined by how you reenergize yourself. An introvert recharges her energy by being alone, and an extrovert recharges by being with people. We are wired one way or the other from birth. By this definition, I am definitely an introvert. Mr. Sno and Young Miss Sno are the same, so we make a good match. We all had a ton of fun this weekend, but last night it was like a tomb around our house. Everyone with their nose in a book. So quiet. So funny.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 6.27 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.25 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.58 | 5.83 |
| 47F, mostly cloudy. Calm and dry. VO2 workout w/ "ladders:" 1-2-3-2-1-2-3 minutes w/ equal recovery times. 20 min. strength & stretching
I don't feel like I'm quite up for speed work yet, but I decided to do it anyway, to just go by effort level, and to make the first few intervals a little easier. I liked the way that felt.
Pace for each VO2 minute was as follows:
9:01
8:51
8:46
8:53
8:54
8:57
8:49
8:49
8:40
8:53
9:18 (hill)
8:35
8:19
8:33
I have a couple of recommendations today, both of which sort of share a theme of living life to the fullest. The first is the movie Yes Man. (Despite its PG-13 rating, I do not recommend you watch it with your young'uns. Thank goodness my 12 y.o. self censors and that she could see what was coming. She covered her head in cushions, and once got up and left the room. How cute is that?) Anyway, we thought it was a super funny movie, with a sweet, positive message at the end. The second thing is right along the same lines, it is the 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech given by Steve Jobs. I guess I'm behind the times, but I had never seen or read it before. Have you? Good stuff.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 5.83 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.79 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.79 |
| 48F, clear. Easy to moderate run, with a few hill sprints throughout run. 20 min. strength & stretch. A nice run. Busy morning. :)
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.51 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.51 |
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Warm and sunny, 57F. Easy, short run. Focused on form a little. I debated running at all today. I am going to be running tomorrow with the new running club, and I have a long run on Sunday. ("I seem to have misplaced my day off.") But by bed time last night I was convinced that I would be happier having a short run today than not, and so I go boldly into this uncharted territory of continuous running days --- at least this week that is... I do not know that I will want to run with the club every Saturday. I will be very surprised if any runners come to the club who are as slow as I am. I'm not going to worry about it; in fact this image is cracking me up a little: slow, 5'2", 50 y.o. me and a bunch of tall, young bucks all meeting up in the parking lot. Time to run... "Ok, b-bye! Me and my invisible friends will lead the slow pace group! See ya in an hour!" I have never run with a group, except at Galloway Camp back in the olden days. And that probably doesn't count because camp personnel had to run with us slow pokes. I have no idea what to expect or how it will work, so this will be a great adventure! Amusing link for today: The 53 Runners Commandments. Have a great weekend everyone.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 3.51 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.49 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.49 |
| Low 60sF, sunny day. Easy inaugural run with Mt. Si Running Club. Slow, slow, so slow.
I drove a couple of miles down to the fire station, where the MSRC was to meet for the first time. I came early and ran about 1.5 miles by myself on the flat valley floor to warm up, not knowing what the morning may bring. My goal for today was to meet some other runners, learn about the club
and not do anything that would jeopardize my 20 miler tomorrow (hence
the drive down the monster hill). About a dozen people showed up, and Sean Sundwall talked with us about what we would be doing and where/when we would meet in the future. Each person introduced themselves and said what he/she was training for and what was his/her easy pace. We had a handful of "9:30s" and "10:00s," some much faster, and then there was me at 10:30-11:00 and another woman at 13:00. So I said I'd run with the 13:00 pace woman. What else could I do? I could probably keep up with a 10:00 group, but I wanted an easy run today and the morning was starting to get warm. I didn't want Ms. 13:00 to have no one; that could so easily be me. :)
I expected I'd be one of the slower runners of the group. No surprise there. But I did have the pleasure of knowing how comparably fit I was when Sean asked whether anyone was planning to do a long run today, "like 20 miles," and everyone laughed. I felt proud inside that I was capable of that distance and in fact was planning to run it the next day. Two other runners (from the 9:30-10:00 camp) ended up joining our slow group. I still don't know why they did, but I enjoyed everyone in our group. Our pace was occasionally 13:00, but most of the time it was much slower. You should always be careful what you wish for. Yes, I wanted to run easy, but after a mile I yearned to go just a bit faster. It's hard running much slower than you are used to. I tried to keep my form nice and "collected," as my horseback riding daughter would say. In fact, I thought a lot about what a horse looks like when it is kept at a very slow trot. Graceful and easy but not sloppy. Good practice I think. We ran on some lonely back roads (gorgeous wooded area near pond) which I would never run by myself for safety reasons. So having a group was a nice benefit in that way. We crossed over the Snoqualmie River twice. Then we circled back into town, made a much needed bathroom stop, and came back up to the fire station. All in all, I enjoyed the experience very much. It will be interesting to see how the club evolves. I hope we can attract more members. Sean is hoping to have many more, so that every pace and desired distance will have more than one or two runners. One person missing from the club this morning was Jefferey, who is running the Newport Marathon as I write. Or done by now? Hope it's going well for you Jeff!!
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 5.49 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 20.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.10 |
| I'm trying to find words (or possibly grunt-like vocalizations) to describe today's weather. There is the official, pleasant version on the weather website: currently 68F, humidity 51%, mostly sunny. Then there is the sun-phobic, non-acclimated runner girl version. (Insert grunt-like vocalization here.) I like those fluffy clouds that produce a shadow and bring cool air to the world. These things were like green house roof material. No shadows, no cooling. Sorry guys, but I just have to whine for a minute here. I think I'll be done soon. This was one of the hardest runs I've done in a long time, if you don't count my cramp fest at Eugene.
On the bright side, 20 miles in the Magic Shoes! The only time they were really not comfortable was on the downhills in the second half. I either need to build up the weight-bearing strength or adjust my stride for downhill running. I'm so uncomfortable landing on my heels, and it just seems harder to do so in these.
One of the reasons I wore the ST3's for all 20 miles was that I knew I'd be doing the first 10 slowly. Today must be Mixed Up Blog Entry Day... Objective: 10 miles very slow and easy, 10 miles faster, mostly concentrating on cadence. At about mile 16 I started getting so hot that I could feel my face burning up and I took many little walk breaks just to try to cool down. I prefer not to pass out. Occasionally I found a street that had exposure to a breeze - ah! When was going from simmer to boil, I just tried to make sure my cadence was high (180-190), even if it meant tiny steps. I've been eating grapes and turkey since I got home. I believe I shall have some ice cream next. :) Then I have to cool off, clean off and try to revive a few brain cells to play harp for a potential wedding client later this afternoon. Cheers!
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.61 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.61 |
| Upper 50sF, mostly clear. Active recovery run. Hello June! My legs did NOT want to move this morning. At all. I just walked briskly the first 5 minutes. But I love how a recovery run like this goes from "cripple" to "stiff" and finally to "weak but functional." It was such a busy weekend, and I have a light, happy feeling this morning from having got through it all. I meant to mention yesterday that we saw an amazing show Saturday night. (Great fun, the only challenge about it being the noise & crowds in the arena - hard for me.) It was the touring Lipizzaner Stallions. Wow. Incredible. I am ready to share my fuel recipe now. I used it again yesterday for my 20 miler and it worked well. I often have difficulty with nausea when it's warm, no matter what I eat or drink. There was just a bit of heat nausea around mile 18, but not too bad at all. So I doubt the gel was a problem. I would be curious to hear if anyone has comments about any of the ingredients, like "good grief, don't eat that while you run." I would also like to say how much I love not having to deal with the trash and mess of those little gel packs. The flask is so easy, and it fits really well in the skirt pocket. Without further ado... BACLAVA FLAVOR ENERGY GEL
Amounts are approximate. Mixture is for a 6 oz. fuel flask. To be consumed WITH WATER.
Fill flask ~1/3 with water
Add dry ingredients to water:
A bit less than 1 scoop (scant 1/4 cup?) Whey Factors protein powder (vanilla flavor)
1/2 t cinnamon powder
Contents of 2 “Salt Stick” electrolyte caps (open the caps)
1/8 t ginger powder
Shake vigorously to mix before adding next ingredients. The powders will not mix easily with the thicker ingredients...
Scant 1/3 flask Agave Nectar
Scant 1/3 flask Honey (more or less honey to nectar ratio depending on taste preference)
1-2 drops vanilla extract
1/2 t walnut oil
Shake vigorously again, and before each time you drink some.
Store in the refrigerator.
Take a swig WITH WATER every 30-40 minutes of running.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 3.61 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.51 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.51 |
| 58F at my house, pockets of warmer and cooler air throughout neighborhood (due to hills). A few clouds. Easy to moderate run (4 E, 5 mod.) 20 min strength, stretch, & Stick.
My calves are still sore from Sunday, and it took a while to feel comfortable. I worked on them with the Stick before I went out and I think that helped. I got to run almost an hour before the sun came up, which was refreshing. This is truly a heat wave for May/June in our area. It will hit the 80s today. If you need a smile this morning, watch this clip of a little boy harp prodigy. :)
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 9.51 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.82 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.39 | 7.21 |
| 60F, sunny and breezy. Temp rising as soon as the sun came up. Objective: VO2 & running efficiency (form). Intervals: 10 x 2 min hard, 2 min recovery. 20 min strength & stretch.
I stayed mainly on Ridge and Kinsey streets to give myself the greatest possible amount of flat terrain. I often have a hard time staying on these two streets because I feel kind of stupid going around and around. Each street is about 5 blocks long and the two streets are parallel. Today I just forced myself to be boring and it wasn't so bad. ;) I haven't worked much on form for a while and I noticed that my arm swing was a little wonky during the intervals. I have to really concentrate on swinging it straight back, and it helps tremendously with the speed work. That's the arm the always wants to do a chicken wing - reform school for you, arm! Calves are still a little sore but they loosened up nicely.
I read a great quote yesterday, something like, "Today is a gift. That is why it's called The Present."
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 7.21 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 60F, clear and breezy. Easy day to rest from yesterday and be ready for Fri-Sun workouts. The temperature will reach 90F today. Ninety. Ug. And I have to leave my cave for a homeschooling event. But the good news is that today is supposed to be the last day of this freak heat wave and we should return to our normal cool spring temps over the weekend. Maybe even a bit of rain. :D
I was pretty comfortable in the shady 60F air on my run this morning, but during my negative mental wallowing about the heat to come I remembered how much I hated the icy roads in January, and more than once this winter I cut a run short because of being too cold. Trying to appreciate the weather, I was reminded of the lyrics to a Montgomery Gentry song, "Lucky Man:"
I have moments when I curse the rain
Then complain when the suns too hot
I look around at what everyone has
And I forget about all I've got
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 4.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.94 | 1.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.54 |
| Low 60sF, clear & muggy. Easy to moderate run w/ last 15 min before cool down @ MP, + chicken arm reform school (see Weds.) Sometimes we believe what we want to believe. After a scorching day in the 90s, last night the weather suddenly turned cloudy and very windy, and we even had a brief hailstorm. So, despite this morning's clear sky and absolutely still air, I believed that a long sleeve tech shirt would be appropriate. Not! Sweat bath. Hopefully more clouds are coming today - no more severe heat. The worst is that my lupines, which were huge and so incredibly beautiful, were all blown over last night. Tidbit for today: optical illusions. Enjoy!
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.21 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.21 |
| Cloudy (ah...) 58F and humid. Club run. Turned out to be a progression run, unintentionally.
Today was the 2nd meeting of the new Mt. Si Running Club. I arrived early for my private warm up of ~1.5 miles, as I did last week. People can say "we'll start slowly" all they want, but it will rarely actually happen, as evidenced by my experience this morning. It was a small group that met over by the high school, and the woman I ran with last week was not present. While deciding on partners and distances, I voiced my desire to run about 5 miles starting at 11:00 or 11:30 pace, and gradually speeding up to about 10:30. An easy run. One woman who ran with a much faster group last week said she wanted to do that too. Ha. ha. ha. We took off, chatting and introducing ourselves and I quickly noticed how winded I was. Garmin check: 9:40. "Uh. Are you sure you want to run with me? I'm going to slow it down a bit." In spite of me putting on the brakes from time to time, we just got faster and faster. Wipe that grin off your face! (You know who you are.) Ah well, I had a great time and it was almost a marathon pace workout. Aerobically, it was probably the same as MP since we were chatting the whole time, and running on gravel (which is always harder for me). I still would have preferred a slower pace, but these club runs are about adventure and comraderie, so I am satisfied.
We ran through old Snoqualmie out to Centennial Park, onto the Snoq. Valley Trail (soft surface), over to the North Bend elementary school and back again. I LOVE this weather. The clouds and cooler air feel so good after the freaky heat.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 7.21 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 18.74 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 18.74 |
| Mid 50sF, cloudy. Endurance run. Not one of my better runs. Everything felt too hard by 10 miles, and at about 14 miles the wheels started to come off: lethargy, form deteriorating, and eventually pain throughout the legs. I forced myself to go a few more miles just to practice some mental toughness and try some mind games, but was happy to go home early. I think I shall take tomorrow off. I feel worn out.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.91 | 0.25 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.16 |
| 54F, mostly clear, humid. Easy run w/ fast finish. 20 min. strength & Stick.
A pleasant, though slightly sluggish run. The air is a bit heavy this morning. We had a blood red sunset and moonrise last night, so I'm sure there is a lot of particulate hanging around. About this time every year I start wishing I lived in the Highlands of Scotland. Or somewhere foggy. My arms and back are a little sore. We did our spring scything yesterday. Yes! The art of scything lives. We have a bit of meadow grass property on the outskirts of our
landscaped area and it's just nice to keep it below knee height and
take care of the blackberry vines that always want to come up there. I can tell you my neighbors think I'm certified insane (perhaps some of you do too?) so I generally do it when I know they are at work. One of my neighbors, who is extremely nosy and rude, once had the bad manners to call out to me, "What the h----- are you doing??" A scythe is faster, lighter, quieter and easier than a weed whacker. DD helped rake up and raked in some dough for herself.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 7.16 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.83 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 8.83 |
| 55F, partly cloudy, humid. Lactate threshold/Tempo run: 4 E + 2 T + remainder moderate. Yesterday afternoon, as our mercury climbed to 80F, the thunderheads that had been predicted for Eastern Washington were camped just beyond the mountains near my house. So close! It was beautiful, but I wanted them to scoot just a teensy bit farther west to cool us off. This morning's run was quite pleasant, but still a bit warm with the humid air. An observation about weight. I was bringing in some purchases from my car, including a 20 pound jug of cat litter. Since my right arm is still sore from scything (see yesterday's post), I had the goofy but practical idea of putting the thing on my head, like an African woman. I set it on its side and held on to the handle. That worked nicely, but as I carried it up the 10 steps from the garage, through the house, and down the 14 steps to my basement, I thought to myself, "this is what it would be like to be 20 pounds overweight." Difficult!! And I couldn't imagine trying to run with those extra 20 pounds. I like my weight all right, so it's hard to get worked up about losing the 5-10 pounds I probably should lose -- but how much lighter would that feel as a runner? Something to think about.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.12 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.12 |
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55F, getting cloudier :D -w/ sun breaks and humidity. General aerobic run, moderate pace. (ETA: Forgot to mention: 20 min. strength & stretching)
A great run. These Nike Lunar shoes feel really good, possibly as good as The Magic Shoes (Brooks ST3s). The only reason I've relegated them to 2nd place is that the right shoe always feels too tight across the toe box for the first 5 minutes or so. Then it is fine. Weird.
I have a question for anyone who may know about this. How do you run sharp corners? Do you tilt like a motorcycle? Do you slow down a lot, shorten stride, or do anything different with your feet/legs? I am talking about going around a 90 degree angle corner on a sidewalk for example. I'd just like to get your thoughts on this because I find turns to be very uncomfortable sometimes and I wonder if there is something I can do differently.
Tidbit for today: One of my favorite heros, Peter Schiff, was recently on The Daily Show. I don't watch tv but this episode was brought to my attention. It's nice to see a voice of reason getting positive air time.
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 9.12 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.86 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.86 |
| 55F, cloudy. :) Slow and easy today. Just a wee jaunt to get the legs loose and enjoy some fresh air.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 2.86 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 16.10 | 4.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.60 |
| Low 50s & cloudy, changing to low 60s and sunny. North wind. Endurance run + club run + Spirit Crusher Hill + 4.5 miles @ MP+20 down to MP before cool down. Every now and then a run just shines for some reason. That was today. Legs felt great. Energy, great. Magic Shoes, great. I ran about 7 miles around the neighborhood and down to the meeting place before the club run. I only ended up running with the club for about a mile, because I was determined not to run on gravel today. It probably would have been ok, but I had a plan and wanted to stick with it. No one wanted to run on the streets with me, so I just went as far as the trail head with them. There were no runners who said they would like to run at 11:00 pace (my choice), and a big group who did want to run at 10:00. So I tucked in with them, thinking I'd just get left behind in a bit, and that would be fine since I wasn't going where they were going. How long do you suppose it will take me to figure out that people don't say what pace they really want, or maybe that they don't know their pace? We were at 10:40-10:50 the whole time I ran with them. lol I came back through town on my own and hit the bottom of Spirit Crusher Hill at mile 11.5 That was the strongest run up that hill I have ever done! I stopped once at the drinking fountain about 2/3 of the way up, and other than that I ran steady. The worst of the hill comes at the last .5 miles and my pace was reduced to around 14:00 but I didn't stop, didn't feel overwhelmed, and didn't break down physically or mentally even a little bit. Yay! But it gets even better. At about mile 16 I had been back in the 'hood for a while and decided to finish with a route going out to the Heights, where Jefferey lives. Things were still feeling pretty good, so I decided right there and then to run that part with more effort. Each mile got faster than the last! That hasn't happened to me since... um... I'll get back to you on that. I let my last mile be easy, but even then I felt really good and my form was still in check. Today was as good as last week was awful. I sure appreciate the confidence booster. I'll be back on the blog later today to leave comments for all my dear friends. Right now I'm late for showering so I can get going to my Knit-in Public event. Today is World Wide Knit In Public Day! Totally crazy, I know. But there is a K.I.P just up the road at my library, so DD and I are going.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.96 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.96 |
| 57F, cloudy w/ breeze. Recovery run. Stiff and sore the first 3 miles or so, then easier. My legs actually feel a lot better than I thought they would. I mostly felt weak. Typical and not bothersome. :) Doing the long run on Saturday worked out better than I expected too. Having a good running day didn't hurt, but the logistics of it went well too. I think I'll do that more often. Monday to Sunday week mileage: 53.53 miles.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 4.96 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.72 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.72 |
| Mid 50sF, cloudy. Another recovery run. 20 min strength and stretching.
I've got my usual DOMS today, mostly in the quads. So I took it really slowly. I am loving this weather. I thought I even felt a few raindrops from time to time but I can't be sure. Much to do this morning... :)
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 5.72 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.12 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.12 |
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58F, mostly clear. Another easy run, with a few strides thrown in. Abs & pushups.
When circumstances collide.... I guess it is just as well since I am in a taper period, but I would have run longer today if I could have without sacrificing more sleep. My daughter's gymnastics class met at a distant location last night and my husband's job required him to be at the office extremely early for a teleconference with someone in Switzerland.
Here is yet another article on barefoot running, which seems to come up more and more these days. I don't think I will choose to go that far, but I do favor minimalist shoes in running and going barefoot at home. Edited to add: the book which is mentioned in the article is on Amazon with a little video clip that is pretty interesting: http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307266303/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245162794&sr=1-1
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 4.12 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.82 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.82 |
| 56F Cloudy. Mile repeats - sort of... I believe I must have eaten something bad. I've had some intestinal distress since about 1 in the morning. I almost didn't run. Then I almost didn't try my mile repeats. But I figure something is better than nothing. The pace that was to be a bit faster than MP was only faster than... "slow." lol Everything sort of fell apart during the second one (meant to do 3) and I had to quickly walk home. It's the best I could hope for, and I truly do believe that some running is better than none. :)
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.09 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.09 |
| 56F, cloudy and humid. Easy to moderate run. I'm trying to identify a couple of birds I saw playing together this morning. I think they were Sapsuckers; they looked like this one except much prettier. One of them kept perching on a sign post and pecking it slowly as if he just really liked the way his beak sounded on the metal. I actually had to stop running and watch them for a while, it was so interesting. This is the sort of thing that makes me think I should run with my camera (the one on my phone is so poor quality). Then I'll end up like the Jogging Photography Club in the movie "Yes Man." lol
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Lookie here! A day off. Man, I went back and forth about this. Add miles after the 5K tomorrow? Take off Sunday for Father's Day? Run low miles today? In the end, my pillow won out. Glorious, Precious, Sleeeeep... Hubby, daughter and I are all off to one of our favorite events today, the annual Homeschool Curriculum Expo. I remember the first time I went, when we were still just considering this path, and the joy of seeing that I would not have to reinvent the wheel. We take one of those big crates on wheels with a long handle and fill it up.
