Immediately after the marathon we started talking about doing some smaller races on a regular basis, but it took us a while to kind of settle on a race and make the effort to sign up. There was one on my birthday at the end of October, but it was kind of soon after the marathon and we had other things planned for that day. And there was the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving but Kourt and I both had to work.
So we signed up for the Jingle Bell Run. My sister signed the three of us up and I didn't think a whole lot about it until yesterday, when we went to pick up our packets. Got a nice long sleeved shirt, and they had jingle bells for us (which was good, because we totally procrastinated on the "deck yourself out in holiday gear for the run" part).
When we got up this morning, it was 17 degrees out. I've never run in weather that cold. I put on the long sleeved shirt under my Chicago Marathon tee and then a hoodie over that, plus my earwarmer hat and a pair of gloves and hoped that would be warm enough. After all, it was only three miles and I was hoping it would be closer to the 30s by the time we started.
But no, it was somewhere around 22 degrees at race time. The first part of the route was all uphill and breathing in the sub-freezing air made it really hard to run. In the sun it wasn't too bad, but in shade it was seriously uncomfortably cold. Still, though, realizing that the sooner you get to the finish line the sooner you can feel heat is a pretty good motivator. I walked more than I wanted and didn't make my best time ever, but after all was said and done it was still pretty fun and my time wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. I even beat my sister across the finish line!
And then we went to IHOP and ate pancakes. :)
About Me
- Jaye
- I'm an artist, convenience store general manager, Nine Inch Nails fan, and hopeless internet addict. And now I'm a marathoner! Blogged By Jaye is my general-purpose blog, and Fat to Finish Line is my running journal. Occasional foul language included on both sites.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The photos...
Even in my short time of interacting with runners, I know it's a common complaint that it seems they never take good race photos. And, yeah, most of the pics of me from the marathon are, you know, nothing I'd pay money for a copy of. Either I look like I'm in pain, homicidal, really flabby, or like I just tripped on something. There's one pretty decent pic where I'm not only running but actually looking up and not glaring or grimacing. I might get a print of that one. And shadowy under-eye circles be damned, I do like the pic of me right after I got my medal, even if the medal is turned backwards. But I'm going to go ahead and put all the pics that I stole from the photo site (thus the watermarks) up here just because it really is an accurate depiction of how I felt the last half of the race.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Epilogue: And now?
Back in February, right after we signed up for the marathon, I posted a blog entry on my other blog about the 10 reasons I'd decided to do a marathon. So now that it's over, I thought it might be interesting to look back at my initial motivation and see how things turned out.
Why I did it:
1. For my health
In the end, I didn't end up losing as much weight as I thought I would during training. Actually, right at the end I even gained a handful of pounds. And that's okay. I think I finally realized that making sure I was getting enough fuel to get me through my runs was more important than the number on the scale. Going into race day I still didn't feel much like an athlete or even like I was in great shape necessarily, and I think I really expected to go into it feeling like the lone overweight person among tens of thousands of veteran runners. But I was wrong. All along the route I was passing people who looked to be thin and fit and well trained and I was getting passed by people who were heavier than me. I finished alongside a group of triathletes. My fitness level can't be judged by the size I wear or how I look in my yoga pants, and while that's sometimes hard to believe when you're in the gym surrounded by thinner, more muscular people, it's very apparent out on the marathon course.
2. Because distance walking is both challenging and enjoyable
Somehow this turned into a quest to learn to run. And that turned into a bit of a quest to find the same zen in running that I always got from walking. And in the end I'm not sure any of that was part of the reason I kept going. There were long, long stretches of the training runs and the marathon itself that were absolutely NOT enjoyable. It gets miserable. It gets really, really hard. There comes a point where you can't turn your brain off and you can't think of anything else but putting one foot in front of the other and making it to the end. But there's joy in that, too -- pushing through when it sucks and still making it to the end and realizing you did it and are still alive and kicking.
The weirdest thing I've realized in all this turns out to be that beyond it sometimes being a meditative activity, I'm actually kind of built for endurance events. I may not be the fastest, but I made it through this whole crazy thing without really hurting myself and I've recovered pretty quickly. It's kind of funny that after hating the idea of running my entire life, it turns out to be the one sport I'm cut out for.