One of my closest friends, who is from Iran but lives here, has been in such turmoil all week. Her aged father in Iran was taken from his hospital bed during the night and put in prison. I have no idea what the circumstances were. He is back in the hospital now -- I guess they didn't actually want him dead which is what nearly happened. I think I've posted this beautiful link before, but I would like to share it again... here is hoping for peace in their future and ours. (The statistics are out of date by at least a year.)
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Fall City Days 5K (3.1 Miles) 00:24:37, Place in age division: 3 | | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.10 | 5.85 |
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FALL CITY DAYS 5K - Garmin time 24:45 Low to mid 50s, cloudy w/ sun breaks. Mile splits: 7:45, 7:55, 8:02, (last .1) 7:54 Chip time now in: 24:37. :D
LOOK AT THOSE SEVENS!!!!! Never, in all my running have I seen 7's for more than about 400 meters. [Insert happy dance and unabashed grinning here.] It just amazes me that a warm up period can feel sluggish and so difficult at 11:20 and then a race can be run so much faster.
I'll have to come back later with some better details. At the moment I'm VERY happy, and slightly confused. Read on... I arrived early and had a nice, well timed warm up. 30 minutes of walk/jog, easy run, then drills and strides. Settled in around the start area five minutes before the race. So far, everything going great. But then, the minutes ticked on. I tried to stay loose and warm by pacing, bouncing, etc. but the race started over 15 minutes late! Gr. I should have listened to Jefferey and seeded myself further up in the start area, but other people always look so fast to me. (He warned me about getting boxed in at this race.) The gun went off and no one seemed the least bit interested in ceasing the chat fest and moving forward. When we finally did edge up to the chip mat, I found myself totally boxed in. "What have I done?" I'm talking about 12:00-13:00 pace and a wall of bodies. I must have panicked a bit, because after darting around people and trying to get up where I belonged the first mile was too fast! That would explain why I feel like my lungs are going to explode.
Fortunately, it was a very flat course, with just a wee rise to cross a bridge at the beginning and again at the end. The course is an out and back through rural territory, a tree lined road with fields on either side. When I started seeing the faster 5K runners coming back towards me, I tried to look out for other 50-59 y.o. women and I didn't think I saw any, but obviously I missed at least one. From the turnaround back to the finish line was just about hanging on and keeping my effort just below "blow out, burn up" stage. My lungs were searing pretty much the entire race. My legs felt good in the first half and tired but ok in the second. After crossing the finish line, I know it took me a moment to remember to hit "stop" on the Garmin (this matters later). I went to the recovery area and got a banana and some water. A woman who looked like she might be just a bit older than I was already there and I risked being rude by asking her age group. Same as mine. OK, so no first place. I'm still elated with going sub 25. When the results were taped to the side of a rock sculpture, I squinted at them (mind you, I lacked my reading glasses) and thought my chip time was listed as 24:37. Woohoo, thought I. The age groups were not listed, so one had to scan the age column to try to determine placement. That was a stretch for my presbyopic peepers, so I moved on. I got my sweatshirt from the car, cheered Jeff in on his 10K race, and hung around for the awards ceremony to see what might happen. "5K, Females, 50 to 59... First place... so&so, with a time of 24:27." Dang, she beat me by only 10 seconds! "Second place... so&so (who was NOT yours truly), with a time of 24:37." What? No one crossed the finish line anywhere near me except a kid who looked to be about 11 years old (darn him). I thought 24:37 was MY time. Are my eyes that bad? "Third place... [my name] with a time of 25:0h something..." No way. Even if I misread the results board, believe me, I have stared at the number 24:45 on my Garmin about 64,000 times since that dazed moment when they put a third place ribbon in my hand. And my chip time had to be shorter than 24:45, not longer, because I started and stopped the Garmin outside the time spent actually running the 5K. A time of 25-something is either gun time, or not mine at all. Has this ever happened to any of you fellow bloggers? It doesn't really matter. I am so pleased with my race and will just go back to staring at my 24:45 Garmin time until the facts are printed in black and white somewhere close to a pair of reading glasses. On a side note, I also saw many members from my new running club. How fun to have friends at a race! UPDATE -- my time was 24:37 after all -- yeah! That is a PR of 1:25! And my place was 3rd, also very respectable especially now that I know they got my time right. :D First and second place finishers in my AG were not that far ahead of me: 24:20 and 24:22. I am delighted!!
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 5.85 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.98 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.98 |
| 48F, cloudy & breezy w/ showers. Easy run, w/ form focus. Tapering for Seattle RnR. 20 min. core, upper body, stretches and Stick.
Father's Day was spent helping Young Miss Sno cater to the every need of Mr. Sno, not an easy task given his phlegmatic nature. In the afternoon we played a very long game of Monopoly (is there ever a short one?), in which I somehow managed to obtain all four railroads and became filthy rich. Mr. Sno was supposed to cream us, as he normally does, but I guess holidays do not influence board game outcomes. Legs are a bit sore today. That won't do. I was going to do a little MP running tomorrow but we'll see how things feel.
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 5.98 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.34 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.34 |
| 48F, some clear skies, some light fog and low clouds. Lovely morning, imo. Easy to moderate run.
The legs are still feeling kind of "dead," so I cut this run a little short (meant to do 8). I really want to be fresh on Saturday, even if I am not going after a time goal. Twenty-six miles is a loooong way to go on tired legs. (The point-two is no problem, lol.) So, the plan at this point is a little increase in my protein, more sleep, tomorrow off, and just a little running on Thursday. Friday off. I saw a lot of wildlife this morning. 2 deer (separately, and upon whom I came unexpectedly close up), 1 rabbit, and something I think was a Northern Harrier. On our community website, a resident just reported seeing a Black Bear out on the Parkway.
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 6.34 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.27 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.27 |
| Low 50s, gusty winds, wet streets. Easy run, w/ 4 strides (~50 m). This is the last run before Saturday; everything feels fine. :) There is an old Dilbert cartoon where some consultant is showing the engineers how some plan or product will work (I may have the details a bit off), and near the end of his presentation there is a slide that says, "Insert Miracle Here." I would like to make sure I'm not writing a race plan that looks like that, and that I don't communicate any such thing here on the blog. I was thinking about this on my run this morning. I know I've said "no time goal" for this race before, but -- in a dear and much appreciated mark of friendship -- some bloggers still seem to think I'm going to run fast on Saturday, maybe PR, maybe even BQ. (Isn't it hilarious that these acronyms have become verbs?) I guess I can't stop anyone from this generous and supportive viewpoint. And I really do appreciate your confidence! But, just so that I can have some peace of mind about this, I am going lay out my race plan in detail. Overall goals: having fun, negative split, enjoy the experience, keep it slow enough to recover quickly for training towards my "real" marathon in Oct., run the last 5 miles really strongly if possible.
My first 2-4 miles- nice and slow; take some pictures of the crowds. I may never race a big mega race again and if I have any chance of enjoying it, I think I must not "fight" it by worrying about my position or speed. Up to mile 13- still easy, no miles under 9:30. Miles 13-21- have a very steady pace between 9:30-10:10 Last 5 miles - speed up if I can, hold steady if I can't speed up. See you on the other side! :)
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 2.27 |
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| | Race: |
Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon (26.2 Miles) 04:48:08 | | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 26.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 26.20 |
| Goal: fun & easy.
Splits: 5K 33:39, 10K 1:07, half 2:20, 30K 3:18, 40K 4:19
Weather: Low 50s, rising into low to mid 70s, sunny & clear
Number 18 in the bag! It was a rockin and a rollin, but more like an ocean liner than Duane Allman’s fingers on a fret board.... slow! Executive summary - a great experience overall, though I did not handle the rising temperatures well. I did not see Elvis. And I was so sure he’d be there.
I’ll get the whining out of the way right off the bat, then the raves, and then a little blow-by-blow. First, the whining...
This is a very hilly course. From the first little rise at mile 1.6 to the last seemingly gruesome climb at 25 (what hill is minor at that point?), there are a lot of hills. Many of them were gentle or short, and there were certainly long stretches of flat running, but the hills were formidable. I greatly pity the runners who had no hill training.
It’s just pathetic, I know, but I got so hot once we were out on the I-90 floating bridge. And I never really cooled off after that. It’s about 1.5 miles over the bridge and back; on the way out there was a slight breeze, and Mt. Rainier was out, and I was still in my happy place. But when I turned back, out of the breeze, I started to feel my face flushing and all I wanted was to reach the shade of the tunnel ahead.
The tunnel. Ok. This just should not be legal. We rejoined the half-marathoners as we entered the tunnel and within 15 seconds the roar of sound was unbearable. People were screaming, whooping, and the band at the far end was cranked up with their speakers pointed down towards the other end. I didn’t really know where the roar was coming from; the Mt. Baker tunnel (seen in this picture as the freeway disappears into the landscape for a bit) is a little over a half mile long and it wasn’t until I was right on top of the band that I realized they were there. I was just trying to keep my head down and get through there as quickly as I could. And - it wasn’t much cooler inside the tunnel than out.
Shortly after the tunnel we were all funneled into a narrower lane of traffic and there seemed to be 1 marathoner for every 15-20 half-ers, most of whom seemed to be struggling through their last 2 miles. Dodge, weave, dodge, weave. I never thought I’d be faced with that kind of running at mile 13! (Our mileage was higher than theirs because we marathoners had an out and back on the bridge.)
Let’s see. What else can I complain about? The road surface was really rough in places when we were on the freeway. I had to get up at 2:50 AM to get into Seattle for the shuttle buses. And if it’s warm enough for no sleeves who wants to wear a black? (The race t-shirt.) Glad I didn’t have mine on for the race!
Now for the praises...
The race organization was excellent! Those Rock n Roll people really know what they are doing!
I surprised myself by liking most of the bands! Because of my age and my musical tastes, I didn’t think I would enjoy most of the music. In mile 3, when we all ran past a band singing the Beatles’ “Come together,” everyone started singing along. Excellent fun! I did have to listen to “Too Many Puppies” twice. Even one Too Many Puppies is too many Too Many Puppies in my book. Ah, but I was done whining, wasn’t I?
When the course was pretty, it was incredibly pretty! The first few miles are pretty trashy, but then we got views of some lovely neighborhoods, Lake Washington (complete with bald eagle overhead), Mt. Rainier, Elliot Bay and Lake Union. Anyone visiting from out of town really got to see the best of Seattle today. For their sakes, I was happy for the clear skies. Sunshine -- most people do seem to enjoy that sort of thing.
The volunteers, support crew and the crowds were all really nice. I ran my marathon so slowly and the enthusiasm isn’t usually that good after 4 hours. Maybe they were all happy about that sunshine stuff.
Spending time with AuntieEm, fellow blogger and my friend from Ravelry.com (and with whom I’ve run 3 races now) was delightful!
Ok, a little overview of my race and I’ll sign off. (Warning, Contains material of a disgusting nature.)
Because I am so anxiety prone, and because I couldn’t see how they would ferry 25,000 runners to Tukwila with only 400 buses, I had told my lovely house guest, AuntieEm, that I would have to be on an early bus. We left the house about 3:30 and about an hour later we were shivering safely in the Start Village. With nearly 3 hours to wait. (Forgot to whine about that.) Though the race began at 7, my corral did not take off until a little after 7:25. I shed my thrift-store sweat shirt at the first water station.
By mile 6 we were along Lake Washington and everything was Feeling Groovy. (I didn’t hear that song, but it would have been nice.) This is the best part of the course, in my opinion. With the trees and the lake, it is just lovely. I could tell even here that things were warming up, but I still felt great and hoped for the best.
I think it was sometime around mile 10 or 11 that the marathoners split off to run over the I-90 floating bridge and back. See section 1, Whining, for details.
The half marathoners left us for their finish line sometime during our 14th or 15th mile. Sorry for the vagueness; after spending a half mile in the tunnel, I gave up on any kind of Garmin Gazing, and the mile markers were kind of small (read, I wasn’t paying attention). This is not a good race for people who like their Garmins to guide them. First is the aforementioned tunnel. Then when we parted from the half-ers we ran for a long time on the bottom deck of the viaduct, and a little later there were 2 passes through the Battery Street tunnel. In spite of all these periods of gps no-mans-land, my Garmin read 26.52 at the finish! Sigh. Maybe it just freaked out on me, but I know I ran a lot of extra steps -- there was almost no way to cut the tangents when we were packed together, and there was at least a mile of dart-and-dodge at mile 13 (see above).
Once one is away from Elliot Bay, there is very little scenery to speak of until the mile 19 turnaround at the Aurora Bridge. Leading up to this bridge, we climb and climb for what seemed like a couple of miles -- on the least shady side of the street. Feeling too warm became feeling hot and for me that means - Nausea and GI distress. :( At the turnaround I spent about 5 minutes in a Honey Bucket, unfortunately heating up even more. Maybe I’ll just skip this part.
When we got back over the bridge we got to run downhill on the shadier side of Hwy 99 - ah! I was feeling a bit better now. Back through the Battery Street tunnel and past beautiful Elliot Bay, with the ferries streaming out over the Sound.
If I were designing this course, I would have taken everyone around the lovely, wooded Seward Park at ~ mile 6 and eliminated the last little bit. We had to run past the finish area and down to the West Seattle bridge entrance, make another hairpin turnaround, and run back. Just 3 miles, but it felt like forever. My nausea returned and all I could think of that last mile was how embarrassing it would be if I puked. The crowds from mile 26 to the finish are thick and loud. But I made it ok.
It took me about 25 minutes to walk to my car, my legs were so shot. Now that I’ve had a nap and some Ibuprofen, I am feeling much better, and we’re off to Mexican food in a few minutes. I will conclude that I hope to remember this experience forever, the fun and beauty of it but also the feeling of being too warm -- I do not want to run any more summer marathons! Even the “cool” ones in June are just not good for this cloud lover.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Resting today again. Blogging my eight hours of sleep. :D LOL I am walking down stairs backwards, but the soreness doesn't feel as bad as usual. I miss running but I like the sleeping! | |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I had a 20 minute walk last night and another 35 minutes this morning. The difference between those two walks represents how fast I feel this recovery is going. Last night I had to put my hand on Mr. Sno's shoulder to step off the curbs, and this morning it was no problem. Stairs yesterday: forwards but still pretty wonky and have to hold on to the rail; stairs today: smooth and "no hands Ma" though a bit weak. I might be able to jog a little tomorrow! :D After my walk I did about 25 minutes of upper body weights, abs, and stretching while watching the Daniels/McMillan training dvd. Has anyone else seen that? It's pretty interesting.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.22 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.22 |
| Low 50s, clear and sunny. Running again! Slow, but very pleasant. It looks like we're in for a week or more of relentless sunshine. But forecasts can be wrong; I'll keep my fingers crossed. ;)
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 3.22 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.45 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.45 |
| Easy run w/ Mt. Si Running Club. Clear & sunny, high 50s F rising into 60s. I ran about a mile on my own to warm up before the club met. Everything feels great, though not a lot of zing! in the legs. I felt like I could have kept going quite a lot farther, so recovery is coming right along. It's the leave-em-wanting-more method of marathon recovery. Tomorrow is a scheduled day off, and on Monday I get to start running more! :D
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 6.45 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Feeling restless... I got up this morning and wrote a poem. It's dreadful, so don't even ask me to share it. But I will give you the nutshell version: I didn't run today. I wish very much that I was back up to my usual miles. I am at the beginning of a new training period with all this possibility laying before me. Now is the time to make good choices.
The best thing to do at a time like this is immerse oneself in one's training books, planner in hand. I may be having some coaching with Sean after all (haven't heard from him), in which case things will be somewhat simpler. But for now I'm reviewing principles and picking workouts. When I got to my Daniels Formula book, I realized I had not yet plugged my new 5K PR (2 weeks ago) into his tables. O-ho! A new VDOT number! 39. That's up from 37! But then I went to the pace table and the paces for VDOT 39 seem way high. I guess that's just sticker shock; Mr. Daniels knows quite a lot more about these things than I. (E = 10:23, M = 8:57, T = 8:22, I = 1:54 for 400m, R = :53 for 200m) But perhaps those are targets rather than current training paces. I'll have to reread...
And as long as we are talking about Stuff Sno Doesn't Understand... I would love someone to explain Peaking. (Have I whined about this before?) I've read all about it and I know what is meant by the term, but I cannot wrap my brain around it in a practical sense. Let's say I lose all my senses and take a job as a refuse collection person (don't know the current PC term). At first, my muscles will be very sore lifting the garbage cans into the truck. After a while they will get stronger. Eventually, it will be no problem, lift, lift, lift. There is no "peak," after which I will be come a less able lifter. Why should running muscles behave any differently? Maybe someone can straighten me out. Enough rambling... tomorrow I run!
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.18 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.18 |
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Easy run, bringing mileage back up this week. 58F and cloudy. :) ETA: 20 min. weights & stretches
The weather seemed to be welcoming me back today. Not that 58F is so very cool, but the cloud cover was heavenly. (No pun intended, lol.) The cool grey light makes all the colors of foliage stand out, and the temperature feels like what it is without the sun warming up everything that isn't shaded. New week, new training cycle, perhaps even new paces? I glanced at my Garmin every now and then on relatively flat bits of terrain today to see whether I am fitting in with the Daniels "easy" pace I mentioned yesterday, 10:23. I was a bit erratic actually. But mostly slower than 10:23, even after my warm up. Nevertheless, a couple of times I was closer to 9:50. I'm not going to worry about it, but I do find it interesting that my pace fluctuated so much. I signed up for RW's daily quotations, and received my first one today. It's pretty good, so I'm going to put it in my profile after I save this entry: "As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is about our lifestyle and who we are." --Joan Benoit Samuelson
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.28 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.28 |
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55F & cloudy. :D Objective: general aerobic and running form. Trying to keep "easy" pace at 10:20-10:30. It was a great run, with the very interesting addition of seeing what that Daniels 10:23 pace feels like when done consistently. With the exception of the warm up, cool down and a few very hilly places, I was right on target. I cannot say it felt truly easy, but it was certainly doable and lots of fun. (I'm pleased to see how great my legs feel this week.) It made me start to wonder if I'm being lazy with my easy runs. So now I'm contemplating using this pace for most of my non-speed workouts, but throwing in a really slow run every week and calling that "recovery pace." General reading... Dean Karnzes in Forbes magazine. (I think the title of the article should be Paradigm Shift instead of Hitting the Wall.) Also, I'm enjoying the book Born To Run, about the Tarahumara tribe, distance running, and what humans are really capable of. For your reading pleasure and background, I dug this paper on the Tarahumara.
ETA: Almost forgot to mention... My run was cut short by a rather frustrating 5 minutes being locked inside one of the park bathrooms. That lock has been fussy for months and today it froze. The 911 operator was just connecting me to local authorities when I finally freed myself. I'll be calling the Parks Dept this morning. Between that and having to be home by 6:15 today -- and for the next 3 weeks -- I'm short of today's goal of 9 miles. Mr. Sno has to leave the house early during a road construction project, so I might even have to finish some of my runs... (cue horror movie music) on the treadmill! Eeeek!
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Taking a scheduled day off. Not crazy about missing the run, but the sleep was wonderful! After tapering and then recovering, my brain had forgotten how to wake up at 4:30. Even though Monday and Tuesday were not super high mileage days, I still had to get up before 4:30 to accommodate Mr. Sno's temporary early commute. By last night I was really feeling it and was happy to hit the pillow. More cloudy weather today - I love it!
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.15 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.15 |
| Cloudy, 57F. Moderate run (9:45-10:20).
15 min. weights I had to finish this run on the dreadmill. So now I'm thinking, how bad would it be to get up at 4:00 instead of 4:15, just two days per week? And the road construction in Mr. Sno's commute won't last that long. Just a few weeks. Even 15 minutes on the dreadmill is too much if there is another way... My camel may have found its last straw. We added one more activity to the Amazing Young Miss Sno's life this week. There may be periods of time when I seem kind of quiet on the Comments. I may have to do more lurking and less typing on my busiest mornings. Food for thought: "The optimal level of aerobic support for the marathon is also half-marathon pace. Because the endurance challenge of the marathon is so severe, your goal marthon pace has to be a virtual cakewalk, aerobically..." -Brad Hudson, Run Faster. Lastly, here is an interesting video showing the difference in footstrike, for at least one runner, between barefoot and shoed running.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.17 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.17 |
| 55F, clear. Slow, easy & short. Pretty morning. I saw a buck with huge antlers -- kind of unusual. Have a great weekend everyone!
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 4.17 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 13.74 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 13.74 |
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Warm morning: 60F rising to 66F, sunny (w/ waning gibbous in blue skies). Objective: club run with descending/ascending Parkway (Spirit Crusher Hill) before and after meet up w/ club. The Cat Who Must Be Obeyed had A Need just as I was leaving and I was already a couple of minutes late to get to the club meeting place. Now a good 5 minutes late, after a mile of gentle warm up I decided to crank up the pace. I was descending the Parkway at that point, which is a 1.7 mile long hill. From the bottom of the hill into old Snoqualmie I tried to keep the pace up, wanting to reduce the lateness of my arrival. From my house to the high school is 3.8 miles, a bit farther than I thought - "run even faster!"