3. Because it's totally personal
My thought when I started this whole thing was that this would be something I did for myself, by myself. It wasn't about anyone else, and only I could push myself through training and get myself to the finish line. And that is absolutely true. But I didn't do it in a vacuum, and part of what made me keep going was the fact that so many people were rooting for me to finish. Even the people cheering on the runners along the route were a big help, and I'm still really surprised at the enthusiasm of the people who were there to help and encourage. It helped to read some of the really funny signs (like "toenails are overrated" and "way to go, total strangers!" and the one that said "because 26.3 miles would be totally crazy") and hear people yelling for us right up until the end. All the people who came out and set up their own aid stations and had their garden hoses going to help us cool off, and even the people who had cookies and jello shots for the runners around mile 24 (I didn't partake, mostly because I didn't think my stomach would like it at that point, but it made me laugh). Even the other runners pushing each other along (when I was really struggling to keep going, another runner came up next to me and said, "cheer up, it's not like they shoot us if we don't finish!"). I don't know why it surprised me to suddenly feel like I was part of this huge community who really, really wanted to help everyone get to the same goal, no matter how long it took, but it really was surprising. I was amazed to see so many people stay out there on their lawns for seven hours waiting for the very last runner to go by. And that's pretty damn cool.
4. To prove that I'm able to carry through
And I did. It wasn't perfect. I didn't do every workout I should have. I didn't push as hard as I could have every time. I could be disappointed that my time was so much slower than I expected, and that technically I shouldn't have been allowed to finish at all. I could be down on myself for slacking on my training when I shouldn't have. But I'm not. I trained. I trained hard. I finished. And I got my medal. I stuck it through to the end goal despite feeling many times that I'd screwed up and wouldn't be able to make it.
5. To prove I'm as capable as I like to think I am
This entire experience from starting to pre-train to crossing the finish line has been one long battle with my own confidence. And what I finally realized somewhere around Chinatown was that the first time you do anything, no matter how well prepared you think you are, you're going to doubt that things will work out. There is no certainty. There aren't guarantees. I spent 26.2 miles and eight months before that worried I wouldn't see that finish line. And I realize that I've bailed out of lots of things because I wanted a guarantee that everything would work out in the end and wasn't willing to face the risk of failure. There's a first time for every thing we do, and that first time is never guaranteed to work out. And for a million reasons, not the least of which was that I knew other people were rooting for me to do this, I finally managed to just keep pushing forward to a goal even though there was a chance it wouldn't end the way I wanted it to.
Beyond that, though, what I really feel personally proud of is that I proved that my body is capable of more than most people would give it credit for. I went to the gym today, and I have to say I held my head a little bit higher than usual. It's not that I suddenly feel more capable than others there. I'm not more fit than anyone else. Everyone else in the gym could train and complete a marathon if they wanted to, too. But I did it! No matter what people might assume when they see me, I'm a fucking marathoner!
6. Because it's reasonably huge
Yeah, it is kind of huge. A half marathon would not, obviously, have been the same level of challenge. I will say, now, that I kind of wish I'd done some smaller races during preparation for this one just so I had a better idea of how the whole race thing works and had more practice at pacing. But otherwise, I'm glad I jumped right into the deep end.
7. To practice following the wisdom and advice of others
Funny thing about this one... ask one question regarding running, and you'll get a zillion different answers. I did end up at a point where I just had to stop reading running forums and articles and just go, "hey, it's working for me so far, so I'm going to go with it." But I followed a training schedule and stuck with it and didn't try to make stuff up as I went along to avoid having to do things the conventional way. I followed my trainer's advice unless I felt like it was hindering me more than helping me (when I do this again I will know to stop doing heavy lifting with my legs during training, no matter what Andrew thinks). I followed the tried and true methods, and I know that's the reason I was able to finish.
8. Because there doesn't have to be anything beyond the finish line
I think one of the first things I said when I found Brenda and Kourt after the race was over was, "That sucked. That really sucked." And for probably 15 minutes I was sure I never wanted to put myself through that ever again. Every muscle from waist to ankle was on fire. I was exhausted. The bottoms of my feet were a little raw. I was miserable. And then I caught my breath and my legs stopped hurting so much, and I knew I wasn't done with marathoning. I know I don't have to do it again, but I am kind of hooked. In fact, now Kourt wants to start running with the goal of being marathon ready for Chicago 2013. And I'm really excited about that. And now that I've done it once and know what to expect from training and race day, I feel really kind of pumped to do it again without all the worry and uncertainty over whether I'm doing it right. And it's not like it'll be hard to beat my time the next go around... lol
9. Because once I earn it, it's mine
Mine, bitch. This medal is mine.