I scarcely had time to catch my breath and say hello when the 10:00 pace group was ready to go. We didn't spend any time at all getting into a 9:40 pace and stayed there pretty much the whole run, out the Snoqualmie Valley Trail to the North Bend library and back. We picked up another woman on the way back who seemed interested in joining the club. That was fun. :)
At about 9.5 miles I was back on my own, and running towards home. When I hit the Parkway (S.C. Hill) I dropped down to about an 11:00 minute mile, which gradually slowed to nearly 13:00. The last half mile of the hill is incredibly steep and the sun was beating down. My usual heat nausea began to arise, but wasn't too bad. About 5 minutes into the hill climb, a pedestrian stopped me. She was an elderly Chinese woman who wanted very much to ask me something, the only English word of which was "Seattle," and then she was making binocular gestures with her hands on her eyes. Uh oh. You are a long way from Seattle, ma'am. I tried to help. Dangit, how do you say "very far" in Chinese? She seemed to want me to point the direction, so I did, repeating the word "bus," while she nodded vigorously. Hope she made it.
I am thrilled with this run! I pushed my pace for a long time, and then ran up a killer hill -- all just 2 weeks after a marathon! From mile 2 through mile 9, all miles were within 30 seconds of marathon pace (they ranged 9:26-9:50) except for mile 9, which included my running group's cool down -- and even that mile was only 10:03. The "easy miles" category on my blog record seems ill fitting today!
We interrupt this blog for a philosophical reflection: I find that, depending on the day, I either hate or love the Bobby McFerrin song, Don't Worry Be Happy. The frowny, "realistic" Sno finds it highly irresponsible to have such a gleeful attitude regardless of circumstances. On the other hand, in Bobby's own words: "in this life you have some trouble - when you worry you make it double..." I thought about that at the bottom of the hill today. :)
Now I have to rest and rehydrate to be sharp for a wedding gig this afternoon. Sun is here on the one day I really actually need it. (Outdoor wedding.) Tomorrow the clouds return. Life is good!
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.27 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.27 |
| 60F & rainy, w/ increasing thunder. Recovery run. Just a wee run to loosen up the legs. I wore some "pretty" shoes yesterday for several hours, something I rarely do these days, and have 2 blisters, one on each foot, to show for it. It's funny, because I did not feel any pain until the shoes came off. Both blisters are on the balls of the feet, deep under the skin. Lesson learned. So between the feet complaining and the thunder, and the wanting just a short run anyway, I barely got warmed up before coming in. Lightening is one of my big run stoppers, especially since a bolt came down so close to me last summer. It's probably the only weather that will really stop me from running. We don't get a lot of it, thank goodness.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.88 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.88 |
| 57F, rainy & very windy (~20 mph in open spaces). Easy run. As I've mentioned before, I typically get a 2 day DOMS. This morning my legs were very sore from Saturday. Still, I had a great run, though slow. I'm loving this weather so much. I am somewhat disappointed in myself about not getting out the door earlier. Mr. Sno has an early commute due to some contruction traffic for the next few weeks, so I need to be back home on parent duty by 6:20 now. I could have finished up a couple more miles on the TM, but I couldn't face it. No way to start my week, or at least that's what I'm telling myself. I'll just have to try harder tomorrow. When I go back to my old routine it will feel positively luxurious.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.50 |
| 57F Cloudy. Easy run. I got out of the house early enough to require a headlamp, the first time in many weeks that I've used one. It still wasn't quite early enough for my goal miles (see Monday's explanation) and I tried to run a little longer on the Dreadmill. I don't know what is wrong with me, that I can enjoy myself so much out on the streets - for hours at a time if need be - and then feel like I completely hate running within one minute on the TM. I endured about half a mile of it, and pressed stop. It's really odd, because I had a great movie (once I was just stretching and doing abs I was completely engrossed), the basement where we keep the TM is nice and cool, and I only meant to go a couple of miles on it. "Just 20 minutes. I can do that!" Seems like it should be pretty easy. But I hate it. Like, "I never want to run again - running is stupid - why would anyone do this" kind of hatred. Well, I'm done trying to force that on myself. One should never say never, but for the time being I will either run early enough or run less. I declare my Independence!
On a completely different topic, I have long wondered: who are the people in the fastrunningblog home page picture? If anyone knows, I'd love to hear.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.84 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.84 |
| 55F & clear, valley below is full of fog, lucky them... Easy run. The difference between running with a dog and running with a cat is that the dog will trot along by your side and the cat will feel the need to remind you of his presence by attempting to twine through your legs every now and then. The Cat Who Must Be Obeyed popped out of the bushes in front of me about 2 blocks from home and had to be returned lest he follow me just long enough to give up and be lost. I believe I blogged about this the last time it happened. It is hilarious to see I'm sure, because he jogs along at my side, except for the leg twining thing. | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 10.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
| 58F Clear & humid. 20 min strength wk after.
Finally, I got some decent miles in. Whether or not I can stay awake past 5 PM today is yet to be seen. Busy morning... Cheers.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.22 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.22 |
| ~60F, with pockets of warmer and cooler air about. Clear skies, another hot day coming. Easy pace (~10:30) w/ last mile before c.d. at marathon pace (9:00-9:15). I made it to about 8:20 PM last night, and left the dishes, the family, every chore I meant to finish... left it all behind and went to bed. We still have the sun up quite late these days, so I put on the eye mask - love that thing. Fortunately the weekend is coming, and next week's schedule won't have me up quite as early. I am now officially coming to the end of the 3 week recovery period from the marathon, though I haven't been taking that too seriously. Just avoiding any intense speedwork and avoiding running too long. I'm looking forward to running a little more and a little harder now. But I'm going to have to figure out how to get some more sleep. Others seem to be able to get by OK on so little, but I just do the stupidest things and get so irritable. I'll have to think this through. There is always a way, when one is determined...
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 18.35 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 18.35 |
| Started at ~58F, rising to mid 60s, mostly sunny. A bit too warm in the sun, but a nice breeze near home for the last few miles. Objective: endurance + club run + Spirit Crusher Hill + strong finish. I would love to say it was a "fast finish," but by that point the effort-to-results ratio was all messed up. Fabulous run. Fun, friends, great beauty, and lots of sweat. I left the house about 5:45AM and just had a leisurely warm up around the neighborhood before heading down the hill to meet with the club. If I haven't mentioned it before, I live in some hills above a fairly flat valley. The "old Snoqualmie" is down in the valley and that is where the club meets and runs. The road down into town is a 2 mile long hill, the steepest part of which occurs near the top, the "Spirit Crusher." That part of the hill is .8 mile of crazy-steep asphalt. As I headed down the hill, there were a few wispy high clouds, but then I saw what looked like fog in the valley below! Oh joy --but alas, it was not fog. In fact, it turned out to be a bit of low cloud that soon dissipated. After descending into town, I met up with the club and ran about 6 miles with a new person who said she wanted to run a pace in the 9:00's but then changed her mind to run with me in the 10:00's. She is healing from an injury and thought maybe a slower pace would be good. I enjoyed chatting with her very much, but I did have to remind her to slow down many times, because I was not interested in running at MP today! "Are you SURE you want to run with me?" Oh yes, she was sure... But it turned out to be a win-win situation because she hasn't been running that far lately and me holding her back became a real blessing as she got very tired in the last mile or two. And I got to spend time with a very nice person. I am starting to think that one of the best things about being in a running club is just having more people in your life who will not roll their eyes or yawn when you go on and on about running. And then they go on and on, and you can compare notes, and it's all quite satisfying.
I decided to come back up the hill immediately after the club run, before it got too hot, and finish my miles on my usual turf. That was a good decision I think. The Spirit Crusher was brutal, as always. I will stop calling it that when it stops being scary-hard. But other than a pit stop at the Fischer Park bathroom, I ran the whole hill! After that, my legs were quite weak and I dropped into the 11:00s for pace.
After doing some loops through the business park, the pea patch (wow it looked good!), and some other neighborhoods, I decided to try and push myself a little the last 1.5 miles. I increased my cadence and tried to turn up the power, but I only managed to come back to about a 10:00 pace. I guess it's good practice though, and I tried to imagine the last part of a marathon and finishing strong. Observations on what makes long runs more successful:
1) 8+ hours of sleep
2) sticking to a plan
3) noticing how beautiful the world is
4) not having somewhere you have to be afterwards, feeling rushed
5) controlling your thoughts and thinking positively, ie "this is not hard / lots of people run much farther, much faster/ this is actually quite easy." Keep saying it, even when you don't believe it! Why? Because it will keep out the opposite thinking, which may be equally untrue! I.e. "I can't do it/ I'll never make it."
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.55 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.55 |
| 61F, sunny w/ breeze. Recovery run, short & sweet. :) This business of getting old is quite interesting when you don't take it too personally. I got out of bed this morning feeling like I'd been run over by the proverbial bus, but when I got outside an hour later, I felt great. I went from literally hobbling to a pleasant jog. I ask myself, what does this mean? Possible answer, you aren't getting any younger, but you are getting stronger. I'm taking a scheduled day off tomorrow. I don't know if I can handle three nights in a row of getting a good night's sleep, but I'm willing to try. ;) Cheers.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| No running. Travel day! Half hour of pool running at the Sleeping Lady Resort... more later. :)
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.50 |
| Full report in a few days when I can post pictures... | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.74 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.74 |
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Coming home today; will post pictures, stories, etc.
Now that I'm home, telling stories and writing long descriptions isn't so appealing... so tired. Well, I will get it started; maybe more later in the week.
The Sleeping Lady resort (named after a silhouette formed by the mountains) is an amazing place. We first discovered it many years ago by going there for a concert in the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival series. The lodging is what I call "eco-luxury cabins." The meals are included, served buffet style in a large pine-decor dining hall. The food is amazing, and definitely one of the best reasons to go there. Their chef is world class and many of the ingredients come from their own organic garden. The abundance is overwhelming. For example, dinner one night was curried pumpkin soup, french lentils, roasted carrots, salmon, roast (either or both), pizza, fresh baked bread, salads, cheeses, mounds of fresh berries and other local fruit, 3 kinds of dessert... And you just take what you'd like, self serve except for the hot dishes. It is all finer than the best restaurants I've ever been to. Going on and on about the food -- you see, I need to go cook dinner...
We swam, walked, rode horses, went to an amazing concert by Mark O'Connor, and I had two nice runs in the surrounding rural area. Pretty good for just two days away. We spent zero time in the little tourist town of Leavenworth (Bavarian by law), but I mention it in case anyone is thinking of visiting this place because it's great if you like to shop.
Just a few pictures for now. (Hope the pix come through ok - using photobucket for the first time.) Some of the grounds, the organic garden, the rock pool, Dale Chihuly Icicle sculpture...
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.13 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.13 |
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58F w/ low clouds. Easy/moderate run. What a change this weather is from my runs in Leavenworth. (more about that below). A pleasant moderate paced run (~9:50) in the refreshing moist, cool air. I had two runs on vacation, both begun before sunup to avoid the heat and to get back on time for the incredible breakfast. Tuesday's was a fantastic 9.5 miles on highways and back roads around the town, much of it following the marathon route. (I ran that one a few years ago and it was pleasant to see the area again.) The air over there is quite dry compared to here. I don't consider Puget Sound to be excessively humid, especially compared to other parts of the country I have visited, but Eastern Washington is really like a desert in its air quality. Very dry. It made the heat later in the day a lot more tolerable (~95F in the shade). The temperature while I was running was in the low to mid 60s. I saw tons of wildlife on both of my runs. Only one deer, mostly small creatures: many types of birds (finches, blue jays, a flock of Canada geese, and several whose names I don't know), rabbits, chipmunks, and a mama squirrel who was trying to stuff her baby into a bird house hole. Also saw lots of horses, sheep, 3 goats, cows and a longhorn steer.
On Wednesday, I had my second run, which was quite a bit shorter than I intended. I was going to run the same 9.5 mile loop and add mile repeats at half mar. pace, but I woke up feeling utterly tired. It was no wonder... Tuesday had been an "easy" run, but I was actually within about 30 seconds of marathon pace for much of the run. Then we all went on a trail ride after breakfast. In the afternoon I spent over an hour swimming and jumping around in the pool with my daughter, and we were up late for our concert. Sooooo, plan B for Wednesday morning: recovery run. My whole body seemed to scream "slow please!" But that was the run when I saw the most wildlife, so it was quite pleasant too. Later in the day (hence the sunlight) I took two pictures from the car of some interesting sights from my run. The first is some kind of tower - what can that be? It was even prettier in the pre-dawn light, as if I had stumbled into Scotland or something. The second is this yard full of gnome statues -- many, many more than are pictured here. If you are going to have gnomes, you might as well go all out. The last picture is a little tiny ornamental grass that was in many of the potted plant mixtures by the doors to various buildings in the resort. Those little white seed tufts were so soft, it was like having a cat in a plant. Does anyone know the name of this little guy? Weed or ornamental grass, depending on your point of view, but I have forgotten what it's called.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.51 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.51 |
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59F & Cloudy. Easy run w/ hill sprints (only time for 4). 20 min. strength work.
I'm just one click above "rest day" here. My legs were super springy and I had lots of energy this morning for some reason. ?? "It's a good thing." No one says that anymore since Martha got sent to jail it seems. I hope I feel this good tomorrow for my long run. Hope the clouds stick around too.
Just a few more pictures from our trip... Mr. Sno and young Miss Sno at the edge of Icicle Creek, behind the dining hall. The creek was recently restored as a salmon spawning habitat. If you visit in September, the salmon are all over the creek, spawning, dying, flopping about in the shallow water, and you can see the eggs too. 
And here is a picture of the mountain profile for which "Sleeping Lady Resort" is named, taken from the organic garden. 
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 3.51 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 20.08 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.08 |
| Warm morning. Started in the 60sF and ended w/ upper 70s. Humidity in the 70s too. Mostly sunny. Objective: endurance run + club run + Spirit Crusher Hill. I hope this really counts as an endurance workout even though I had two prolonged stops. First was the usual stop for the club meet-up (at 4.3 miles); we always talk a bit before we run. I had running partners for only a half mile or so. No one in my pace group wanted to go long today (not many showed up today), so I peeled off at the Snoqualmie Valley Trail and ran alone after mile 5. My second stop occured because I reached the Mt. Si Rd. and had not run quite far enough to be turning back yet. So I used my cell phone to call up my buddy who lives up that road and asked her if I could just nip up there and use her facilities and have some water. I had run exactly 10 miles when I reached her home, and had about a 15 minute break while I visited with her and her family. She has the most adorable little boys, one of whom said he wanted to watch me "take off" when I left. (He had been drawing rockets all morning.) I hope I didn't disappoint him too badly. On the way back down her canyon road, I passed the barn where Young Miss Sno rides horses and said hi to the owners, who were outside. That was a very brief stop. They insisted on giving me a bottle of cold water, probably because I was so covered in sweat. The humidity today was really hard for me and I had my usual heat nausea around mile 15. All in all, it was a fun & interesting run. There were too many rabbits to count on the SV Trail, and I almost stepped on a little garter snake. Did you know they eat slugs? They are one of the few animals that will do so. Around here, we really appreciate that, as we have huge slugs here.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.80 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.80 |
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70F, humid & hazy. MP run. ~4 easy, 2 @ MP (9:04, 8:47), remainder easy. We're in for it now. Major heat wave all week. I don't believe the temperature has ever been this high around here so early in the morning (5:15am) since I started running. Another first for me - 2 days out from my 20 miler, and no soreness. None. (I am always most sore 2 days after major exertion.) My MP miles were separated by a minute of slow jogging. I really didn't want to break them up like that but I was burning up and breathing too hard. The second one was too fast, but it felt the same as the first. As soon as I finished I found some sprinklers to run through. Ah. I've been taking barefoot walks with Mr. Sno for a couple of weeks to see if I could toughen up my feet. I could never understand why the advice on getting started with barefoot running always focused on foot strength and not on skin issues. Sure enough, the skin on my feet has responded extremely fast and is much tougher, whereas the feet themselves still feel like they absolutely collapse with each step. Today I carried my shoes in my hand the last .3 of a mile, and ran alternately on grass and cement. I have a long ways to go in building foot strength, which surprised me because I've worn my racing shoes almost exclusively lately. It's true, our feet just don't have to work in shoes. Maybe that's why humans started making them in the first place; we are so good at labor saving devices. |
| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 4.50 | BF Miles: 0.30 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.84 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.84 |
| 72F at 4:50 AM! Very humid. Ug. "Easy" run. 20 min. strength work in nice, cool basement...
This was like running through soup. Fortunately, there were plenty of sprinklers going and believe me, I ran through every one of them. Why oh why did I sign up for a half marathon on August 1? The worst of our heat wave will have passed, but it's still forecast to reach the 80s that day. I might just have to fun-run it, but it was supposed to be a speed workout for me. I wonder how much acclimatization I can get by the warm air running I will have done this week. Ah well, there is always the shirt.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.59 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.59 |
| People are going to be talking about this for years to come. The headline of the Seattle Times this morning reads, "Hottest Day Ever?" Like the Seattle earthquake in 2001, and the blackout in December 2007 (my neighborhood was without power for 5 days), this heat will become legend. At least I hope it does, because that would mean it wasn't repeated again and again. The thermometer on my porch this morning read 78F at 5:30 AM - speed work canceled. Weirdly, the wind was blowing, which helped immensely. It is incredible to think that six months ago we had some of the lowest temps ever, and drifts of snow in my yard that were as tall as I am.
Yesterday afternoon there were reports of it being 104F in parts of the Snoq. Valley and someone in North Bend reported 110F -- it sounds impossible but, where we are situated, elevation differences of 500 ft. can produce wildly different temperatures. Today's forecast: even hotter. And now I present... The Art of Justification. My beautiful ("Blooms" design) little Franklin Planner calendar for today says "6-7 mi w/ VO2: 10 x .25 mile." Hahahahahaha. Excuse me. Honestly, if the whole summer was like this, I'd bite the bullet and do my speed work. I really would. Then again, if the whole summer was like this, I'd move to Scotland. One eensy little part of my brain said I should run a bit faster to "practice" for Saturday's Half-m. Hahahahahahaha. If the mercury is over 70 on race day, I'm going to jog, chat, collect my tshirt and come home.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.33 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.33 |
| 80F at 5:00 AM, w/ pockets of hotter and cooler air throughout neighborhood. Objective: sprinkler patrol, last .4 barefoot. 20 min. strength work. I promised myself I wouldn't complain about the weather today, but now I find I have nothing else to talk about. Plus I'm rushed. Have a great day!
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| Brooks ST3 Miles: 5.93 | BF Miles: 0.40 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.42 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.42 |
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65F, clear w/ haze. Objective: short & sweet. +Inaugural run in VFFs. Marine Layer. Mah-reeeeeeen layer... ahhhhh. Here is what came in the mail yesterday: 
Observations from my short trial run in them: -It takes me a long time to get them on. Also, there is a weird brain glitch wherein I see the VFF toes and have a hard time believe that my toes are not in the right pockets. Hopefully this will get smoother with time.
-The VFF's spread ones toes apart, exactly the opposite of what women's shoes have been doing to me for 50+ years. Interesting sensation, not uncomfortable but I do notice it.
-There is a little ridge at the bottom of the ball of the foot (ie the edge of the ball of foot that is closest to the heel), and this ridge is exactly where my foot lands. It was somewhat bothersome at first and then I forgot about it. I hope it will not be a problem; I never read anyone else complain of it in the 40 bazillion websites I went to before I bought these.
-The skin protection is AWESOME, but other than that, truly barefoot running is more comfortable.
- I am REALLY slow in these, even though I don't feel slow. It will be interesting to see whether increasing foot strength overcomes lack of "energy return" that one gets from the bounce of shoes. A great beginning. I am looking forward to seeing where this takes me. I expect to take my time. Evolution, not revolution.
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| Brooks ST3 Miles: 2.50 | Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 0.92 |
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| | Race: |
Tacoma Narrows Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:56:13, Place in age division: 6 | | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 1.43 | 8.10 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 14.53 |
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Race start
7:30 AM 58F w/ FOG!!!! at the start, sunny and 67F at the finish.
Executive Report (caution, exclamation point abuse ahead): UNDER TWO HOURS!! (A first!) And a 6 minute PR! With hills!! Five of my miles at or below what I consider to be a “tempo run.” I only pause occasionally in my incessant grinning, to facilitate a few tears of joy.
I left home at 4:30 AM in total darkness to catch the early shuttles from Tacoma to the race start in Gig Harbor. I got an awesome free parking space just two blocks from the finish. I don’t believe in omens at all, but in hindsight it’s pretty fun to pretend that’s what it was. And then another one: fog! As the shuttle approached the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the previously clear skies suddenly had a bit of low clouds about, and next thing you know - fog! I wonder where I can purchase a bumper sticker that says “i (heart) fog.”
But not everyone likes fog, the poor dears. I distinctly heard some complaining from the seat behind me, and our bus driver was having trouble finding the way. I knew this shindig was “by the airport” (a very small airport in Gig Harbor), but it turns out that the start is IN the airport. Not such a good feeling, to be lost in the fog and suddenly be passing small aircraft... visions of wandering onto a landing strip tried to break into my fog-induced calm.
But we made it there all right. The packet pick up was inside a hangar - how cool is that? A small plane and a helicopter sat nearby as I waited in line. I soon saw AuntieEm and another Ravelry friend. It was actually COLD, with a breeze and the fog. What a happy feeling, after the 100+ temps this week.
I had 2 trips to the Honey Buckets, 1 to the woods (long lines at the HBs!), and warmed up with 1.43 of jogging and some drills. I joined the crowd at the start 5 minutes before gun time, but the race was another 10 minutes late. All the while, there is a loudspeaker up near the front, which sounds (as it always does) like, “Wah wor ver har her wah wor race ver raha werwa roh...” What? Something about the race? When will they learn we cannot hear anything past the first 10 bodies?
Course map is here: http://tacomanarrowshalf.com/map.html, but the elevation chart that accompanies it seems quite inaccurate. For one thing, it appears to follow terra firma under the water instead of over the bridge!
(1) 9:00 Gun goes off, and despite the fact that I’m lined up appropriately I am surrounded by - walkers! Gaa! The first mile was quite crowded, so I went ahead and did a bit of weaving. I felt really good, but tried not to spend too much energy playing dodge-the-jogger.
(2) 8:27 We were running on a highway through very tall conifer forests, full of fog. :D Absolutely beautiful; classic Pacific Northwest. Bit of downhill here and a turn onto the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Bit of downhill in this mile.
(3) 9:00 The bridge is about a mile long and the first half goes uphill of course. It actually felt like a longer segment than half to me, but that may have been an illusion. There was a cross wind on the bridge that was fairly strong here. Had to be careful with those cowboy-sneezes.
(4) 9:01 We finished the bridge and immediately had another hill to climb. I still felt extremely zippy, and I wasn’t sure how long the fog would last, so I kept my pace up a bit higher than I normally would on a hill. We crossed a freeway and leveled out a bit as we headed into a residential neighborhood.
(5) 10:07 More hill, and my slowest mile. I feel discouraged. I say a bad word. Repeatedly. I begin to question whether I had made the right choice to push up that earlier hill. I had harbored a “best” goal of going sub-2, but this is way too early to feel this tired. I decide to just do my best and stop looking at the watch.
(6) 8:51 Things felt better here, and I rallied. We were out of the neighborhood diversion and there was a bit of downhill. Here we ran on a bike path along the side the freeway. If it weren’t for the lovely fog, I would have really hated this. The path here was mostly flat with some undulations.
(7) 8:48 I started to pass slower people, always finding a little hidden energy whenever I’m boxed into a group of runners. About this time, I started sensing a pain on the outside of my foot, at the base of the big toe. It feels like... a blister. But I don’t get blisters. I begin sending strongly-worded memos to my foot, hoping it will remember company policy and stop hurting.
(8) 8:45 I definitely have a blister. I say another bad word. Also, I am getting hotter, so I start pouring water on my head at each aid station, which feels wonderful. I notice my fingers have swollen up and my face is scratchy with salt, but I don’t have any nausea yet. Fog has become more of a low cloud.
(9) 9:07 We ran a diversion through Cheney Stadium, our only bit of running on dirt (inside the stadium). The stadium was mostly empty and music was playing for us. That was nice, but something about it reminded me of the empty hotel in The Shining, and I was glad to get out of there.
(10) 8:38 At this point I really wanted to stop and get something on my blister. I also wanted to use the Honey Bucket, but we were so close and I still felt I was running well. A bit of a self-pep-talk convinced me that I would be fine; moreover, I’d be happier later if I just toughed it out.
(11) 9:16 There goes the cloud cover. The wretched sun came out and the path went steeply uphill again. Good thing I had finished the should-I-stop debate from mile 10. A few Marathon Maniacs passed me here (this race was a reunion race for them). Dead bird in the middle of the bike path. The uphill was mercifully short.
(12) 8:22 We got off the bike path here and ran through a very ugly industrial area. The sun beat down and the new black asphalt felt like an oven. There was also a wicked-steep downhill here that I was glad to put behind me. Early in this mile, one of the M. Maniacs caught up with me a chatted a bit; I was wearing my Big Sur shirt and he had run it twice. A casual conversation turned into a jolt of energy when he said, “yeah, we’ll break 2 for sure.” We will? I had stopped looking at the Garmin and had been running by feel for at least 3 miles. “Oh yeah. You could jog it in and still make it.” Words cannot express what that did for me. I picked up the pace just as the terrain started to slope downward. There will be no “jogging it in.”
(13) 8:27 My blister hurt and my legs felt a bit weak, but I had plenty left in the fuel department. Except for a bit of rough road and a short downhill section that was so steep I had to actually slow down, this was a very happy mile.
(Final .1 kick) 7:58 There it is. A “one” on the clock... So happy. So very happy.
Award was a commemorative drinking glass. Found AuntieEm and shared congratulations. Good band playing. Blister attended to by nice med-man. Happy ending! Regarding my Victoria Marathon in October ... Don't say it! You can think it, but don't say it. Really, please don't. I just want to know what anyone's opinions are about the most important kind(s) of workout(s) I need to be doing next. During the last half of this race, I was thinking what I always think during a half-m: it's a good thing I don't have to do this for 26 miles. So a 9:00 pace is going to have to feel easier than it did today, or at least not horrid. Four hours is just too long to "tough out" a too-fast effort. So tempo runs & MP runs? More V02? All of it? I'm inclined to focus on tempo and MP runs, but maybe I should just keep everything in the mix, ala Hudson. Mark your ballot - but don't say it.
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 14.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 1.82 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.82 |
| 11:00 AM, 75F, and hot sunshine. Objective: recovery run/walk. It felt great to sleep in, though getting up was still a Senior Moment. Very stiff and sore. Mr. Sno came out with me for this little capillary-opening exercise, he barefoot and I in my old trainers. (Our first ever "run" together, though I wouldn't really call it running.) I haven't worn these shoes in quite a while, and boy did they feel clunky, stiff and heavy! My blister hurts quite a bit with just a bandaid. I think I'll dig out my old Moleskin and do the hiker bandage on it, with the hole in the middle. Now that I get a good look at the thing, it seems to be two blisters: a long narrow one and a smaller, rounder one right beneath it. I am just cracking up, because it looks like an exclamation point! Hahahahahaha
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 1.82 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.35 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.35 |
| 62F, sunny w/ a few high, thin clouds. Another recovery run. These legs feel pretty dead today. The first mile was incredibly weak and awkward. I was so glad to feel them loosen up after that. But when I stopped for water, and started up again, they got wonky all over again. The second day is always the worst. Tomorrow will be better I'm sure.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.59 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.59 |
| 60F & clear. (Dark @ 4:55am, autumn coming.) Easy run, still recovering. I'm still pretty stiff and the quads are still sore, but I had a very pleasant run. Lots of smiling runners out this morning. I also ran into a former running partner, who took some time off from running but is now back at it. She and her husband signed up for the Seattle Marathon, so I should be seeing her more often. For podcast fans, here is an interview with Christopher McDougall, author of Born To Run.
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| Brooks ST3 Miles: 6.09 | BF Miles: 0.50 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.80 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.80 |
| Cloudy! :) 58F Easy run. 20 min. weights. Feeling impatient to get my legs back, I decided to make this run shorter. My quad soreness is gone, but the legs still feel really dead. So this run was what I consider a "virtual" day off. Hopefully I will feel the benefits tomorrow. That's the trouble with racing, at least for me. I can cheat a little on the taper, but there is no way around losing the time it takes to recover. Love the weather change! | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.15 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.15 |
| 55F, cloudy. Objective: still easy, but extend miles and try to pick up the pace. My legs have progressed from dead to sluggish, better than no progress. In honor of my cloudy morning, here is an a cappella African Thunderstorm. No instruments, not even the percussion - it's all done with human sounds.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.04 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.04 |
| 55F, cloudy. Another beautiful day! Objective: short run in VFFs. 20 minutes strength.
I let myself sleep in a bit, so with only about 35 minutes to run I decided to make the most of it and do a VFF workout. I am still not very comfortable with the toe pockets. It's odd that that should be the only trouble I have with them. I wonder if I will ever really get used to it. I think I might be most comfortable in something like a moccasin, or these. The VFFs are a lot of fun to run in. What has struck me the most is the fact that I can run on grass with stability. I believe I have mentioned on my blog in the past that even a little parking strip of grass will put me in danger of rolling my ankle if I'm in shoes. With the VFFs I feel totally stable and secure on all surfaces. Slow, but stable. And man am I slow in these! It just goes to show how much speed comes from the bounce of rubber in shoes.
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| Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 3.04 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 20.18 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.18 |
| High 50s to low 60s F, lovely cloudy day. Objective: endurance, club run, S.C. Hill. Very satisfying run. It was a little far to go on not-quite-recovered legs, but I am willing to pay the price of sitting on the couch the rest of the day. ;) In truth, my legs feel horrible at the moment. Like, almost post-marathon horrible. But they did a great job up until mile 16 or 17, then they had to be forced. Only a week from my half-marathon PR, so I'll take it.
Interesting route today: down the Parkway, to the club meet up at the high school, around the Mill Pond Rd and some other back roads of Snoqualmie I've never seen (never even knew they were there!), back into town (said goodbye to club), up the Spirit Crusher Hill (actually felt slightly easier today!), continued up to and into Deer Park, back down to central area and finally out to The Heights and back home. Dead deer story... At mile 2, going down the Parkway, there was a dead doe in the road. I approached her to make sure she wasn't still alive - she wasn't - and saw her poor body actually dented by the car or truck that hit her. The saddest thing was that her surviving friend was still hanging around, waiting for her in the bushes on the median strip. A police car happened by and stopped to take care of the situation, lights flashing. Even then she still lingered near us. So it is with death among social creatures; the pain goes on in those who are left behind. It was hard to shake that experience off, but running with nice people is good therapy. A very nice 16 y.o. girl joined us today for the first time, and there were 4 of us in my pace group today. Blackberries are starting to come ripe, and the roadsides are covered with them, so I had a little supplemental nutrition from time to time. Yum. Here comes the cavalry! Sean Sundwall is looking at my training plan for the next couple of months and we'll be talking about it tonight or tomorrow. As soon as he said "I like your mileage," I was ready to swear my loyalty. Having someone look at my age and tell me to stop running quite so much is one of my biggest fears about having a coach. I am really looking forward to having some extra guidance. There is definitely something missing from my training, as evidenced by the inconsistency of my race times as I progress to longer distances. For example, as I was telling Sean, my VDOT number (from Daniels Running Formula) is a 39, 37.5 or 36 depending on which of my race times I use, 5K, half-m or marathon. Sir Sean will work all that out for me and help me get that marathon time down where it should be. :D
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.20 |
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Low 60s, cloudy. Objective: active recovery. I slept like death, as my grandmother used to say. I went to bed hobbling, weak and sore. But this morning I felt great! I was slow, but I had zero soreness. Ten hours of sleep is my new miracle-recovery plan. Trouble is, one cannot always stay asleep, even if one makes time for it. PM- 2.1 run/walk with my daughter! :D
Monday through Sunday weekly tally = 51.31 miles. 53.41
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.83 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.83 |
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58F, mostly cloudy, windy (~10 mph), pretty pink sunrise, waning gibbous moon. Objective: easy. 5.74 miles alone, then 2.09 w/ Young Miss Sno! (20 min strength work)
I am very pleased and excited to have had some running with my beautiful daughter! She has two speeds: fast and walk. We did a fun loop through the neighborhood, choosing landmarks and running to each one before taking another little walk break. She is much faster than I am, she just needs to develop some aerobic strength. If she continues to run this week (3x), she will get her own running blog, something she really wants. She is already planning her blog name: SnoFlake. :)
How did this come about? Yesterday we did a bunch of shopping for her fall wardrobe, (home)school supplies and shoes. She is growing so fast, we had to replace nearly everything -- including sneakers. And I suppose that is where the inspiration came from... next thing I knew we were lacing them up and going out for a run together. We both noticed that the early evening run (on not quite digested dinner food) felt a little uncomfortable, so I told her that if she was up and ready when I returned from my run this morning, she could come out with me and do her miles. And so it begins. Someone who loves running as much as I do cannot help but be totally overjoyed to share it with someone I love as much as I do her. I don't want to push it, because as we all know, you have to have the internal motivation or it will never get anywhere. But I am already hearing, "this is fun!" :D x 1,000
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.10 |
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59F w/ steady rain. Objective: easy to moderate pace w/ a few form drills. I cannot even remember the last time it rained here. June maybe? As Cliff Mass explains, our region really isn't its stereotypically wet self in summer. But even this long drought is atypical. All the plants in the neighborhood seemed to be sighing with relief. It can be tricky to dress correctly for rain in the summer, when higher temperatures might make me too hot and getting soaked might make me too cold. Knowing I would be out in it for a while, I stayed conservative and went for warmth: my thinnest running tights, a long sleeve shirt of the thinnest fabric and closest fit, a nylon vest and gortex cap. There is no point in trying to stay dry; temperature control is everything. At the last minute, I also slipped on my thin Smartwool glove liners. Every single inch of me got soaked, but I was perfectly comfortable throughout the run. I believe my pace may have been hindered by carrying so much water, but I had a great time. When I was a little girl, if I ever was at home during the morning of a weekday (eg sick, school vacation), I remember my mother watching and following along with Jack LaLanne on TV. I still have an LP record of his that my mother had purchased to get some extra exercise when she couldn't watch the show (it's blue vinyl!). So I particularly enjoyed this little piece on Jack LaLanne. In addition to the powerful photos, there are two short videos embedded: the first about sugar consumption (as valid today as it was 50 years ago), and a self-improvement plan that is absolutely charming. If you need a smile this morning, I highly recommend them.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.95 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.66 | 7.61 |
| 60F, raining (light, heavy and everything in between). Two runs: 1) V02 & leg strength (hill repeats), and 2) run/walk with my daughter. First run:
W.U. 20 min easy
6 X 1 min hard on the Spirit Crusher w/ 2 min recovery (1' walk, 1' jog)
C.D. 15 min.
I used the interval function on the Garmin, which saves all one's distances and paces, so all I had to do was listen to the time alarms and do my best (I didn't look at the results until I came home). I kept my effort level pretty much the same on each rep, except that I tried to make the last one my fastest. The S.C. hill is approximately 12-15% grade (could be wrong, Garmin is inconsistent in reading this hill). On every rep, I started out feeling super and at the end of the minute I thought I might start seeing stars, totally oxygen starved.
Results:
1st .10 mi @ 9:33 pace
2nd .11 @ 9:26
3rd .11 @ 8:54
4th .11 @ 9:04
5th .11 @ 8:52
6th .12 @ 8:29
Second run:
Added another layer of clothing to walk/jog with my daughter. She is already getting stronger aerobically, but she wanted to do 3 miles today instead of 2, so there was a lot of walking and her legs got tired. I am so proud of her. One more run, on Friday, and she will have earned her own running blog, so stay tuned and watch for new member, "SnoFlake."
Lots of fun today! Wish I had more time to type; I could say quite a bit more (not surprised, are you? lol), but I've got to scoot.
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 7.61 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.14 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.14 |
| 55F, cloudy, dry. Easy run. 20 min. strength work.
I had a fine run, but I am starting to feel a bit sleep deprived. Might have to "go to bed with the chickens" tonight. Hm. That doesn't sound right, does it? Well, to bed super early, you know? An old idiom.
This morning I was pondering something that confuses me. If I wear the Nike Lunaracers, which have quite a bit of bounce, when I do my speed work, am I cheating myself of the full workout? Furthermore, if I do not plan to wear them in the marathon, should I perhaps not wear them for speed work? It almost makes more sense to wear them on easy days, ironically. Though I am yet again pressed for time, I just have to mention my new toy: an iPhone. How did I ever live without it??? All that stuff I used to have in my pockets (voice recorder, iPod & phone) when I went running is gone, replaced by this one little unit. I also have email, internet, a notepad, 150 classic books, tides, maps (including real time traffic), MapMyRun, Kindle, a translator... I cannot even list it all. Mr. Sno and I both got them. The only drawback is that we had to go over to the dark side and use AT&T. And the only inconvenience is that I don't have much time to play with it all! :) Apologies for not getting to everyone's blogs lately. I will try to catch up later. Cheers.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.57 | 1.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.07 |
| 54F, heavy rain, some fog. Part 1: easy run w/ 1.5 @ MP (9:00-9:15) near end. Part 2: run/walk w/ SnoFlake in VFFs. It was what I call a saturation run, with actual squishing sounds coming from the water-logged feet. It's one click below a car wash run, which has the additional feature of wind. But we so need the rain! "It's only water, it's only water, it's only..." I really did not feel like doing any MP miles, but forced myself; there is always a good chance that race day will be wet around here. Tomorrow I'll just do a short run with my club and Sunday will be the long run. Counting Monday through Sunday, I hope to crack 60 miles this week. SnoFlake's new blog should be up and running by tonight. She submitted her data, but nowadays Sasha has an approval system to keep out the riff-raff. :)
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| Brooks ST3 Miles: 8.77 | Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 1.30 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.14 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.14 |
| 54F & cloudy. Short & sweet w/ club & SnoFlake. I was up way past my bedtime last night (dinner at friends') and was happy to keep it short and slow (run/walk) this morning with SnoFlake. I need a nap! Our club had very few runners today. SF is too young to join but ran w/ me as a guest, and one other woman, who was getting back to running after a 3 week absence joined us. SF is doing really well. We walk a lot, but I think that it's better for her than flash-in-the-pan runs. I am very lucky; she is such a pleasure to be with, and we have a great time. I'll do my long run tomorrow, and unless something goes awry I will go over 60 miles for my Mon-Sun week. :D Speaking of 60 miles, that looks like it will be the way of things for a while. I finalized my running schedule with Coach Sean this week. I am really pleased with the schedule. With all the workouts to choose from, it is very nice to have someone else say which ones on which weeks and not worry that I'm missing something. The basic structure is ~60 mile weeks, some long runs w/ MP running (some without), and alternating weeks of hill repeats and a tempo run (2 quality workouts) with various intervals (just one quality workout). I get to make the choice of days for each workout, so there is plenty of flexibility for this stubborn old gal.
Since I'm also running shorter run/walk workouts with SnoFlake, my mileage may look a lot higher some weeks, but I'm keeping careful records so I make sure I get my fill of solo running - my SnoFlake workouts are just frosting on the great running cake of life. :)
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| Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 3.14 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 18.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 18.40 |
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Mid 50s F rising to mid 60s during run. Cloudy, changing to mostly sunny. Breezy. Objective: endurance, w/ miles 16 - 17.75 going up Spirit Crusher Hill. The only really positive thing I can say about this run is that I completed the planned miles, and I came up the hill w/ only 2 brief walk breaks (when my breath was too short). I was tired and uninspired nearly the whole run, but especially when my nice clouds went away and the sun came out. I still feel like I'm recovering from staying out late Friday night - what a wimp. Anyway, this was a very tough run. Some days are just like that. Mon-Sun weekly mileage = 62.29
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.30 |
| 57F, mostly clear w/ a bit of light fog early, breezy. Recovery run, last 2.36 w/ SnoFlake. 20 min. strength work after.
I feel pretty good this morning. I kept my solo run very short to make sure I had the low miles for recovery (adding SnoFlake miles at the end). I spent most of my solo run working out a problem I have - running is so great for that. So I was all warmed up and carefree by the time I ran with SnoFlake. All in all, an easy, pleasant hour of running.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.08 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.67 | 7.75 |
| 60F, clear, really pretty sliver of moon w/ dark side showing prominently. Objective: leg strength & VO2 (Hill repeats on S.C. hill, approx 15% grade: 6 x 1:00 up, 2:00 recovery). Garmin results:
(distance/pace)
.11 / 9:14
.11 / 8:54
.11 / 8:58
.11 / 9:12
.12 / 8:37
.11 / 8:47 I observed something during last week's hill repeats, but I think my brain ejected the thought before I could process it: if each repeat is exactly one minute, and the distance covered on nearly all of them is .11 of a mile, then the variation of pace does not make sense. Not that it really matters. I just think the Garmin data is a bit inaccurate. By my 4th repeat, I noticed my legs felt kind of shaky going back down the hill. May it be a harbinger of stronger running. |
| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 7.75 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 10.66 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.66 |
| 64F & clear. Slow & easy. 8.26 solo, 2.4 run/walk w/ daughter. 15 min abs & upper body.
I ran with the stars and the sun today. That's a rare advantage of being a slow runner, and today was especially slow. The legs are tired and it took me a long time to warm up. I take that as a good sign of yesterday's effective work. Busy day... cheers.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.13 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.13 |
| 70F at 4:50 AM! And humid. Yuck. But I felt much, much better running in it than I did a couple of months ago. Easy run, w/ pretty good energy considering I was on my feet all day yesterday. (Also did 15 min. strength work after run.)