10. Because failure isn't a catastrophic option
Yeah, it would have been okay if I hadn't made it. I would have been disappointed. It would have sucked really, really hardcore. I'd have beaten myself up pretty hard for not training as hard at the end as I should have. But it would have been okay.
But I am SOOO glad I didn't fail.
Somebody along the route had a sign that said "26.2 will change your life." And now that I'm a few days out and able to walk normally again, I'm sitting here wondering exactly how this has or will change my life. I can't say it hasn't changed things. And maybe it's just that this whole training process has slowly changed how I approach and look at things, and that's why it doesn't seem so huge and significant to me. Not that I'm not really, really proud of myself. But the thing about the marathon is that you build up to it, spend months preparing for it, and on race day it's a matter of pushing just a bit harder and just a bit farther. It's not about that one day on the race course, it's about months of little pushes, little changes, little challenges. I suppose that's rather deep and metaphorical, huh?
So, now what? For now I'm hopping back on the weight loss wagon and focusing on our upcoming wedding. And as long as Kourt wants to run, I'll be right there with her. It'll be nice to have a running partner. She wants to try some shorter races and work her way up instead of doing it the batshit crazy way like I did. And now that I've gotten a taste of racing, I'm pretty excited about trying some shorter distances for fun. So I'm not done with this blog. I crossed one finish line, but there are more to come.
Why I did it:
1. For my health
In the end, I didn't end up losing as much weight as I thought I would during training. Actually, right at the end I even gained a handful of pounds. And that's okay. I think I finally realized that making sure I was getting enough fuel to get me through my runs was more important than the number on the scale. Going into race day I still didn't feel much like an athlete or even like I was in great shape necessarily, and I think I really expected to go into it feeling like the lone overweight person among tens of thousands of veteran runners. But I was wrong. All along the route I was passing people who looked to be thin and fit and well trained and I was getting passed by people who were heavier than me. I finished alongside a group of triathletes. My fitness level can't be judged by the size I wear or how I look in my yoga pants, and while that's sometimes hard to believe when you're in the gym surrounded by thinner, more muscular people, it's very apparent out on the marathon course.
2. Because distance walking is both challenging and enjoyable
Somehow this turned into a quest to learn to run. And that turned into a bit of a quest to find the same zen in running that I always got from walking. And in the end I'm not sure any of that was part of the reason I kept going. There were long, long stretches of the training runs and the marathon itself that were absolutely NOT enjoyable. It gets miserable. It gets really, really hard. There comes a point where you can't turn your brain off and you can't think of anything else but putting one foot in front of the other and making it to the end. But there's joy in that, too -- pushing through when it sucks and still making it to the end and realizing you did it and are still alive and kicking.
The weirdest thing I've realized in all this turns out to be that beyond it sometimes being a meditative activity, I'm actually kind of built for endurance events. I may not be the fastest, but I made it through this whole crazy thing without really hurting myself and I've recovered pretty quickly. It's kind of funny that after hating the idea of running my entire life, it turns out to be the one sport I'm cut out for.
3. Because it's totally personal
My thought when I started this whole thing was that this would be something I did for myself, by myself. It wasn't about anyone else, and only I could push myself through training and get myself to the finish line. And that is absolutely true. But I didn't do it in a vacuum, and part of what made me keep going was the fact that so many people were rooting for me to finish. Even the people cheering on the runners along the route were a big help, and I'm still really surprised at the enthusiasm of the people who were there to help and encourage. It helped to read some of the really funny signs (like "toenails are overrated" and "way to go, total strangers!" and the one that said "because 26.3 miles would be totally crazy") and hear people yelling for us right up until the end. All the people who came out and set up their own aid stations and had their garden hoses going to help us cool off, and even the people who had cookies and jello shots for the runners around mile 24 (I didn't partake, mostly because I didn't think my stomach would like it at that point, but it made me laugh). Even the other runners pushing each other along (when I was really struggling to keep going, another runner came up next to me and said, "cheer up, it's not like they shoot us if we don't finish!"). I don't know why it surprised me to suddenly feel like I was part of this huge community who really, really wanted to help everyone get to the same goal, no matter how long it took, but it really was surprising. I was amazed to see so many people stay out there on their lawns for seven hours waiting for the very last runner to go by. And that's pretty damn cool.