Tomorrow is a tempo run, and it is to be both longer and faster than any tempo run I've ever tried before. (One of Coach Sean's workouts.) I must admit I'm a little nervous. What if I run at what feels like a tempo pace (8:30) and I look down at the Garmin to read "9:45?" (Or slower?) I certainly felt like I was working at a 10:30 pace this morning, but it was more like 11:15 when I checked. I'm also worried that I won't be able to sustain it for 4 miles. I guess I'll just have to do my best and live with it. One thing is for certain, I will be better off with whatever effort I can make than I will without it. And I have the added benefit of the 8 hours of sleep I plan to get tonight (I get to sleep a little late tomorrow.)
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.35 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 10.35 |
| 58F, cloudy, a breeze drizzle shower, light wind. Tempo run: 3E, 4T (goal pace 8:30), remainder E. Tempo splits: 8:40, 8:37, 8:28, 8:28. That was hard. Horribly hard. I would rather do a 20 miler every other day than this workout, but that won't get me what I want, will it? So yay for me! The legs got tired, but the worst was not having enough oxygen. Is that significant?
After warming up by running over to the Heights and back, I wanted to get this workout done on relatively flat ground. So I ran laps up one side and down the other of Ridge St., between Fairway and Baker. It's not flat, but it's the pretty close, with a little rise at one end and not more than 1% grade on the rest. During this time, I didn't look at the Garmin very much, just a few checks to make sure I was below 9:00. I tried to concentrate on running as fast and efficiently as I could run without breathing faster than 2-2 (steps in, steps out). I also tried to think about running as fast as I thought I could maintain for half an hour. Nearly the entire time, I thought I wasn't going to make it (ie that I would have to slow down). When the 4 miles were finally done I almost wanted to cry I was so happy to have done it. But I also felt completely spent; I wanted to collapse in a heap by the sidewalk. I walked for about a minute, then slow-jogged, and finally got back to 10:30ish miles to finish. I really got lucky with the weather today, for my first long tempo run ever. Yesterday was so hot and muggy. Between about 5 PM and 8 PM last night the temperature quickly plummeted, the wind kicked up and the clouds rolled in. Hallelujah! Well, I'd better go get myself clean and see what last minute housework I can do before my MIL gets here. Thanks, everyone, for your encouragement yesterday. It helped a lot. :)
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 10.35 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Day off from running. We had a short hike up at Mt. Rainier. 
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 19.89 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 19.89 |
| Mid 50s, rising to 60s during run. Mostly cloudy turning mostly sunny. Breezy at times. Objective: endurance run. Mon-Sun week total 63.1 I viewed my run today as a sort of extra-long recovery workout. My legs were stiff and sore from Friday (proof of efficacy, yay), and I let the whole run be easy and slow. There are lots of race reports this weekend! I am so impressed with others' abilities to race well in summertime. We have some very accomplished runners here, and some very dedicated runners. I'm leaving a few comments, but mostly reading, lurking and silently admiring; congratulations!
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.62 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.62 |
| 60F, sunny & clear. Objective: easy & slow. My neighborhood has undergone its annual transformation for the Boeing Classic. (golf tournament) There are porta-potties everywhere (including 5 on the curb in front of my house), signs, lots of people about, one street that is lined with Cadillac SUVs (for players?) and Famous Daves has set up a Rib-alicious concession stand across the street. It's all quite amusing, though I suddenly see how unworthy my yard is. Legs feel good, though a little tired today, but that may be due to other circumstances. I do feel those fabulous 9 hours of sleep however. Mr. Sno is off work while his mom is here, so I get to catch up on sleep a bit.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 10.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.20 |
| 58F, cloudy, breezy, occasional brief drizzle. Easy run. 20 min. strength workout.
I love this weather, but my run was still as sluggish as if the hot sun were out. Very slow pace, but I tried not to worry about it. "It is what it should be, today." Tomorrow I venture by car down to the high school track and these slow legs better be in a faster mood.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.05 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 7.05 |
| 52F, patchy fog. VO2 workout: 3 x 1 mile w/ 4 min. recovery. Target pace: 8:00, splits: 8:27, 7:51, 8:04 Plenty of room for improvement in the Consistency Dept.! lol The first mile felt really stiff and difficult. The second & third felt much smoother but still quite difficult, especially the breathing, much like a 5K.
In the It's-A-Beautiful-World Dept., the patchy fog in the predawn light was absolutely gorgeous. Mt. Si was visible and the cool air smelled wonderful. Then, just as the Garmin signaled the end of my last rep, the sun came up and golden light came all over the track. I am not making this up! It really did. Goodness knows my workout didn't deserve this kind of glorious finale, but there it was. :)
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 7.05 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.80 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.80 |
| Mid to upper 50s, clear. Easy runs: 7.46 solo and 2.34 w/ SnoFlake. A pleasant run. I am feeling the satisfying soreness of yesterday's workout. As always, it is a great pleasure to run with my daughter.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I love sleeping 9 hours. I feel so good today. :D But no matter how much I love the sleep, I do always feel a little pitiful when a runner goes by in front of the house and I didn't get to run. Why can't I have it all??? lol
I am being completely lazy this morning, possibly to make up for how busy I've been. SnoFlake slept in too, and we are just now (at 9:30 AM) getting "put together." I did a little internet shopping, cleaned out my email inbox, and am looking forward to having a giant airplane buzz my house. This is great fun; they do it every year. We have some friends with machine-loving little boys who are stopping by to watch it with us.
The finale of the week-long Boeing Classic is the professionals (older guys) tournament this weekend, and even a non-golf fan like me gets excited to see such good playing. All the residents in Snoqualmie Ridge get 4 free passes so we can go see some pros make the little ball go right into the little hole. It's amazing!
Happy weekend running to all, and best wishes to those racing. I look forward to checking the race reports!
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 20.48 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.48 |
| Upper 50s rising to low 60s, light showers. Endurance run & club run + S.C. Hill. This was a really fun run. Great weather, since the rain was just very light. This was the coolest temperature I have had for climbing up the S.C. Hill and it made a big difference. I ran 10 miles with the Mt. Si Running Club, most of it with a young lady who is training for a half marathon in her near future. It was fun to have someone to run with for longer than 5 or 6 miles. Please ignore the weekly mileage count! This is why I like to count the week from Monday through Sunday. Last week I had to wait until Sunday for my long run and this week I did one today. After a little run tomorrow I should be up around 60.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.04 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.04 |
| High 50s, low 60s, light fog clearing to bright sun. Easy run, w/ 1.4 in VFFs and .96 barefoot at end of run. I got the last 20 minutes of fog this morning, but it was worth missing out to sleep late. As I came home and switched into my Vibram Five Fingers, I wondered if I had lost all the foot toughening I had gained earlier in the month (or was it July?). But when I decided to run the last mile barefoot I found it was just as easy as it had been (and when I stepped on a rock, just as hard). So perhaps I can do a bit more barefooting before summer ends. The VFFs are great, except that my little toes don't like the pockets. I'm not sure they ever will. True barefoot running can't be beat.
Mon - Sun mileage total: 60.19
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| Triax 12 II Miles: 4.68 | BF Miles: 0.96 | Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 1.40 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.26 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.26 |
| 58F, clear skies. Objective - easy & slow. I got a late start and felt rather stiff and slow today, so I actually had to run the last couple of miles on my dreadmill. Mitigation: watching a bit of Race for the Soul. That's a great movie; I highly recommend it. I don't believe I'll ever be an ultra runner because of my fear of being alone on trails, but I get a lot out of seeing other runners take on the challenge. So many barriers we face are just in our minds. On Old Shoes.... I noticed this morning that I have accumulated an unusually large pile of old running shoes. I was retiring my old Triax 12's and as I opened the cupboard where such shoes live, it struck me that the thing is actually overflowing. What on earth am I keeping them for? I do think there is a good chance of a coming depression, with hyperinflation, but in such a scenario, would I need so many old running shoes? Would I trade them for produce on the black market? ("...and these babies have only 450 miles on them, so how 'bout you throw in an extra tomato?") I used to send old shoes to Tanzania through an organization called "Shoe4Africa," but my current view of heavy running shoes now makes that an act of international hostility. And why oh why is it so hard to just pitch them into the donation box? I know the Nike store near me takes shoes and grinds them up to recycle the material, but there is something very horror-flick about that.... Just grind them up? Like they have no feelings?!? (internet face slap) Okay, I'm going to go put at least 2/3 of these into my donation sack. The truck is coming today and I swear I am not going to look back; liberation, here I come.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.98 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.66 | 9.64 |
| High 50s F, patchy light fog becoming heavy towards end of solo run. Objective: 1st run = solo w/ VO2 & leg strength (hill repeats), 2nd run = barefoot w/ SnoFlake. Hill repeats: warmed ~3.5 miles, then went to 15% grade hill and ran 6 x 1 min hard, 2 min recovery. Garmin data: All reps covered .11 mile in 8:56, 8:42, 9:07, 9:05, 9:27, 9:15. Cool down: a few more miles, easy.
I'm not sure what to make of my effort today. I really struggled with the hill repeats and did not perform them as well as I did 2 weeks ago. Maybe I had fresher legs then, or maybe I'm having an "off" day, I don't know. It doesn't really matter; I did my best and I am sure I will get the same benefit. After the first 3 reps, I realized that I was not recovering completely, even though I walked almost the entire 2 minutes, panting all the way, so I added another 30 seconds to recovery after reps 3-5. My understanding of VO2 recoveries (from my Daniels dvd) is that they should be complete. Even with the extended recovery, I had more and more trouble keeping up my pace at the ends of each rep, falling apart the last 15 seconds or so. Usually it's just the lungs that give out, but today it was the legs too. Fall is on the way. Same workout as two weeks ago, same time and place -- but 2 weeks ago it was completely light out (though the sun wasn't up yet) and today it was completely dark! The days will now get shorter very quickly. Like a car that seems to creep along when far away and then goes whipping past you on a highway, the autumnal equinox this month will bring a sudden and dramatic shift in daylight to these northern latitudes. Thank goodness for headlamps. I love fall more than any other season and the first of September is always welcome. But to get fog too... great day! And I had a very enjoyable barefoot run w/ SnoFlake as well. We kept it short, since she is understandably tired from gymnastics last night.
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 8.07 | BF Miles: 1.57 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 10.33 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.33 |
| 54F, mostly clear and some patchy light fog. Easy run, 8.13 solo & 2.3 w/ daughter. 15 min. core & upper body.
Beautiful morning. My legs feel a bit tired, but I had a fine time. Scheduled day off tomorrow. Finally got back to my strength work today. :)
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.38 | 0.00 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 8.38 |
| 54F, partly cloudy w/ full moon and pink sunrise, 1 brief shower. Objective: tempo run. Five miles at tempo, target pace 8:30. Splits: 8:41, 8:35, 8:46, 8:48, 9:03 (last mile was mostly uphill). 20 min. strength work.
I think I have to just accept that I'm not 100% this week. I feel fine, but I'm just moving slower. My first mile was going pretty well until the last 2 blocks, when I came within 2 feet of being hit by a car, the driver of which evidently does not believe in stop signs. So I lost 10-15 seconds there by stopping, putting the fear of --- into the driver, and getting back into my pace. Mile 5, as noted, was mostly uphill, as I realized I was cutting it short getting home and had to leave my almost-flat, .8 mile loop to head back.
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| Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 8.38 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 13.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 13.30 |
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Mid 50s, raining. Easy run, club run. My legs feel dead today. I'm planning to run 2 medium long runs (today & tomorrow) instead of one longer one + one short, just to let my body recover a bit more. The tempo run yesterday is still with me. :/ Hopefully I can get a bit more sleep tonight. That would help a lot. The rain did not bother me a bit, I'm happy to report. The only trouble is that it's still too warm for the jacket I wanted to wear. I had to choose between being warm and mostly dry or possible being cold (knowing I was to get soaked). For such a slow run, as I knew it would be, I chose the jacket. I saw at our club meeting that Sean's sister has a very soft looking BAA Boston Marathon jacket - very good looking. covet covet covet ...
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 13.30 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.50 |
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Low 50s, cloudy w/ showers and sunbreaks, then just pouring rain. Easy run. I ran my first few miles with SnoFlake, then took her home and continued on. I enjoyed running some parts of the neighborhood I haven't been to in a long time, where I ran some very steep hills and felt stronger than I used to. Nine hours of sleep = heaven -- my legs feel much better today and I was able to get into a good "easy" pace (10:00-10:30) instead of the slog I had yesterday. But with good pace comes body heat... I was extremely uncomfortable with my rain jacket in the final couple of miles. I guess it's better to just get wet once I am warm.
So I am a little short on my goal miles this week, and I did not have a proper long run, but I am ok with it. That is the really nice thing about doing lots of long runs - you can miss one without feeling tragic. Mon-Sun total 57.41 miles
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| Lunaracers II Miles: 8.50 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.19 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.19 |
| 54F, showers, breezy. Easy run. Today I went with a nylon vest instead of the jacket. That worked great for this temperature. I had some gloves too, which went on and off my hands all throughout the run, usually depending on the wind direction.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.70 |
| High 40sF, mostly clear and starry. Easy run, plus minimalist-footwear trials on the TM (last 3 miles). Extra warm up early (see below) and 10 min. core work after.
Super pretty morning. Venus was so large and bright, I could have sworn I saw the crescent. Then, when the sky got lighter, I could see all the fields and parks were covered with a layer of mist. I love that. I had some new experiences today. First, before running I warmed up with 50 calf pumps (barefoot) and 20 step-up/one-leg-squats for each leg on a 10 inch step. These are exercises I often do after my run, but I'm feeling more and more like I need extra warm up time. It seemed to work well and I hope to incorporate it into my routine. After I had to come home, I did 3 more miles on the TM and tried 3 new minimalist footwear options, a mile each. First was the Mizuno Wave Universe. I found out about these shoes from a guy in my running club. His description of the shoes struck me as quite odd and equivocal: "They are a Lifestyle shoe." Huh? Anyway, I would say this is a great shoe for anyone who wants to be barefoot but not attract any attention or comments. There is just very little shoe at all. They remind me of the leather slipper-like footwear of pre-WWII runners. They are extremely comfortable, but no support or "stability" and no bounce. Interestingly, the shoes came with a bunch of tags with dire warnings all over them. "Experts only.... A performance shoe... Very slippery... low traction..." The Mizuno legal department is terrified of this shoe.
Second was the Softstar moccasin. These are like barefoot only warmer and slightlty padded. My foot tended to move too far forward in them, leaving me with the urge to stop and scoot my heel back into place. Not sure about that. They will be fine for a minimalist training run when the weather gets colder, if I can solve the heel thing. Lastly was the Sockwa Aqua-sock. Someone on a barefoot forum recommended these. They come in a bunch of cool patterns, and honestly just look adorable. That's about as useful as they are. I kind of doubt I'll run in them much. I wore them all day a few weeks ago just for kicking around and I noticed they have no water resistance whatsoever. They also do not protect against little rocks. They are not particularly warm. So... why not just go barefoot? I guess if it was cool out -- but not cold -- I might pair them with Smartwool socks in lieu of going barefoot, but only if the streets were dry.
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| Triax 12 II Miles: 6.70 | Softstar Moccasins Miles: 1.00 | Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 1.00 | Sockwa Aquasocks Miles: 1.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.56 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.56 |
| Mid to upper 50s, cloudy & breezy. Easy 5.82 solo, then 2.74 run/walk w/ SnoFlake. Nice run. Some really pretty clouds and pink sunrise. I feel boring today. Nothing interesting to report...
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| Saucony Fastwitch 3 Miles: 8.56 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.29 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.48 | 7.77 |
| Mid 50s, overcast/cloudy. Objective: VO2 max and leg speed/strength. Warm up: a couple of miles of jogging around town, finishing with 2 track laps of alternating 100m strides w/ 100m jogs. Interval workout: 4 x 1000 meters w/ 2:30 recovery. Target time 4:54. Results 4:57, 4:53, 4:52, 5:05. I started out with an easy jog from the High School down to Centennial Park and back. On the track, all was darkness except for a light on at one side and my headlamp, which was quite bright (new batteries). The overall effect was kind of eerie. There was a horrible smell at the track, something between a skunk and burning plastic. So not the best conditions, but tolerable. At least no rain falling.
As usual, the intervals were incredibly hard oxygen-wise. I was opening my mouth like a fish trying to get more air. On the third rep I could feel myself slowing down so I am quite surprised that this was the fastest one. The fourth one felt like desperately hanging on, so no surprise on the slowdown there. I just kept telling myself that the effort counts more than actually hitting the goal pace, otherwise I think I would have given up after the 3rd rep. I did a very brief cool down - legs totally shaking - by the track and drove back up the hill to home. A couple of easy walk/run miles with SnoFlake were just the ticket to loosen up some more and enjoy a little non-gasping-for-breath running. Hey, this is nice.
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| Lunaracers II Miles: 7.77 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.10 |
| 55F, clear with a few light patches of fog. Recovery run. I'm moving like a 90 year old today. I'm all creaky and hobbled --not fun, but satisfying to see I did my work yesterday. Looking forward to my day off tomorrow. Long run on Sunday this week. I hope everyone will understand if I am a little quiet on the blog for a while, starting next week. Our family will be adding yet another obligation to the homeschooling schedule, an educational co-op where my daughter will be taking 3 classes and meeting some new kids. We are starting it on a trial basis and hoping it will be worth the time. Her junior apprenticeship program at the horse barn is on temporary hiatus and that will probably start back up next week too. It just seems like a good time to take a few straws off the camel's back.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 17.12 | 1.96 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 19.08 |
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Sunny, humid, high 60sF in the shade, Sahara Desert in the sun (felt like it to me). Endurance run with lots of hills and some MP (9:00-9:15) at end. I was assigned to run 2 MP miles before my cool down today, and I had every intention of doing so. You might even say I did. Sort of. In a mathematical way. At around mile 15.5 I found myself in the central area of the neighborhood, where there are a few more flat stretches than everywhere else. As planned, I started the MP part of the run. I wasn't quite through the first mile when I overheated pretty badly (face flushed with heat, head dizzy, and stomach getting ready to be sick). So I ended up doing cool off breaks all through the rest of the MP run, going as far as I could stand to go, then walk/jogging for about a minute to cool off. Splits: .84 @ 9:06, .33 @ 9:15, .45 @ 9:02, and .34 @ 9:13. Somehow I have my doubts that this sort of off-n-on MP running will contribute anything to my fitness, but I can honestly say I did the best I could. Weekly summary:
Mon-Sun total miles: 60.4
Mon 8.19 E
Tues 9.7 E
Weds 8.56 E
Thu 7.77 w/ V: 4 x 1000, 2:30 recov b/t: 4:57, 4:53, 4:52, 5:05
Fri 7.1 recov
Sat off
Sun 19.08 w/ 1.96 @ MP in "pieces"
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| Lunaracers II Miles: 19.08 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.13 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.13 |
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59F, cloudy. (ah...) Recovery run. (20 min strength after.) Just a short jog to get the blood flowing. Legs not too happy today. Saw and chatted with a woman from my running club, Sean's sister. She is a very fast runner, so it was really nice of her to slow down (and even stop when we reached my house) to talk about marathons, speed work, being tired from training.... all the things that are on my mind right now.
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 2.13 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.79 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.75 | 9.54 |
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57F, mostly clear. Hill repeats, 5 x 1.5 min up, 3 min recov., on 15+% grade hill
After a long warm up, my legs felt pretty good, but no proof in today's pudding. Very slow. I may try for a few more miles tonight. PM- 2.73
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| Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 2.73 | Brooks ST3 II Miles: 6.81 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 10.16 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.16 |
| 60F (with pockets of hotter and cooler air in neighborhood), mostly clear. Easy run. 15 min. core and upper body.
Another
gorgeous moon, waning sliver w/ all the dark side showing. Autumn is
upon us: street light outage patrol has resumed. I recorded three pole
number to report. Feeling tired today, as usual.
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| Saucony Fastwitch 3 Miles: 10.16 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.47 | 0.00 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 9.47 |
| 55F, mostly cloudy, w/ some stars showing, pretty sunrise. Tempo run: 3 x 15 min w/ 1.5 minute recovery b/t. Target pace 8:30, distances/paces: 1.64 @ 9:10, 1.66 @ 9:02, 1.7 @ 8:50 (slightly different terrain on last rep). (Fun coincidence that it added up to exactly 5 miles at tempo, though it should have been more.) Finished with a 2.39 miles run/walk w/ SnoFlake. 10 min. core work.
Hard, hard, hard. (One moan for each rep.) Last night I was so tired and could not even imagine doing this workout, so I am fairly pleased. The disappointing pace is what it is, and there is no way it could have been faster. What could have happened is me blowing off the workout and just having another easy day, or even sleeping in and blowing off the run altogether. So. Mental check mark. :)
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| Lunaracers II Miles: 9.47 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 23.16 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 23.16 |
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Upper 50s F, and raining. Windy at times. Objectives: endurance w/ hills, club run, and Spirit Crusher Hill (miles 11-13), which I am hereby renaming Leg Builder Hill. (More positive, but I'm not sure I can ever stop thinking of it as "Spirit Crusher.") Ran this in 4:25, including warmup and cooldown. Totally soaked most of the time, but not uncomfortable until the second half. (Finished up over an hour ago and the skin on my toes is still all wrinkled.) But I will still take this over heat any day. Ran down the Parkway (Leg Builder) to the club meeting and ran about 5 miles on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail with one other woman. Back up the hill and around some of the neighborhoods, where I met two sisters who are in the club but did not make it to the run. So I ran with them for a while, which was great fun and a nice distraction. They were going on the Silent Creek Trail, which I never run alone (cougars, bears and bad guys), so I had a little treat there. The last 4 miles were not fun, as the rain got harder and my feet and legs were starting to ache. The rest of the day will be blissful sitting, knitting, and Mexican food with friends for dinner.
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| Lunaracers II Miles: 23.16 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
| Recovery run on dead legs. Week summary: Mon-Sun mileage total: 57.46
Mon 2.13
Tue 9.54 w/ hill repeats, 5 x 1:30 on 15% grade w/ 3 min recov
Wed 10.16
Thu 9.45 w/ tempo run, 3 x 15 min w/ 1:30 recov.
Fri off
Sat 23.16
Sun 3 | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.13 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.13 |
| 48F, clear & starry. Another recovery run (legs still stiff and sore from Saturday). 15 min. core & upper body. Doin' the old-lady shuffle again this morning. For some reason, my left quad is more sore by far than my right. I hate to think what that might mean. I don't know how many people are familiar with Kevin Beck's rather odd website. It is odd but interesting! Much of the oddness lies in the difficulty of navigating through all that he has to offer. You cannot see it from the home page, but if you follow the right bread crumbs there is a nice motivational page I'd like to share, here. |
| Saucony Fastwitch 3 Miles: 6.13 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 10.09 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.09 |
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65F, clear and very windy. Easy run, finished on the TM (ran out of time). 15 min. strength and stretching. It is nearly 20 degrees warmer this morning than yesterday, some kind of freak heat wave is moving in. The patio furniture is blowing all over the place and the house sounds like it does during our winter storms. There is a small group of women, some from my running club and some not, who are meeting during the week for some short runs. I saw them this morning and joined them for a little while. I couldn't quite keep up and chat at the same time, so I said goodbye after short time. One of the women is someone I've seen running around the neighborhood for years (she is not in the club) so it was really nice to finally meet her. She is from Quebec, one of my favorite places on earth. Maybe when I am feeling a little faster I can join them again and practice my French.
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 10.09 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.88 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 7.88 |
| Freak heat wave continues. 70F at 5 AM. (Yuck.) Windy & overcast. VO2 interval workout. 3 x 1600m w/ 4 min. recovery. Target pace = ha ha ha (aka 7:55) Splits: 8:23, 8:11, 8:21. 15 minutes core & upper body strength.
Unless I can find someone who wants to go to the track with me very early (perhaps someone from my club), my track days might be over for the 8-month dark season. I had every intention of going today, but after a night of anxiety and very bad dreams, I changed my mind this morning. I did it once in utter darkness 2 weeks ago, but perhaps the memory of what that was like hindered more than it helped. The track itself is ok with my headlamp and the bit of streetlight. The problem is: bathrooms. I always seem to need one about 15 minutes into my warmup.
I can either go to the super creepy, bush-surrounded park bathroom a half block away (where neither the outer door nor the stall door locks), or I can jog the half mile down to Centennial Park where the bathrooms are quite nice but surrounded by desolate woods and fields and the nearest inhabitants are the charming trailer park residents a quarter mile away. Not using a bathroom is, unfortunately, not one of my choices.
It's a long explanation, but it's best to get it out of the way so I can stop thinking about it. I hate speed work but I also love it: knowing what it is doing for me is enough to make it a friend. Now I just have to hope that Sean and Bonnie and all my other track heroes will forgive me. ;)
So, where did I do my 1600s? Well, I thought about going around the Ridge-Kinsey loop (about a mile) where I've been doing my tempo workouts. Then I remembered Crestview Loop, a small, circular development in a remote part of my neighborhood. During my warmup I measured the loop at .4 of a mile. It is almost flat, certainly flatter than the tempo run loop. There are no stoplights or intersections, and during my entire workout I only encountered one car, easily avoided. So that's my new "track" until the world gets lighter next spring -- unless of course I can find a track buddy. "Hey! Who's up for driving down the hill at 4:50 AM? It'll be fun!"
Now, about my workout. First rep: didn't quite feel warmed up, despite doing some strides at the end of my jog warm-up. Second rep: started to feel more powerful, form felt good, split reflects better running. Third rep: falling apart now but holding on. Still better than rep #1. Legs feeling as miserable as the lungs - that's a first! Overall performance... A for effort, P for pathetic pace, T for "taper is coming - it's going to be ok."
SnoFlake isn't feeling well so I sent her back to bed instead of running. I am sure she'll be fit to come out again soon. It's just as well she didn't have to run in this miserable heat. |
| Lunaracers II Miles: 7.88 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.56 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.56 |
| Mid 50s, clear w/ clouds moving in. Easy pace run. So nice to have the cool air back. Legs tired, pace slow. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 9.56 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 9 hours of sleep...mmmmm. Day off, but I just want to quickly promote the new issue of Running Times (November). It's a particularly good one. Highlights - Lydiard training concepts, Deena's review of her races this year in her own words (favorite quote: "Races are a lot like snowflakes; no two are alike."), and a great review of the Western States 100 race. I put off reading "The Science of Aging;" those kinds of articles scare me. Maybe someone else here can preview it for me and let me know if there is anything in it that could be paraphrased as "you are doomed." | |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 18.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.00 |
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High 40s rising to mid 50s, partly cloudy with some light fog and mists. Very pretty morning. Objectives: endurance; club run in miles 4.3-9.7; Leg Builder Hill in miles 11.7-13.7; MP in miles 17-19.2, adding the .2 because I had to hit 'lap' and walk, twice. So, 2 miles in three "pieces," paces of which were 9:13, 9:18, 9:17. Target was 9:15. Total running time 3:50, with 14 min walk-run warm up and same cool down.
Sorry, this is going to be another whiney post. But the alternative is to say almost nothing, wish everyone a happy weekend, and click "publish." I think on the whole I'd rather share...
A small part of me thinks this is just such an awesome workout because I had that big hill in the middle and still managed to get fairly close to my target pace on the MP miles.
The other part of me looks at the totally exhausting effort level of the MP miles, the need to walk (twice! sheesh), the prospect of holding that pace for over 4 hours, and the charley horse I got in my left calf after it was finished... and I just want to cry. If my taper over the next two weeks doesn't leave me feeling like a million bucks I don't know how I will handle the lack of results after working so hard.
But now I've done the training I set out to do. I may have fallen short on miles or pace but never on the time I put into my runs, the effort level, or my determination. At the beginning of August I asked the blog at large for help choosing workouts that would make a 9:00-9:15 pace feel easier, and I followed every detail of the plan that Sean Sundwall gave me. At this moment, I find myself wishing that a 10:00 pace felt easier! Is it even possible that my marathon fitness could be lower than it was in May? Lower than last December? Oh please, taper, do your magic!
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 20.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.59 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.59 |
| 50sF, sunny. Recovery run. Very slow, easy run. I let myself walk up most of the really steep hills. My legs actually did feel a bit better by the end of the run than when I started. It's like giving them an internal massage. Week Summary Mon 6.13 easy
Tue 10.09 easy
Wed 7.88 w/ VO2: 3 x 1600m
Thu 9.56 easy
Fri off
Sat 20, w/ 2 mi hill and 2 mi MP
Sun 4.59 recov.
Total for week: 58.25
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.21 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.21 |
| 47F, clear, light wind. Easy, aerobic run. 15 min strength. Feel-ok sandwich on stiff/tired bread. That is, the middle of the run felt pretty good, but I was glad to stop. No power there (11:30-11:50), but at least I experienced some comfortable miles. My daughter is down with a fever, so I'm being super careful with fluids, rest, and vitamins -- and glad to be tapering. Since Rod Dixon will be one of the guest speakers at the expo in Victoria, I was surfing the web to get some background on him. Found an interesting video in which he narrates the film footage of his 1983 New York City Marathon win. Enjoy! | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.30 | 4.90 |
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High 40sF, rain showers. Hill repeats: 6 x 30 seconds w/ 1 min. recovery on an 8% hill. 15 min. strength work. Sean tells me I may cut back (even more) on some mileage this week as long as I do not abandon the intensity workouts, lest I "lose sharpness." Bless him, he believes I have sharpness to lose. I definitely have some dullness I could do without... But seriously, my legs felt 100% better after the hill repeats than they did before them. That was a surprise. ETA: I think I'll take a day off tomorrow, which means that's it for September. What a month!
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| Lunaracers II Miles: 4.90 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.19 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 8.19 |
| High 40s, cloudy w/ ~10 mph wind. Solo: easy with 2 tempo miles (8:51, 8:36). With SnoFlake: 2 miles run/walk. 15 min. abs & stretches. Ahhhh-ctober. Love the cool air and the clouds. Tempo miles were super hard as always, and the first one way off the target pace of 8:30. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 8.19 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.58 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.58 |
| High 40s, raining. Easy/aerobic run. 20 min. core & stretching. Not too bad. Dark and wet. Lots of meditating on various mental puzzles. |
| Lunaracers II Miles: 3.58 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 11.20 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 12.20 |
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35F, rising to high 40s after sun came up, mostly clear. Easy aerobic run (mostly w/ club) with mile 11 at MP on the track. HELLO LEGS! Man, am I glad to see you. 11:35, 11:41, 11:45, 11:17, 10:01, 10:02, 10:00, 10:01, 10:14, 10:22, 9:09 (MP on track), 11:05. I arrived early at Centennial Park to take a warm up run around the perimeter. On the far side, I saw this herd of elk in the adjacent meadow. See the little dots in the mist? 
None of my usual pace group attended the club this morning, so I started out with some slower folks to warm up, and we parted ways at about mile 2. One of the faster pace groups, which had run a different route, came up from behind as I ran on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, and I had them in my sights for about a mile after that. I turned into North Bend to run around some neighborhoods that I like over there. By coincidence, when I returned to the SVT the faster group was returning as well. I said hello and tucked in behind them, thinking that at least I could trail them again for a while and not be totally alone on the trail. That was mile 5. See that mile 5? See that 10:01? I was as surprised as anyone that they didn't drop me. Hm. I am not falling behind. Hm. I am talking to them. I am running with them. How curious. Right in that section of trail, the terrain is heavily wooded and my Garmin never reads pace accurately in there. It will read 16:45 one moment and 7:15 the next, as the satellites try to find me through the trees. Not knowing the pace I figured, "these guys are really slowing down," and enjoyed their company. After a little while two of them ran on and one young guy stayed with me. We ended up running the rest of our miles together, including the mile on the track. What a great running partner he turned out to be. He has only been running for 1 year but has a great deal of enthusiasm and love for running. We talked the whole time (except for my MP mile), which makes that pace I logged all the more wonderful to me. (ie Plenty of oxygen!) Very best wishes to everyone who is racing this weekend!!
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 12.20 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.32 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.32 |
| Chilly, sunny morning. Objective: Recovery run and 5K chaperone. A little over a mile of warmup jogging before having the honor of accompanying SnoFlake on her first 5K. I'm sure she'll be posting her report shortly if she hasn't already. I was so proud of her! We did have some walk breaks, but FAR fewer than we do in our training runs. Mr. Sno ran it too, in bare feet and beat us by about 10 minutes. I never thought I'd see the day we all ran together. What a wonderful experience! | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.67 | 1.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.17 |
| 42F, clear, w/ very bright moonlight. 2 miles easy, 1.5 miles MP effort, remainder = cool down. No more resistance training for now, except for a few crunches this morning. Stretches and Stick. Everything feels fine. My "hard" mile and half were not terribly fast (mile 3 mostly downhill @ 9:48 and next half mile mostly uphill @10:00) but I didn't really feel warmed up yet either. I don't control this getting-old business. ;) I only observe, and somewhere between mile 3 and 4 I see that I usually speed up without trying. That's when I know I'm warmed up. I'll try a short tempo run tomorrow, as prescribed by Sean. Then a short run Thursday and I'm done until Sunday morning's marathon. I might do a short, easy pool run Friday and/or Saturday. I can't wait to see charming Victoria again. The last time we were there was about 11 years ago for my 40th birthday. I was about 45 lbs overweight and had to hover over a toddler 80% of my waking life. I remember on the boat trip over, the captain got on the speakers and announced, "we have a birthday on board.... it is... Mary so-and-so who is 30 years old today!" Sigh. It rained all weekend. Sigh. And I still loved Victoria! So, this should be a ton of fun. Extended forecast looks dry -- and now I am only 10 lbs overweight. For a marathoner that is. :D |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 4.17 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.60 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 5.60 |
| 45F, partly cloudy. Tempo run: ~2 mi easy; 2 x 1 mi @ tempo w/ 1 min recovery b/t ; 1.5 mi c.d. Tempo miles: 8:37, 8:32. (Target 8:30) The legs whined bitterly about not being warmed up to their liking. So I'm pleasantly surprised to see the paces on those two tempo miles. I thought I was quite a bit slower. The oxygen deficit felt more like a VO2 workout. And the Garmin pace reading, as you Garminites know, varied widely. I'm sure my true pace varied a lot too, since no part of my neighborhood runs are ever flat, and there are corners to turn and curbs to navigate. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 5.60 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.68 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.68 |
| Mid 40s F, clear and starry. Easy, short run. Very quiet in the neighborhood this early (4:45ish); I saw only one car. Managed to scare myself turning my headlamp on someone's Halloween decorations. lol |
| Lunaracers II Miles: 2.68 |
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| | Race: |
Royal Victoria Marathon (26.2 Miles) 04:21:48 | | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 26.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 26.20 |
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Sunshine and low temperatures, and LOTS of hills. I feel really great about how I ran my race, as confirmed by the intense pain I now have in my legs. ;) On Friday, while cruising the expo, I chatted with a few people about the course and attended a talk given by Rod Dixon (amazing runner), during which I became less and less confident about my assessment of the hills. The following sentence from the website, "The Royal Victoria Marathon is a beautiful, seaside course with lots of mild undulations, but with a maximum elevation change of only 74 feet.," was looking more and more like a marketing department invention, so I signed up for the bus tours. Marathon bus tours can be depressing and I tend to avoid them. I am SO glad I took this one. Hills, hills, hills. Most of them really were quite gentle - though not all! - and I knew they would take a toll. While running I counted 5 hills that made me say a bad word, 4 of which had to be run again on the way back to the finish. But because of the bus tour, I knew what to expect, and adjusted my goals, my effort level and my "state of mind." I will only say this last thing about the hills - even with all the hill running I do, the hills took their toll... However! I really could feel the strength from my training. I passed people on every single hill, even when I slowed down at the end! I don't have Garmin mile splits to share, except to say that I was right on target (between 9:00 & 9:20) when I was not climbing a hill, until about mile 18 when things started to hurt. At that point I started clocking 10:00's and 10:15's. Before the start, I decided to hit "lap" every time I walked through a water stop (and "lap" again when I started running), and in the last few miles when I had to add some additional walks. So my mile splits will require a lot of math to figure out. But it gives me some data I will be able to use in the future. Sorry this is such a disjointed report. I haven't gone to lunch yet and I keep pausing to chat w/ AuntieEm, who is here in our hotel room. So fun to see her! I had a great time today! The last 5 miles were very difficult and painful (and slow), but I am extremely happy with how I ran today. This is a gorgeous course, with nice volunteers, and good course support. The expo was not great, but the speakers were. I'll come back with splits later if I figure them out... Off to get food!! Ouch! :D More details about the race…
The course began on one side of the ornate, palace-like Parliament Building, and wound around through downtown Victoria and the "Inner Harbor" waterfront, eventually coming out towards the shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. But just before we arrived at the sea, the course made a detour into Beacon Hill Park, which was absolutely beautiful: huge trees, ponds, fountains, statues, and peacocks (though I only saw them on the bus tour). We ran two loops in the park (picture eye glasses) and came back out to arrive at the shore of the strait around mile 5. During this section, I did not look at the Garmin at all, a choice about which I am very pleased. Now I know exactly what an easy, warm up pace is when I am in the excitement of a marathon race day, and running up and down hills: 9:59, 9:54, 9:45, 9:04, 9:29.
Next, we ran along the water, downhill into a bay, uphill out of the bay onto a sort of headland, and down again into another small bay. Partway into the bay, the course turns inland to the charming town of Oak Bay. Here we ran a series of long gradual hills, with a shorter steeper hill at the highest point on the course. I still felt very strong through here, but I took it easy knowing I would see all these hills in reverse on the return trip. Oak Bay is a really charming residential area with lots of interesting homes and huge oak trees lining the streets. We came back to the seaside at about 17K; I don't remember what mile that was, but I was trying to do the conversions in my head (the course was marked in kilometers, Canadian you know) to avoid Garmin gazing. After a while, I just started thinking in kilometers and subtracting every K marker from 42: OK, almost to the halfway point. I had the pleasure of seeing the elites on their return, with a young Kenyan far into the lead. I was still only walking at the water stops, and hitting "lap" before and after walking so that I could know my run paces (not all of these are full miles because of the water stops coming in the middle of miles): 9:29, 9:09, 9:26, 9:14, 9:13, 9:13, 9:17. (Not bad considering the hills!)
Emerging back onto the shoreline, we ran up another hill to a headland, and back down to the actual bay of "Oak Bay," where the course was noticeably flat for a while! Past a lovely marina and parks. Then we ascended again and ran inland a bit, through a neighborhood of $10+ million homes, inland farther to the turnaround, and then retraced our course back towards Oak Bay. The turnaround came right after the 23K mark; that's about 14.3, but I miscalculated and thought I was at around mile 16. So when I glanced at the Garmin to get an idea of how I was doing, I became quite confused. About that time, I was also experiencing some dizziness (this has happened to me in marathons before), so I pulled back just a little and walked, thinking maybe I was in some kind of trouble. I soon realized my mistake, felt "stable" again, and kept running. I remember playing a game in this section, to see how many trees I could name. They were so beautiful and huge: oak, sycamore, blue spruce, cedar, and madrona were most common. The non-walking splits for this section were: 9:29, 9:07, 9:20, 9:26, 9:17, 9:12.
Eventually we had to return inland and retrace our steps back through Oak Bay village, the high point on the course. By the time I came back out to the shoreline, I had hit mile 18 and my legs were starting to feel rubbery. I could tell I was slowing down. Dang. The course does not return through Beacon Hill Park, however, so the last 5K follow the waterfront around the last headland and back around to the Parliament Building and the Inner Harbor. I am disappointed that I had to add so many short little walks through here, but at least I was still feeling positive and forcing myself not to let things fall apart too much. Keep moving forward! My mind dwelt on how lucky I am to have discovered a sport I love and to be able to enjoy it even when I am hurting. At around 40K I thought I might be hallucinating: there were about a dozen 70+ y.o. ladies in poodle skirts cheering us on. A couple of unwelcome short inclines near the finish, and I was finally seeing the finish line! There was my family. :) Last eight miles (in pieces): 9:50, 9:30, 9:51, 10:00, 10:15, 10:15, 10:02, 10:22, 10:43, 10:19
I believe that my legs felt worse at the finish than any other marathon I have run, but the comparison may be biased by that trick the brain plays of not letting us remember the worst. In any case, I was in a great deal of pain and shaking with weakness. The volunteers were wonderful. My family was wonderful, And there was AuntieEm - she was wonderful too! We all sat on the grass for a few minutes; Mr. Sno had to lower and raise me. Ouch, ouch, ouch! And I do it - for fun! LOL
Monday morning... I slept quite poorly last night, since my sore legs and abs screamed at me every time I moved. Before bed, we spent some time at the hotel pool and I went back and forth between the hot tub and the relatively cold pool. Perhaps that helped a bit, I don't know. I feel great about how I ran and how strong I felt most of the race. I am pretty sure I could have stayed closer to (if not on) my marathon pace if the course had been flat or even less hilly. That's all right. I have no regrets. This has been a very happy weekend and a great race experience. When I think of how awful I felt before my taper, how discouraged and self-deprecating - I am overjoyed about this experience and all I have learned. I cannot wait to start running and training again. I am looking at Newport Marathon for June 5, but honestly - must I wait that long to have another marathon? No! I cannot. I'll have a look around at my late-winter, early-spring options and see what might fit. Many, many thanks to Sean Sundwall, for getting me stronger with that training plan; I will continue to use those workouts as I pursue my goals.