4. To prove that I'm able to carry through
And I did. It wasn't perfect. I didn't do every workout I should have. I didn't push as hard as I could have every time. I could be disappointed that my time was so much slower than I expected, and that technically I shouldn't have been allowed to finish at all. I could be down on myself for slacking on my training when I shouldn't have. But I'm not. I trained. I trained hard. I finished. And I got my medal. I stuck it through to the end goal despite feeling many times that I'd screwed up and wouldn't be able to make it.
5. To prove I'm as capable as I like to think I am
This entire experience from starting to pre-train to crossing the finish line has been one long battle with my own confidence. And what I finally realized somewhere around Chinatown was that the first time you do anything, no matter how well prepared you think you are, you're going to doubt that things will work out. There is no certainty. There aren't guarantees. I spent 26.2 miles and eight months before that worried I wouldn't see that finish line. And I realize that I've bailed out of lots of things because I wanted a guarantee that everything would work out in the end and wasn't willing to face the risk of failure. There's a first time for every thing we do, and that first time is never guaranteed to work out. And for a million reasons, not the least of which was that I knew other people were rooting for me to do this, I finally managed to just keep pushing forward to a goal even though there was a chance it wouldn't end the way I wanted it to.
Beyond that, though, what I really feel personally proud of is that I proved that my body is capable of more than most people would give it credit for. I went to the gym today, and I have to say I held my head a little bit higher than usual. It's not that I suddenly feel more capable than others there. I'm not more fit than anyone else. Everyone else in the gym could train and complete a marathon if they wanted to, too. But I did it! No matter what people might assume when they see me, I'm a fucking marathoner!
6. Because it's reasonably huge
Yeah, it is kind of huge. A half marathon would not, obviously, have been the same level of challenge. I will say, now, that I kind of wish I'd done some smaller races during preparation for this one just so I had a better idea of how the whole race thing works and had more practice at pacing. But otherwise, I'm glad I jumped right into the deep end.
7. To practice following the wisdom and advice of others
Funny thing about this one... ask one question regarding running, and you'll get a zillion different answers. I did end up at a point where I just had to stop reading running forums and articles and just go, "hey, it's working for me so far, so I'm going to go with it." But I followed a training schedule and stuck with it and didn't try to make stuff up as I went along to avoid having to do things the conventional way. I followed my trainer's advice unless I felt like it was hindering me more than helping me (when I do this again I will know to stop doing heavy lifting with my legs during training, no matter what Andrew thinks). I followed the tried and true methods, and I know that's the reason I was able to finish.
8. Because there doesn't have to be anything beyond the finish line
I think one of the first things I said when I found Brenda and Kourt after the race was over was, "That sucked. That really sucked." And for probably 15 minutes I was sure I never wanted to put myself through that ever again. Every muscle from waist to ankle was on fire. I was exhausted. The bottoms of my feet were a little raw. I was miserable. And then I caught my breath and my legs stopped hurting so much, and I knew I wasn't done with marathoning. I know I don't have to do it again, but I am kind of hooked. In fact, now Kourt wants to start running with the goal of being marathon ready for Chicago 2013. And I'm really excited about that. And now that I've done it once and know what to expect from training and race day, I feel really kind of pumped to do it again without all the worry and uncertainty over whether I'm doing it right. And it's not like it'll be hard to beat my time the next go around... lol
9. Because once I earn it, it's mine
Mine, bitch. This medal is mine.
10. Because failure isn't a catastrophic option
Yeah, it would have been okay if I hadn't made it. I would have been disappointed. It would have sucked really, really hardcore. I'd have beaten myself up pretty hard for not training as hard at the end as I should have. But it would have been okay.
But I am SOOO glad I didn't fail.
Somebody along the route had a sign that said "26.2 will change your life." And now that I'm a few days out and able to walk normally again, I'm sitting here wondering exactly how this has or will change my life. I can't say it hasn't changed things. And maybe it's just that this whole training process has slowly changed how I approach and look at things, and that's why it doesn't seem so huge and significant to me. Not that I'm not really, really proud of myself. But the thing about the marathon is that you build up to it, spend months preparing for it, and on race day it's a matter of pushing just a bit harder and just a bit farther. It's not about that one day on the race course, it's about months of little pushes, little changes, little challenges. I suppose that's rather deep and metaphorical, huh?