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 26.20 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I miss running. A lot. However... it is so nice to: sleep in, miss out on the downpour, see my full collection of Smartwool socks clean and ready in the drawer, not panic at 9 PM if I'm not ready for bed, dream and scheme about hard workouts instead of doing them, and just feel guilt-free about laziness. I am going to run again as soon as I can descend stairs with a normal step and without pain. Another 24 hours I hope. All of you who bounce right back into running (or at least a slow jog) are amazing to me. | |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 1.85 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.85 |
| High 50sF, very windy. Clouds are moving in but there were some brilliant constellations still showing. Objective: test the legs. 20 min. core & upper body. The lights are on but nobody's home... No strength whatsoever in the legs. But no soreness either. I had a feeling that might be the case, but I had to get out there and try it. So I dressed for walking (warmer clothes) and just enjoyed the fresh air. I jogged for little 1 block intervals and walked a lot. | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.23 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.23 |
| 53F, light showers. Slow run, walked the steep hills. Recovery continues. Gorgeous fall colors; I wish October lasted longer. | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.56 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.56 |
| 43F, mostly clear; saw a shooting star. I'm still tired and slow, but it's nice to have "permission" to run like a beginner for a little while. Getting up early was hard -- I've been spoiled by the taper and recovery weeks. That won't be any fun to redevelop. I signed up for the Napa Valley Marathon, March 7. That will give me a tasty little "tide over" before Newport in June, and I'll have the opportunity to visit with my sisters who live in the Bay Area. Eight months to wait for Newport felt like eight years. I think I could use a little extra motivation during the winter months, and an opportunity to see how I'm progressing. Besides, they give out awesome stuff: in addition to the cool shirt and medal you get a great duffle bag stuffed with goodies. Dean Karnazes will be the main speaker at the expo along with several others. | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.62 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.62 |
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54F, cloudy. A bit of wind, a few drops of rain. The predicted downpour never came. Mentally, I am ready to get back to my usual mileage, but my legs are just not back from their holiday. After a long, sluggish warm up, I started feeling fairly good -- but the stopwatch does not lie. Sloooooww. The Cat Who Must Be Obeyed popped out of my neighbors' shrubbery and nearly tripped me. I am sure he thought that was great fun, because when the attack did not produce the desired outcome (ie me sprawled across the sidewalk) he proceeded to wind his body around and around my feet when I tried to walk, purring his head off. I did make it home vertical. Ah, there is the sound of heavy rain now. Well, that was nicely timed for me. |
| Lunaracers II Miles: 3.62 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| 44F, mostly clear and starry. Easy run, last mile and a half with SnoFlake. 15 min. strength & stretching. All of a sudden, the legs felt very good today. What a relief; I was beginning to wonder if they'd ever come back. Garmin 405 users - have you ever had a problem with the contact points for recharging the watch? Every now and then I have had to fiddle with mine quite a bit to make it happy. Evidently, I didn't quite get it right yesterday and was greeted by a blank watch face this morning. So I used an iPhone app called Allsport GPS this morning. Very cool program. Mr. Sno does all his runs with this app. I loved the elevation and map features. They make my runs look a lot harder than they are. Macho points for me. ;) | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.68 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.68 |
| 42F, mostly cloudy with patchy fog. Lots of gorgeous fall colors. Club run. I had a great time running with MSRC folks along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. It is absolutely beautiful this morning, for us cloud/fog lovers. Such vivid colors. We had a pretty good turnout for the club run today, so I enjoyed the larger group - good conversation and lots of variety as we constantly changed pairings along the trail. One of the runners today was a woman who lives near me and has started organizing some weekday group runs. (I believe I blogged about running with them briefly a couple of weeks before my marathon.) I am looking forward to running more often with them when my recovery is complete (they are fast). On Sundays they do some interesting trail runs around here (Rattlesnake Lake to North Bend, Snoqualmie to Fall City via the Falls, etc.). I'd love to have some buddies to run those trails. | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.06 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.06 |
| I have to be at home the next couple of mornings (long story), so it's the dreadmill for me. Ug. Do you believe me that I would really rather be out in that pouring rain, doing "real" running? lol |
| Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 5.06 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.37 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.37 |
| Last day on TM. :) | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.17 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.17 |
| 40F, raining, wind 10-15 mph. (Smartwool alert.) Easy run. So great to be outside again! I was able to leave the house a little later than usual this morning, so I even got to run in daylight the last 3 miles or so. This was my longest run since the marathon and everything feels great. Onward! |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 8.17 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.20 |
| 56F, cloudy, wind 15mph w/ gusts. Easy run. That's a huge jump in temperature from yesterday, so I was lucky to miss the earlier rain. (Can't wear a jacket at that temp.) Kept it short due to a busy morning and my plans for a long run tomorrow (first real long run since the marathon). | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 14.06 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 16.06 |
| Low 50sF, mostly cloudy, windy (10-20 mph). Endurance run + club run. Late for club = 2 miles at accidental-marathon-pace. Seeing as how I haven't been under an 11:00 min. pace since the marathon 3 weeks ago, it's pretty amazing to me that this run was so fast (pretty much 10:30 and under the whole time, except for coming up the Parkway). I was late for the club run because I couldn't figure out what the weather was doing and I kept changing my mind about wardrobe. So I let myself just have 1 mile at 12:00 and then let it rip down the Parkway. Near the bottom, with 2 miles to go until the club meetup spot, I realized I still didn't have time to make it -- hence the 2 marathon pace miles. The whole way I was thinking it was pretty stupid of me to spend so much energy that early, but I figured I would accept the consequences happily as long as I could make it through at least 12 miles today. At the club run, I paired up with a lady who is much faster than I am, but wanted to run with me anyway. I sped a little for her, and she slowed down a little for me, and we both had a fine ~6 miles together. We stayed at about a 10:15 pace, which is faster than what I've been doing the past 3 weeks, and it felt great. Heading back up the Parkway (The Leg Builder, formerly known as The Spirit Crusher) is when I really paid for my somewhat reckless behavior, and I had to walk the steepest parts. For all my changes of clothing, I still was not dressed quite right. But other than that it was a fantastic run. My legs feel great and the autumnal world is very beautiful right now. I sure do love running. And hey, I'm having a birthday soon. I won't say when, because I don't care to post my date of birth on the internet. But within a short time I will be 51 years old - and I'm a runner! Ha! |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 16.06 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| Low 40s F, sunny, wind 5-10 mph. Recovery run. Legs are a little sore, in a nice way. It's great to be back on "real" time instead of that odious, absurd, irritating, illogical (for my latitude), loathsome, despicable daylight savings time. Not that I am bitter. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 5.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.31 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.31 |
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49F, breezy (5-15 mph) w/ pretty stratocumulus clouds. Easy run. 20 min. strength. Did you know there is a website for Cloud Appreciation Society? What an incredible world. I stumbled across it while trying to find the name for these clouds that were out today. 
How to hate the time change, even though I prefer fall back to spring forward. It shouldn't be that difficult. Set each clock back one hour. However... You see, we have this grandfather clock that stops chiming at night. (Very handy.) When I set it back yesterday, the little bolt that holds the hands on must have fallen off, because it was still at 9:30 AM when it was mid-afternoon. I found the bolt, found the problem, and moved the hands forward to the correct time. (Insert smack on forehead here.) Just because the hands weren't tracking due to a missing bolt doesn't mean the clock wasn't keeping time. So as I moved the hands to their "proper" place I was actually setting the clock several hours forward. At about 3 AM, the clock thought it was morning and... started chiming! Out of bed I go to turn off the chime, not really knowing why it is chiming in the middle of the night. Then I lay there trying to get back to sleep and wondering why why why... Round 2. Background: I gave Mr. Sno a very snazzy alarm clock for xmas a couple of years ago, thinking he would enjoy this cool high tech thing. But he doesn't. In fact, it is a completely non-intuitive piece of garbage and has given the poor man endless trouble, but I think he's too polite to throw it out the window. You need PhD's in engineering and psychology to operate his clock. Just as I was (finally) drifting back, Mr. Sno's clock starts up with its chime. "No way." Time: 4:05 AM. Sure enough, the clock had sensed a lack of PhD in its operator and had reverted to Revenge Mode, going off at whatever time would be least convenient. By 4:45 I was still half awake and horribly tired. I want a do-over. But I'll have to wait until tonight. I think I may go to bed on the old time and try again tomorrow.
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 4.31 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.83 | 0.00 | 1.50 | 1.00 | 8.33 |
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42F, a few high clouds, patchy fog, lots of moonlight. General aerobic run, turned into unplanned speed work... I met up with some friends after about 5 miles of easy running. They were running up the Parkway and I went with them. (That's the Leg Builder Hill, only heading farther up, away from the direction I usually go on it. One could run over 3 miles total on that hill bottom to top.) These women are all faster than I am, but I figured it would be a Good For You experience. By the time we were halfway up the hill, I was in total oxygen debt. They weren't even working hard, chatting away like they had all the oxygen they could possibly want. >:( We ran a mile like that (my VO2 mile) and then I saw the time, panicked a little, and had to hurry back towards home. Calculating distances in my head, I became more and more concerned about the time. That became a mile and a half at about tempo pace. Well, I was thinking of doing some speed work this week anyway. The Turkey Trot is a week from Saturday. I figured I had better remind my lungs what "fast" is supposed to feel like. So I guess I can check that off. The rest of my week can just be nice easy miles. Abs & pushups later.
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 8.33 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| With 40-50 mph winds hitting the house all night, I made an executive decision at about 4 AM to switch this week's day off from Friday to today. I'm still pretty sleepy, but I figure 9 hours of broken sleep is better than 7. Did 20 minutes of strength work, mostly for morale. :) | |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.78 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.78 |
| Published on Friday by mistake at first... so thanks to those who left their comment on my Friday page. What a mess... Low 50sF, mostly cloudy, wind increasing (0-15 mph) during run. Easy run, w/ 1 mile at MP. (2 other miles MP+20-30 seconds) Last 2 miles on the TM. 10 min. abs & pushups. More unscheduled speed work as I met up with the running ladies again at mile 5. We didn't run the Parkway thank goodness, so with a bit less challenging terrain it was "only" marathon pace without the searing oxygen debt. Some of these runners are from my club, including the leader of the group, and some are just other friends of hers. Now that I'm on their email list I can find out where/when they are running and join them when I can. But when I get back on my official training schedule I may not run with them very often; I can only take so much fast running per week. ;) Audiobook recommendation: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, read by the author. This is a fascinating study of how/why people success or fail to succeed apart from innate talent. I absolutely loved this book and will probably listen to it again soon. It's a "can't put it down" kind of book, which is less common in nonfiction. The chapter about plane crashes was downright shocking. The book will change the way I view many things in life. The author's narration is very pleasant and clear; I'm glad they didn't bring in an actor to read it. I have enjoyed all of Gladwell's books, but I think this one is my favorite.
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 9.78 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.47 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.47 |
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Let's see if I can do this.... I am about to move this entry into Thursday, where it belonged -- so I hope I don't mess up the system here. (Lights throughout Snoqualmie go dark ala Pink Panther movie...) Okie dokie! Now it really is Friday. I'm here, and I went running. It was chilly and windy with a few sprinkles. About 4 miles solo, then a little farther with SnoFlake. Did some strength work afterwards. Today's motto: no "slow" is too slow.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 20.15 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.15 |
| Low 40s, with all kinds of weather during my run: light rain, heavy rain, hail, wind, calm, and even a bit of blue sky at one point. Objective: endurance run, club run, and 1.75 miles on the Leg Builder Hill. Had a great run today. I was dressed well for the changing weather conditions, which didn't bother me until a really big increase in rain & wind just as I was climbing the L.B. Total car wash. At first I was feeling pretty macho and singing along with my tunes at full blast. But then my feet got wet and the inevitable self-pity over came me for a while. I hate wet feet. The BEST part of the run was doing a few miles with Jefferey and his friend. Jeff, it was lots of fun to run with you guys and thanks so much for sticking with my slow pace!! Jeff has relatives in North Bend so we even got an extra water stop.
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 20.15 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.55 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.55 |
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42F, light rain, ending after 4 miles. Recovery run. Tired, slow, but relaxed run. Edit: I forgot to go back to my habit of weekly summary, which I planned to do this week. So here is the Monday to Sunday report: total 50.2 miles
Mon 4.31
Tue 8.33 w/ 1 mi V02 & 2 mi T
Weds off
Thur 9.78 w/ 1 mi MP
Fri 5.47
Sat 20.15
Sun 5.55 easy |
| Lunaracers II Miles: 5.55 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.10 |
| 48F, pt cloudy, very windy (average 21 mph, gusts to 35). Nice sunrise. General-aerobic run, moderate pace. 20 min. strength. We are having one of the wind storms for which this neighborhood is famous. I tried to run my east-bound routes on the more sheltered streets and had a great time getting pushed by the wind going west. North and south were unpredictable swirls and gusts. I can't seem to get all my hair to stay under my cap, and my eyes watered a lot, but other than that I had a lot of fun. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 8.10 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
| 43F, cloudy, w/ rain last mile. Easy run. I felt quite sluggish this morning, so it was a real shock to see the Garmin read 7.69 miles. "That can't be right." Sure enough, two of my mile splits were under 4 minutes. Right. The watch I originally bought broke at the buckle last winter, so it was replaced. I'm not sure how many new watches one warranty will cover. The second watch is less than a year old, however. I guess I will stop by REI and inquire today. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| We dined out with friends last night and something did not agree with me. Very little sleep and a war zone in my guts. As much as I dislike afternoon runs I'm hoping I can put in a few miles before dinner tonight if I'm feeling better. :( | |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.50 |
| Hello Time-Travelers! Here is my Friday run; see Friday's log for the Thursday run. I know it's only November, but I'm planning my New Years resolutions: #1, Know which day of the week it is... 37F, raining, wind 10-20 mph. 20 min. core & upper body. Today was scheduled as a day off before I was forced to take Wednesday off. I'm running a 5K tomorrow morning (Saturday, not Friday - see paragraph 1) and I just wanted enough of a run to get the blood flowing and burn a few calories. It feels really chilly out. |
| Lunaracers II Miles: 2.50 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.10 |
| 35F, mostly clear, light breeze. General-aerobic run. Chilly morning! Measured my distance with the gps function on my iPhone. I won't have the replacement Garmin until next week. Thanks for all the good wishes yesterday when I felt ill. It was definitely food, since I'm 100% today. In a hurry this morning.... cheers! | |
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| | Race: |
Turkey Trot (3.1 Miles) 00:25:09, Place in age division: 2 | | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 1.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.10 | 4.40 |
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Let's cut to the chase... 
Yesterday afternoon, we had a completely unexpected snowstorm for about an hour. To my horror (and I'm sure to Sean's as well - he's our race director), a bit of snow still lay on the lawns early this morning, and the roads were a sheet of ice. Temperature at 6:30 AM, 33F. (At the gun, high 30sF.) It was too icy to safely walk the course at 8:00 AM, let alone run, and the kids' race was to start at 9. The road was literally covered with black ice. Sean chose to delay all races by 30 minutes to allow Mr. Sunshine to do his job. (Thank you, Sean!!!) Eventually the morning warmed up and off we went. The first 2 miles were filled with thoughts that went something like this: "I hate this. Why do I do this? I am miserable. I can't breathe." Yes, I had warmed up. And yes, I always feel that way in a 5K. Really, I don't know how you guys who do 5Ks all the time can stand it. It was tempting to think, "I just need to be in better shape." But that won't hold water. No matter what shape I am in, if I am trying to run the fastest pace I can keep up for 3 miles, I will always feel this way. And so, finally, acceptance and peace.... and just 1 mile to go. In this final mile we encountered the only ice left on the course, on a wooden bridge going through some shaded woods. Just a little slow down there. The course was very good. I love the changes Sean made since the St. Paddy's run in March. The race goes through my own home turf, all the streets and trails I know so well. Very, very hilly, but a nice distribution of up and down, with at least 200 yards of down/flat at the start and a down hill finish. There was a very large field of runners this year. I kept seeing people I know, which is very unusual for me. I had the pleasure of seeing a woman I used to work with, whom I have not seen for about 13 years! A very close friend of mine has returned to running (yay!) and was there with her family. The best thing was seeing all the Mt. Si Running Club runners, most of us standing out in our fluorescent green/yellow shirts. I've never known so many runners in a race before. I hoped to beat my St. Paddy's time of 26:02, so I am extremely happy with my race. Although I ran today's course faster than the St. Paddy's last March, the competition today was steeper. But I still got a trophy! I LOVE THAT. It really does make the memory of suffering diminish every time I look at it. Post Script, Sunday morning: Results are online, so the finish time is now correct. Average page was 8:07 -- on hills, that means that some of my running was sub 8!!! (insert happy dance) I. Am. Thrilled!
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 4.40 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 10.97 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.97 |
| 42F, rain & wind. Objective: recover from Fast, enjoy some Slow. I love Smartwool. All 12 of my fast twitch muscle fibers were sore and cranky today, but the faithful slow twitch majority wanted to go running. I thought I might be able to get as many as 15 or 16 miles in today but it stopped being fun so I came home. There are still lots of gorgeous fall colors out there, though most deciduous branches are now bare. I saw a blue jay; we don't get too many of those. Monday to Sunday weekly summary
Total 39.07 miles (So low. Will try to bring it up again.)