So, now what? For now I'm hopping back on the weight loss wagon and focusing on our upcoming wedding. And as long as Kourt wants to run, I'll be right there with her. It'll be nice to have a running partner. She wants to try some shorter races and work her way up instead of doing it the batshit crazy way like I did. And now that I've gotten a taste of racing, I'm pretty excited about trying some shorter distances for fun. So I'm not done with this blog. I crossed one finish line, but there are more to come.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Race Day Recap
I got up at 5:30 and ate a Clif Bar. I was dressed and ready to hit the road by 6am. My sister went with me to the starting area to see me off, but had decided not to run the race herself.
We caught a bus to Grant park with a bunch of other runners, and most of the chatter was about the weather. It was going to be pretty warm. I was just eager to get started, as I figured my nerves would settle down once I got across the starting line.
When I got through to the start corrals, they weren't open yet. So I stood around with everyone else, used the port-o-potty, and then was one of the first into the last start corral. Took us quite a while to actually get up to the starting line, but eventually we made it and finally started running.
I ran the first mile and a half. That wasn't part of my plan, but we were all just moving as a pack and I never spotted a one mile marker. When it finally thinned out enough that I knew I wouldn't get run over if I slowed down, I started walking. And suddenly we were at the 2 mile mark. And that 1.5 mile run felt remarkably easy.
Things went really smooth for the first 10 miles. I was feeling strong, my legs weren't unduly tight, and I was making good time. But then the temperature started to rise, and heat is the biggest problem when I run.
Kourt and Brenda were waiting at mile 12, and I got hugs. I needed them. I was starting to wonder why I'd decided to do this.
Still, I was doing okay through about mile 14. My hamstrings were tightening up and I was watching my mile times get slower, and there just isn't as much shade on the south side. By mile 15 I was starting to doubt I'd finish in time and thought about dropping out. But I turned around a couple of times and could see a lot of runners still behind me, so I pushed through. Runners were being taken off in ambulances at aid stations, so I kind of felt like it would be wussy to quit just because I was hot and my hamstrings were sore. I decided that as long as I was able to keep going, if there were runners behind me and refreshments at the aid stations, I'd push on even if it meant walking the whole way. I'd keep going until the sweep vehicles came along to shut down the race.
I dragged through miles 15-18, all the while entertaining thoughts of quitting and never doing this again. But once I hit mile 19 I started to realize that I was really almost there. I started a little countdown at 20 -- six miles is just four laps on my training trail, and that made it sound like no big deal.
I could tell we were pretty much the end of the pack. Even though there were still plenty of volunteers at the aid stations with gatorade and water, they were starting to bag up the piles of cups and break down the tables. Still, there were runners behind me and no sign of the sweep vehicles.
Until mile 24. Somebody said something about flashing lights and, sure enough, there we're police cars about four or five blocks behind us. By mile 25 they were close enough I could hear short siren bursts.
I was not about to be pushed to the sidewalk or be the last to finish.
With one mile left to go, I pushed with all I had left. I passed a little group of triathletes with 800m to go, and heard one of them go "hey, don't we swim the last 800?"
We turned into the final stretch and I turned to see about 30 runners still between me and the cop cars. So I ran. Okay, I jogged. All the way to the finish line.
Kourt and Brenda weren't allowed to be at the finish line to meet me, as they kept the guests fenced off from the finish area. I got my medal and shuffled though the mile-long stretch between finish line and the 27th Mile party area. They were waiting for me with balloons and some Starbucks. I finished slow enough that they'd run out of beer at the post-race party, but I didn't really care.
I finished in 35,517th place, with a finish time of 7:01:51. Apparently they kept the finish line open longer due to the heat, and another 100 or so runners still finished after me.
But I did it. I crossed the finish line and got my medal and, best of all, made it through training and the race with no real injuries and with all my toenails intact.
Will I do it again? Right after I finished I felt like swearing off running for good. But once I caught my breath and walked out some of the aches, I knew I was probably hooked on this. So yeah, I can see myself doing this again. But I've promised Kourt I won't start training for another marathon until after our honeymoon.
We caught a bus to Grant park with a bunch of other runners, and most of the chatter was about the weather. It was going to be pretty warm. I was just eager to get started, as I figured my nerves would settle down once I got across the starting line.
When I got through to the start corrals, they weren't open yet. So I stood around with everyone else, used the port-o-potty, and then was one of the first into the last start corral. Took us quite a while to actually get up to the starting line, but eventually we made it and finally started running.
I ran the first mile and a half. That wasn't part of my plan, but we were all just moving as a pack and I never spotted a one mile marker. When it finally thinned out enough that I knew I wouldn't get run over if I slowed down, I started walking. And suddenly we were at the 2 mile mark. And that 1.5 mile run felt remarkably easy.
Things went really smooth for the first 10 miles. I was feeling strong, my legs weren't unduly tight, and I was making good time. But then the temperature started to rise, and heat is the biggest problem when I run.
Kourt and Brenda were waiting at mile 12, and I got hugs. I needed them. I was starting to wonder why I'd decided to do this.
Still, I was doing okay through about mile 14. My hamstrings were tightening up and I was watching my mile times get slower, and there just isn't as much shade on the south side. By mile 15 I was starting to doubt I'd finish in time and thought about dropping out. But I turned around a couple of times and could see a lot of runners still behind me, so I pushed through. Runners were being taken off in ambulances at aid stations, so I kind of felt like it would be wussy to quit just because I was hot and my hamstrings were sore. I decided that as long as I was able to keep going, if there were runners behind me and refreshments at the aid stations, I'd push on even if it meant walking the whole way. I'd keep going until the sweep vehicles came along to shut down the race.
I dragged through miles 15-18, all the while entertaining thoughts of quitting and never doing this again. But once I hit mile 19 I started to realize that I was really almost there. I started a little countdown at 20 -- six miles is just four laps on my training trail, and that made it sound like no big deal.
I could tell we were pretty much the end of the pack. Even though there were still plenty of volunteers at the aid stations with gatorade and water, they were starting to bag up the piles of cups and break down the tables. Still, there were runners behind me and no sign of the sweep vehicles.
Until mile 24. Somebody said something about flashing lights and, sure enough, there we're police cars about four or five blocks behind us. By mile 25 they were close enough I could hear short siren bursts.
I was not about to be pushed to the sidewalk or be the last to finish.
With one mile left to go, I pushed with all I had left. I passed a little group of triathletes with 800m to go, and heard one of them go "hey, don't we swim the last 800?"
We turned into the final stretch and I turned to see about 30 runners still between me and the cop cars. So I ran. Okay, I jogged. All the way to the finish line.
Kourt and Brenda weren't allowed to be at the finish line to meet me, as they kept the guests fenced off from the finish area. I got my medal and shuffled though the mile-long stretch between finish line and the 27th Mile party area. They were waiting for me with balloons and some Starbucks. I finished slow enough that they'd run out of beer at the post-race party, but I didn't really care.
I finished in 35,517th place, with a finish time of 7:01:51. Apparently they kept the finish line open longer due to the heat, and another 100 or so runners still finished after me.
But I did it. I crossed the finish line and got my medal and, best of all, made it through training and the race with no real injuries and with all my toenails intact.
Will I do it again? Right after I finished I felt like swearing off running for good. But once I caught my breath and walked out some of the aches, I knew I was probably hooked on this. So yeah, I can see myself doing this again. But I've promised Kourt I won't start training for another marathon until after our honeymoon.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
One...
Had a serious bout of full on nervousness yesterday, that started the minut we got on the bus to go to the expo. Either the prospect of finally going to get my bib number and timing chip made it suddenly real, or I was still subconsciously nervous that I wouldn't be able to pick up my packet because I was registered under a nickname. Whatever it was, I had a metric buttload of butterflies throwing a rave in my stomach.
We got to the expo and picked up our packets with no drama, got the tickets for the hospitality tent so Kourt can meet us at the end, and got all our schwag. And then my stomach calmed down.
So I guess I'm all set. I'm sure I'll be a nervous wreck in the morning, but I'm trying to convince my brain that it's just another Sunday run, only there will be thousands and thousands of other people there. No biggie, right?
Friday, October 7, 2011
Two...
Aside from a low-level undercurrent of anxiety over the marathon, this trip has gotten off to a smooth start. I was feeling really good about remembering all my gear and being all prepared until we were at dinner last night and I realized I'd forgotten to pack my marathon confirmation.
That's an important thing.
When we got back to the hotel, I went to the marathon site to look up whether I had to have my confirmation with me or if I could still get my packet without it. It said I could show my identification and get a reprinted confirmation ticket, and that put me at ease.
For about a minute.
I'm registered for the race as Jaye. That's not my legal first name, so it's not the one on my license. So a reprint at the expo might not be possible.
In the end, I ended up getting my sister to find the registration in my desk and have it scanned and emailed to me. I printed it off this morning, so disaster is averted.