8.1
6
off (not feeling well)
7.1
4.4 w/ 5K race
10.97
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 10.97 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.38 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.38 |
| 52F, rain, wind ~10 mph w/ gusts to 23. Objective: easy/recovery. Legs are sore. The streets were dry this morning and it was a balmy 52, but I saw the storm coming on the Doppler. How fast was the storm coming, could I risk leaving off the jacket, would the jacket be too warm for this temperature, and could I get in 5 miles before the storm arrived? Too much for my brain at that hour. Mile 2, the rain started coming down and I was not dressed for it. I decided to just head back towards my house but keep running around the immediate neighborhood, so that when the fun-o-meter dropped to a certain level I would turn in. I made it to about 4 miles and finished on the dreadmill. | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.41 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.41 |
| 42F, heavy rain, windy in open spaces. Objective: general-aerobic run. GARMIN IS BACK! :D Core and pushups afterwards. I think I would be a perfect candidate for hypnosis. Throughout the night I was awakened by the pouring rain, and I saw it out the window when I got up, but the Doppler showed the storm ending soon. Good enough for me! I dressed well for the downpour and spent the whole run cheerfully thinking, "it's going to end any minute now!" I think it lightened up a bit in my last mile, and actually stopped about 15 minutes after I came in, totally soaked of course. Mental attitude is an amazingly powerful force. I had a great run. The fun-o-meter only dipped once at the beginning of the run: my shoes were still dry at that point and I stepped off the curb into a puddle of cold water. I know that puddle and usually avoid it successfully. Gr. But as it turned out I was in full squish mode by the end of the second mile so it didn't matter. Too bad I didn't have time to stay outside long enough for the storm to end. I really wanted some more miles but was out of time, so -- last 3 miles on the Dreadmill in VFFs. For my future reference and the benefit of anyone who might be interested, the perfect low 40s-and-pouring-rain outfit: Smartwool socks, Sugoi thermal running tights, Smartwool top, Polartec mid-weight half zip top over the Smartwool, Cycling jacket, gortex cap, gloves, unmentionables. |
| Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 3.00 | Brooks ST3 II Miles: 6.41 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.15 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.15 |
| 37F, rain for first 3 miles, then it stopped and the stars came out. Wind 4-8 mph w/ gusts to 17. Easy run w/ form drills. Short on time. I'll have to catch up on everyone's blogs later. :) |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 6.44 | Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 1.71 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 10.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.10 |
| 44F, raining, wind 10 mph w/ gusts to 25. 4 miles easy, 4 miles moderate (9:30-10:00 pace), 2 miles easy. Had to finish on the dreadmill, so I ran last .75 barefoot. You know how the Eskimos supposedly have dozens of words for "snow." I think I am developing dozens of words/phrases for rain drops. Today was a combination of medium-light, sideways medium, annoyingly-soft shower head and dense straight-falling medium. Oh, and I found a new puddle spot on Hoff Ave. Said a bad word. |
| BF Miles: 0.75 | Brooks ST3 II Miles: 9.35 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 20.14 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.14 |
| 38F-40F, mostly dry w/ a few light showers, except for downpour at about miles 15-17. Objectives: endurance, club run, & Leg Builder Hill (miles 12-14). Great run. Really beautiful morning by my standards. ;) |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 20.14 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.06 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.06 |
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40F, raining, with occasional icy pieces in it. Objective: recovery run. Legs are a little sore. I can't remember when was the last time I wore my "normal" trainers, before today. The less I wear them, the more they feel like blocks of wood. I think I may be better off retiring them altogether. My feet have come to love the flexibility and lightness of my various racing shoes. The trainers seems to put all kinds architecture between me and the street. It was somewhat annoying. Edit: Almost forgot - weekly summary for Mon-Sun
TOTAL 58.24
Mon 5.38
Tue 9.41
Wed 8.15
Thu 10.1
Fri off
Sat 20.14
Sun 5.06
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.47 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.47 |
| 42F, light rain. General-aerobic run. 20 min. strength. Great run, in spite of the Doppler Betrayal. When I look at the Doppler image online, I can usually tell what's out there and what's coming, at least for the next hour. I reinforce my personal weather forecast by comparing it with the hourly predictions on weather.com and wunderground.com. Today I was so sure the light rain was coming to an end that I chose a fleece top and no jacket. Bad news, I got very wet. Good news, this particular fleece top is extremely warm and there was little or no wind. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 8.47 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 37F. Light showers. White stuff everywhere. Sticks on feet. Chairs that float through the air. | |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.83 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.83 |
| 47F. Clear, wind 10 mph. Easy run. 20 min. strength. It's neither wet, very cold, nor terribly windy. I hardly know where I am. I kept it easy today, since I'm pretty worn out from skiing yesterday. Fortunately, running uses such a different set of muscles. I did cross paths at one point with The Ladies Who Run Really Fast. I didn't want to be rude, and they all recognized me (or perhaps my headlamp), so I tried to join them. Hahaha. That didn't work. Fortunately I was thinking of stopping at the bathroom anyway, so I said my goodbyes and veered off after a couple of blocks. I'm looking forward to a stronger, longer run tomorrow. In daylight! |
| Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 3.83 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 11.44 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 11.44 |
| 45F, rain showers and patchy fog. General-aerobic run. There were LOTS of runners out today. I guess everyone wants to put a dent in the calories that will come later. The neighborhood was full of cooking smells. Someone near Azalea Park is baking bread. My legs felt extremely sluggish today, leftover from Tuesday I guess. Have a very happy Thanksgiving! |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 11.44 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 18.68 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 18.68 |
| 40F, cloudy, with a light misty rain during 1st and last 4 miles. Endurance run, club run, and Leg Builder Hill. I ran around my own neighborhood for a while, then down the Parkway to the club run. Old Snoqualmie and part of the Snoq. Valley Trail, then back up the hill and through Deer Park, then home. I was the only woman at our running club this week. At first, it looked like there was no one to run with at my pace, but I fell in step with this one guy, a man who is fairly new to the club. He was going pretty slowly, but that seemed like a good idea for today. We ran together for about 3.5 miles. During the last mile he was getting faster and faster, to the point where I was approaching my marathon pace to keep up with him. He always seemed to be a little ahead, so I was chatting with the back of his shoulder and trying to keep up. At the end of the run he said, "great to run with you - I never would have gone that fast without you." I was too shocked to make my snappy retort fast enough, but maybe I'll say something if he comes again. Tomorrow is the Seattle Marathon, and it looks like they might get dry weather this year. I am so very glad not to be running it, as always. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 18.68 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I've spent the past 48 hours trying not to have a cold. I think I'm winning. :) On Saturday night I suddenly had a very bad feeling in the back of the roof of my mouth and was sneezing like crazy. So I launched Project Immune Strength (vitamins C & D, peppermint tea, and a protein snack - not in that order) and went to bed at 8 PM. I spent most of Sunday on the couch wrapped in wool, but not enjoying it as much as one thinks one would when one can't. (Did that make sense?) At night I produced an artificial (virus killing) fever by sitting in the 104F hot tub for 20 minutes. Things were looking good. I thought I might run this morning until Mr. Sno gave me a rare admonition (he normally stays pretty quiet about my health choices) to give it one more day. Early to bed, hoping he was wrong, but at 5 this morning it did seem like a bad idea. Still had the weird post-nasal pain thing. Other than the general I-miss-running factor, what really ticks me off is that yesterday was mild, calm and dry weather. And today is mild, calm, dry weather. Could this not happen to me when the gales are blowing?!? No, that's not a request, Powers That Be. Just saying. Well, the main point of my long non-run blogging here is to say that this little routine of mine really works and if you start to get a cold I highly recommend it! Although I've missed two runs and spent one day on the couch, I feel pretty good today and I have not had to carry a tissue box by my side at all. You have to include the usual vitamin C, rest and fluids, but add to that 6,000-8,000 IU of vitamin D3 throughout the day, eat no sugar, drink peppermint, chamomile or ginger tea, and increase your protein. Stay very warm and humidify your room if possible. C'est tout. Dr. Sno hopes to be running again tomorrow. | |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.04 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.20 | 6.24 |
| 39F, partly cloudy w/ full moon poking through. Calm & dry. Easy 3 miles, then hill repeats (4 x 1 min w/ 2 min recov., 15-17% grade), then another easy 3. 10 min. core & pushups. Other than being a little tired and having to blow my nose a few times, I felt pretty good today. I adjusted my scheduled hill repeats to 4 instead of 6 and didn't push to the maximum, as a concession to any lingering threat of illness. I found a new hill for my repeats, just as steep as Leg Builder but located on a quiet street. (Sean and Jeff, it's the very tail end of Douglas Ave., where it is no longer an arterial.) The odd thing was, I had an audience for a while. This guy was standing in his front window, seemingly watching me go up and down, up and down. "Hasn't he got anything better to do? Or is he watching the full moon set?" Just before the last rep, as it was shifting from amusing to annoying, his carpool picked him up and all was explained. Well, he'd better get used to it, because I thought it was a great spot for hill work and I'll be back. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 6.24 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.77 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.77 |
| 27F, clear & starry. Icy in places. Easy run w/ faster last mile. 20 min. weights & stretching. I confess I really doddled getting out the door this morning. I think somewhere in the back of my mind it seemed like a dangerous outing for a person with sniffles. But it was fine once I got going and warmed up. To ponder... when I stopped at the bathroom I noticed that the skin on my legs was freezing cold. Does that affect the muscles? I did feel slow today and would love to blame it on the weather. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 5.77 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.76 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 9.76 |
| 40F, mostly clear, wind 13 mph w/ gusts to 30 mph (wind chill 33F). Tempo run: 3.75 warm up w/ hill pushes, 3 miles @ tempo (various paces due to hills and wind), remainder cool down + 2 miles on the dreadmill. 10 min abs & pushups after. My tempo run went pretty well, considering the conditions, terrain, and my lingering mucus issues. This is the first tempo run I've done since September, so I only ran 3 LT miles instead of the 4 I'll do next time. I felt good and was able to push hard. I kept the pace pretty close to 8:30 on the flats and downhills, but occasionally it climbed to 8:50 if I was going into the wind. Definitely over 9:00 on the uphills, but I no longer want to loop around and around the only flat streets in the neighborhood just so I can see a consistent number on the Garmin. I feel like I do all right if I start on relative flatness to get a feel for the pace, and then go wherever I want to go. I'm childish that way. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 7.71 | Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 2.05 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 21.22 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 21.22 |
| 28F, rising to 35. Calm, clear and frosty. Endurance run, club run, Leg Builder Hill. When my running club buddies turned back on the SV Trail, I decided to keep going. It seemed like a good idea at the time. In hindsight, it was too much... gravel. I turned up the Mt. Si Road and ran a few miles, then turned around and faced the long 10 miles home. Since most of my Mt. Si Road mileage was on the shoulder, that made about 12 miles of running on gravel and piercing little rocks. Too much. Note to self, don't do that. Anyway, it just tired me out. At around mile 14 I felt all the powers of Gravity and then some. Going up the Parkway after so many miles was a practice session for pushing through fatigue. Right now I feel totally worn out. I'm going to eat some more, take a shower, and see if I can manage the Christmas shopping I had planned. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 21.22 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.20 |
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30F, overcast and calm. Icy. Recovery run. I drove the frighteningly icy road over Tiger Mountain early this morning to run with an old friend with whom I reconnected at the Turkey Trot in November. We ran the Cedar River Trail (asphalt surface). Great conversation and nicely matched paces. Despite feeling about 95 years old when I got out of bed this morning, my legs felt great and are not sore at all.
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Weekly Summary for Mon-Sun week
Mon out sick
Tues 6.24 w/ hill repeats
Weds 5.77
Thursday 9.76 w/ tempo
Fri off
Sat 21.22
Sun 5.2
Total: 46.14
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Total: 46.14
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.75 |
| 21F, windy at times (wind chill 13). Starry skies, deserted streets. Easy run. 20 min. strength work. Br. And it's supposed to get colder. I must find my balaclava. | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 10.05 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.05 |
| 19F, dry. General-aerobic run. Last 2 on TM. I am so glad that we haven't had a lot of moisture in the air or it would be super icy out there. I saw ice two times. Once was down by Stellar Park, where it looked like a fire hydrant had leaked. The sidewalk next to it had a solid layer of ice. The street, downhill from the hydrant, looked like the water had been spread all over the road by a street cleaner and was all glittering. An accident waiting to happen. I turned and went back the other way. The other place I saw ice was in the park bathroom. They used to heat these bathrooms, but maybe there are budget problems. Well, now I predict a plumbing problem. The toilet water was completely iced over and there was a 2 inch icicle hanging from the faucet. Too slow and late again today, hence a bit of TM running. :( I wonder if my layers of Smartwool and fleece are slowing me down. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 10.05 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.65 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.50 | 8.15 |
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17F, sunny. VO2 workout: 3 mile warm up, 5 x .5 mile @ 5K effort (on roads) w/ 3 min. recovery, cool down. 20 min. strength and stretching. We were planning a ski day before the area turned into Alaska. Though it's too cold to enjoy the slopes, Mr. Sno took the scheduled day off anyhow. (He has a use-it-or-lose-it vacation policy at work and has a few days to "spend" before the 31st.) After sleeping in (ahhhh), I had plenty of time to procrastinate before my run. It wasn't the cold so much as the workout that I dreaded. These speed sessions are so difficult for me. [Insert much whining here.] Again, I am so very glad that our humidity is low. No frost, no ice, great traction. Tis the season to be jolly! Oh, speaking of which, Mr. Sno found a hilarious (free) app for our iPhones that simulates the bell of a bell choir and rings out a Christmas song when you hold/move the phone like a bell. What a world.
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| Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 8.15 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.88 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.88 |
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20F, wind 5-10 mph, wind chill 13F, clear and starry w/ waning crescent moon. Very pretty morning. General-aerobic run. I decided to forgo my fleece "shorts," the layer I wear on top of my tights when it's this cold. It's actually a pair of fleece long-underwear that I cut just above the knee for greater leg flexion. (You can cut fleece any way you want without danger of fraying.) The skin on the front of my legs was so cold that it turned numb, but!... I got a little speed back, which felt great. So now my mind can't stop thinking of inventing some kind of fleece thing that would protect the front of the legs but not restrict movement - sort of like cowboy chaps for runners? Fortunately, we are supposed to warm up pretty soon. Christmas lights are everywhere now, and I'm really enjoying them. These displays make running in the dark so much more interesting.
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 9.88 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 18.44 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 18.44 |
| 25F, a little colder down in the valley. Endurance run. All the park bathrooms are now frozen. I was clever enough to find the neighborhood Honey Buckets, but not enough to think of - water! No one at the club run was running my pace today anyhow, so I just headed back up the Parkway and stopped by my home for a warm bottle. Ha. That sounded funny. It's interesting that the "bad" weather has honed our running club down to mostly men and fast people. I shall try not to feel too sorry for myself. Not feeling 100% today. Glad it was a short long run instead of a longer long run. ;) |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 18.44 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.11 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.11 |
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30F, cloudy. Recovery run. In the ongoing saga of the Frozen Park Bathrooms, today brought a promising new development. The "closed" signs were down, the water was running, and whirring away under the sink was a space heater! Other bathrooms I passed (but did not enter) were missing their "closed" signs as well. At last, a worthy expenditure of my tax dollars! Nice run. I'm calling it "recovery" but all the moving parts were in fine shape and I felt plenty of energy. I give the credit to my being able to sleep late today. Edited to add: Totals for Mon-Sun week:
Mon 7.75
Tue 10.07
Wed 8.15 w/ VO2: 5 x 800m repeats
Thu 9.88
Fri off
Sat 18.44
Sun 5.11
TOTAL 59.4 miles
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| Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 5.11 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.96 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.96 |
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33F, cloudy, occasional flake or two of snow falling, one heavy sleet shower for about 2 minutes, a bit of fog moving in. Ice and snow on ground. General-aerobic run. 20 min. weights. We got a little snow last night, and it was really slippery out there this morning, especially on the hills. I spent my run looking for the best traction and trying to stay vertical, but it was fun and I had plenty of energy. Some streets were terribly icy and I had to run on the grassy parking strip to survive, others were well sanded and clear with great traction. But my favorite were the few streets where a bit more snow built up and where it was flat. Just enough snow to be soft and have good traction, but not so much that you sink in as if it were sand, about 5/8of an inch. 33 degrees felt so nice after the cold air we've had to endure. I had holiday music going on my iPhone (Pandora) and the snow with the Christmas lights looked so beautiful. A really nice run.
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| Lunaracers II Miles: 7.96 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 10.07 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.07 |
| 39F, cloudy, wind 11mph, occasional light mist, slush on streets. Finished on TM in VFFs. Core & pushups. The noise of a storm woke me up last night and I got up to use the bathroom. Mr. Sno was standing outside our bedroom door looking down at the living room windows. "It's slushing hard," he said. I thought maybe I was dreaming. "It's slushing?" Sure enough, the windows on the east side of the house were plastered with a thick layer of slush that was sagging in waves and being replaced by new slush continually. The glow of our porch light came through, but the windows were opaque. By this morning the storm was past but most streets were covered with slush and it was piled up at the curbs. This presented somewhat of a challenge, as I had to find tire tracks to run in on the quiet streets, or watch out for the frequent cars on the better traction of the main roads. These main roads usually had a broad clear track in the middle with a 5 or 6 foot border of slush on either side, in which I frequently had to walk gingerly while waiting for cars to pass in the middle. I love my headlamp and reflective jacket! But slow going today. |
| Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 1.80 | Brooks ST3 II Miles: 8.29 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.11 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 9.11 |
| 42F, cloudy, wind 11 mph w/ gusts to 20. Tempo run: 3 E, 4 T on roads and hills (8:55, 8:36, 8:50, 8:49), 2+ E. 20 min. strength work. I managed to miss the rain by pure luck. Rain before and rain after, but no rain for me! 42F felt pretty warm. That is the first time we've been over 40 for quite a while. The splits aren't great but I have to give myself some credit for the hills and wind. Even so, I don't believe I was pushing myself as hard as I did on my tempo runs last summer. The pace without hills/wind today would probably have been 8:40 to 8:45, as opposed to the 8:30 I was shooting for last summer. Mile 2, the fastest mile, was mostly flat with a bit of downhill for a couple of blocks. I think I'll be ok relaxing a little on tempo runs for 2 reasons: the slightly slower pace gives me enough breath to make the work focus on lactate threshold more than VO2. In other words, legs more than lungs. I always felt there was very little difference between my VO2 workouts and my tempo runs last summer, except for the duration of agony. I liked thinking "this is like a 10K" instead of "this is like a 5K." The second reason it seemed like a better pace was that I really can make it through 4 miles without coughing up a lung afterward, and I can even believe that I will work up to longer distances. I think the continuous tempo run will be better for me. Last summer I had to break them up when I went over 4 miles. Please let me know if my thinking is in error here, blog-buddies. I don't want to cheat myself. I just want to be more clear about the objectives of these workouts and not see them all as the same torture just dressed up with different names. :) |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 9.11 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Had a great day of skiing at Stevens Pass. The snow was very good, except near the bottom where it had a little rain crust on it. I feel like I did squats all day. | |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.40 |
| 48F, mostly clear and starry, windy (11-15 w/ gusts to 25). Easy run. 20 min. strength, stretches, and Stick. Tired and very stiff today, but my running muscles felt ok. I just took it really easy and tomorrow I'm having a day off to make sure I'm fresh for a long run on Sunday. Have a great weekend, everyone! | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 19.10 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.10 |
| Mid to upper 40s F, light rain showers, windy (10 mph w/ gusts to 25). Endurance run with 19th mile at 8:55. The 19th mile was a bit too fast for the marathon pace it was supposed to be. I had a hard time settling into a 9:10 and kept getting panicky about not hitting it. I may have been reacting to the realization I had this morning of the Napa Valley Marathon being only 11 weeks away. For some reason I thought I had more time. And I hope to being skiing more regularly this season, which will cut into my running a bit. The goal for Napa is to at least run a PR (anything under 4:17), and hopefully get under 4:12 on my voyage towards a BQ (4:05) in June or in the fall. Sometimes I think I shouldn't even set these kinds of goals, but rather should just keeping working hard, enjoying my runs, and see what happens. Eventually I'll be so old that the BQ standard will be incredibly slow and all I really have to do is not slow down too much as I approach senility. :) Week summary for Mon-Sun: Mon 7.96
Tue 10.09
Wed 9.11 w/ 4 @ T
Thu ski day
Fri 7.4
Sat off
Sun 20.1
TOTAL 54.66 |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 20.10 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.51 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.51 |
| Mid 40s, cloudy with a little wind at times. Rain just stopped as I left home. 20 min. strength work. Yesterday afternoon and evening I was so sore and stiff from my run. I guess the MP mile took more than I expected it would. I had to take some ibuprofen before bed because I was so uncomfortable and feared losing sleep. But today's run was very pleasant, albeit slow. | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.98 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.98 |
| 33F, light drizzle and snow (depending on elevation) throughout neighborhood for the first 5 miles, then sun breaks and some F - (Smiley face) - G. Objective: General-aerobic run w/ Progression. Nice run. I had the idea of doing a progression run when I decided too much of my morning had gone by and I wanted to get home a bit sooner. Started out with a 12 minute mile, then into the 11s and the 10s and ran miles 6-9 at around 9:45. Cooldown mile at 11:30. Mr. Sno is off today, so 100% daylight for this runner - yay! And nine hours of sleep. :D We were going to ski, but the Cascades didn't get enough snow to cover the concrete that has formed from rainy days and icy nights the past few days. |
| Lunaracers II Miles: 9.98 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.97 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.49 | 6.46 |
| 33F, cloudy, occasional flake of snow falling, all is calm all is bright (new headlamp batteries). Objective: VO2 work (4 x 1K on roads/hills w/ 3 min recovery b/t). 20 min. strength and stretches afterwards. I have no idea what my pace was and I don't want to know. (Suppresses urge to stick tongue out.) Concentrated on sustained hard effort, good form, high cadence and try - oh try - to enjoy it a little.
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 6.46 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.78 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.78 |
| 32F, Clear and frosty. Objective: general aerobic run. Last mile on TM w/ VFFs. Ten minutes core, pushups and stretches. Merry Christmas! |
| Brooks ST3 Miles: 8.78 | Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 1.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 20.68 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.68 |
| Low to mid 40s F. Clear and HORRIBLY windy. 15-20 mph sustained and gusts to 40 mph. Objective: endurance run and club run. Fun-o-meter in danger today. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 20.68 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.28 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.28 |
| Low 40sF, clear, still very windy (20-40 mph). Objective: recovery run. I was pretty wiped out from yesterday's run, but recovery runs always seem to end up feeling better than I think they will. I was a bit of a wreck yesterday, and fell asleep on the couch for 1.5 hours in the afternoon. But that didn't stop me from sleeping over 9 hours last night! So my fun-o-meter was accurate - that was a hard run. Two days of gale force winds have taken their toll on the neighborhood lawn ornaments. Penguins, light-up deer, and inflatable Santas were strewn around like battlefield carnage. The last lawn penguin I came across this morning was upright, and his little flippers were held up high, ala marathon finish line, as if to proclaim, "I survived the wind!" Me too, but with a lot less gusto. MON-SUN WEEK SUMMARY
Mon 4.51
Tue 9.98
Wed 6.46 w/ 4 x 1K VO2
Thu 9.78
Fri off
Sat 20.68
Sun 5.28
TOTAL 56.69 |
| Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 5.28 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.11 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.11 |
| 40F, light rain showers, wind ~10-15 mph. Objective: easy run w/ 10 x 10 second hill sprints. 20 min. strength & stretching. Busy day! | |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.92 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.92 |
| 35F, breezy w/ occasional drizzle. Objective: easy run. 20 min. strength work. I spent the day skiing yesterday and consequently am extremely tired. Running felt good, but I definitely lacked energy. But it's nice to feel justified about moving slowly and just enjoy the mindless movement. |
| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 6.92 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.96 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.96 |
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40F, thin cloud layer w/ lots of moonlight coming in. (Blue moon tonight, second full moon in one month.) VERY slow run. Brief core workout w/ pushups. Legs? Hello? Hello? ....They're not home. Well, as lackluster as my last run of 2009 turned out to be, I am WAY over any previous year's mileage so I can sail into 2010 with my head held high. The highest annual mileage I ever had before was 1,924 and I'm over 2,400 for this year! I left an enthusiastic message about it for my legs, for whenever they decide to come back. ETA: just received this link to a video overview of SoftStar mocs that I wanted to share with you all: http://www.youtube.com/user/softstarshoes#p/a/u/0/LW6p2tVBwH4 These are the best!
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| Brooks ST3 II Miles: 6.96 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 2207.11 | 148.51 | 44.80 | 44.44 | 2444.86 |
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| Blue Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 11.54 | Red Nike Structure Triax 11 Miles: 250.73 | Nike Lunar Racer Miles: 174.99 | Nike Span 5 Miles: 12.70 | Blue Nike Triax 12 Miles: 446.24 | Brooks ST3 Miles: 716.02 | Saucony Progrid Ride Miles: 48.51 | Triax 12 II Miles: 102.00 | BF Miles: 4.48 | Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 15.19 | Brooks ST3 II Miles: 458.28 | Lunaracers II Miles: 116.63 | Softstar Moccasins Miles: 1.00 | Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 32.19 | Sockwa Aquasocks Miles: 1.00 | Saucony Fastwitch 3 Miles: 24.85 |
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