We're going to the expo today to get our packets and make sure we're squared away. I don't want to wait until tomorrow and find there's another problem.
That's an important thing.
When we got back to the hotel, I went to the marathon site to look up whether I had to have my confirmation with me or if I could still get my packet without it. It said I could show my identification and get a reprinted confirmation ticket, and that put me at ease.
For about a minute.
I'm registered for the race as Jaye. That's not my legal first name, so it's not the one on my license. So a reprint at the expo might not be possible.
In the end, I ended up getting my sister to find the registration in my desk and have it scanned and emailed to me. I printed it off this morning, so disaster is averted.
We're going to the expo today to get our packets and make sure we're squared away. I don't want to wait until tomorrow and find there's another problem.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Three...
Somehow the marathon is just three days away. I don't know how it happened. I feel like the last bit of training slipped by while I wasn't paying attention.
Am I ready? I have no idea.
I scaled back the training more than I intended at the end, at first because of the major shift in my work routine and then because my hamstrings got all tight and sore. It took me longer than it should have for me to realize that the hamstring thing was a side effect of not consistently doing the shorter daily workouts but still pushing the long runs. I tried a lot of rest and stretching when what I really needed was to keep moving. I did finally get my ass back to the gym and my hammies feel much better.
I never got to do more than 18 miles, though. My last long run was cut short by a thunderstorm. Not the rain, so much, but the close proximity cloud-to-ground lightning. I didn't figure it was worth it to risk electrocution.
I don't know, though, that I'd feel any less nervous even if the last month of training had gone perfect. There's only one way to know if I'm really ready for this, and that's to just show up and give it my best shot.
Now I just have to keep my nerves in check for the next three days.
Am I ready? I have no idea.
I scaled back the training more than I intended at the end, at first because of the major shift in my work routine and then because my hamstrings got all tight and sore. It took me longer than it should have for me to realize that the hamstring thing was a side effect of not consistently doing the shorter daily workouts but still pushing the long runs. I tried a lot of rest and stretching when what I really needed was to keep moving. I did finally get my ass back to the gym and my hammies feel much better.
I never got to do more than 18 miles, though. My last long run was cut short by a thunderstorm. Not the rain, so much, but the close proximity cloud-to-ground lightning. I didn't figure it was worth it to risk electrocution.
I don't know, though, that I'd feel any less nervous even if the last month of training had gone perfect. There's only one way to know if I'm really ready for this, and that's to just show up and give it my best shot.
Now I just have to keep my nerves in check for the next three days.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Holy Tennis Ball, Batman!
So, I've had this recurring problem over the last few long run/walks with very tight hamstrings. Not being the sort of person who freaks out over the littlest twinge or ache, I just figured at first that it was a symptom of, you know, pushing my body to do a freakin' marathon. I figured it would get better over time. For a few weeks it didn't feel like it was really getting worse, and it really only bothered me on the really long distances. And during my 18-miler I realized that my hamstring would relax when I ran but would tighten back up once I started walking. Well, if walking fast. It probably should have dawned on me that there could be something not right with my walking stride, but it didn't.
Anyway, after yesterday's go, I was left with another really tight hamstring. It hurt to move certain ways. I've always been pretty flexible, but I could barely bend over and touch the floor. I stretched. A lot. And then I went to the internet to see what else I could do, because by that time I'd finally connected my hamstring tightness and lack of hip flexibility to my slow walking pace yesterday morning. The last time I tried to go for speed, I was walking well over 4mph, and yesterday I couldn't seem to get to 4 at all, let alone beyond. That's not the effect of a few missed workouts. That's something wrong.
So I found some stuff on the internet suggesting sitting on a tennis ball to kind of roll out the knots and tension in the hamstrings. And although we've never actually gone out to play tennis, we do own rackets and a can of balls. So I sat on a tennis ball last night, and it seemed to help a little.
When I woke up this morning, I could tell a difference. It still hurt. Actually, it hurt worse. Like you feel when you've had a really deep tissue massage to relieve some really knotted up muscles, and afterwords you feel like somebody's beaten you up? Yeah, like that. And by this afternoon I was having little muscle spasms in my hamstrings that hurt like a bitch. I was still unable to bend over and touch the floor.
So I came home and sat on the tennis ball some more. After a while, I remembered that my sister had a ton of balms and rubs for sore muscles, and got up to ask if I could use some. I got up, walked a couple of steps, and miraculously the tension in that entire side of my body suddenly unwound. I could touch the floor. Of course, now my back, hip, shoulder, and neck are kind of sore now because apparently my hamstring problems have caused all sorts of other tension and imbalance. But it's absolutely better than it was earlier!
I was more worried by my pace yesterday than I even wanted to admit to myself, but I'm feeling more confident now. I'm going to nurse my hamstring back to 100% and pay closer attention to it so I'm not derailed on race day with a hamstring injury. Maybe some pre-race massages are in order.
Yay for tennis balls!
Anyway, after yesterday's go, I was left with another really tight hamstring. It hurt to move certain ways. I've always been pretty flexible, but I could barely bend over and touch the floor. I stretched. A lot. And then I went to the internet to see what else I could do, because by that time I'd finally connected my hamstring tightness and lack of hip flexibility to my slow walking pace yesterday morning. The last time I tried to go for speed, I was walking well over 4mph, and yesterday I couldn't seem to get to 4 at all, let alone beyond. That's not the effect of a few missed workouts. That's something wrong.
So I found some stuff on the internet suggesting sitting on a tennis ball to kind of roll out the knots and tension in the hamstrings. And although we've never actually gone out to play tennis, we do own rackets and a can of balls. So I sat on a tennis ball last night, and it seemed to help a little.
When I woke up this morning, I could tell a difference. It still hurt. Actually, it hurt worse. Like you feel when you've had a really deep tissue massage to relieve some really knotted up muscles, and afterwords you feel like somebody's beaten you up? Yeah, like that. And by this afternoon I was having little muscle spasms in my hamstrings that hurt like a bitch. I was still unable to bend over and touch the floor.
So I came home and sat on the tennis ball some more. After a while, I remembered that my sister had a ton of balms and rubs for sore muscles, and got up to ask if I could use some. I got up, walked a couple of steps, and miraculously the tension in that entire side of my body suddenly unwound. I could touch the floor. Of course, now my back, hip, shoulder, and neck are kind of sore now because apparently my hamstring problems have caused all sorts of other tension and imbalance. But it's absolutely better than it was earlier!
I was more worried by my pace yesterday than I even wanted to admit to myself, but I'm feeling more confident now. I'm going to nurse my hamstring back to 100% and pay closer attention to it so I'm not derailed on race day with a hamstring injury. Maybe some pre-race massages are in order.
Yay for tennis balls!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Marathon Training, Week 16? Is that right? I've lost count.
4 weeks until race day.
4 weeks is not a lot of time. That's becoming very, very clear to me. Kind of freaking me out, actually. One 20 mile long run to go, one 12-miler at race pace, and then I'm on taper. And then it's race day. Crazy.
Anyway, went out today for a 12 mile at race pace. It didn't go as fast as I hoped. Certainly not the "race pace" I was hoping for. I'm not upset about it, but it does make me nervous. Granted, I run on a trail with LOTS of hills, and the marathon course is very flat, so likely I'll have an easier go on race day than I have on any training run. The first few miles were right on target race pace, but my splits got worse towards the end. I could make all sorts of excuses about why my pace didn't hold up, but that's not helpful. I ran more than I have been (yay for having fun running!) and thought I was keeping a really good walking pace. Looking at the data, though, my walking pace was NOT up to par. My running speed was typical, and yes, I did run more than the original plan of 1/4 of each mile, but it wasn't enough to make up for an unusually slow walking pace. I think that means that I need to do some serious walking over the next four weeks. Apparently I've neglected that part of my training in my excitement over learning to run.
Still, though, I just keep telling myself that my only goal is to finish. I don't care if I'm the last one over the finish line as long as I get my participant medal.
4 weeks is not a lot of time. That's becoming very, very clear to me. Kind of freaking me out, actually. One 20 mile long run to go, one 12-miler at race pace, and then I'm on taper. And then it's race day. Crazy.
Anyway, went out today for a 12 mile at race pace. It didn't go as fast as I hoped. Certainly not the "race pace" I was hoping for. I'm not upset about it, but it does make me nervous. Granted, I run on a trail with LOTS of hills, and the marathon course is very flat, so likely I'll have an easier go on race day than I have on any training run. The first few miles were right on target race pace, but my splits got worse towards the end. I could make all sorts of excuses about why my pace didn't hold up, but that's not helpful. I ran more than I have been (yay for having fun running!) and thought I was keeping a really good walking pace. Looking at the data, though, my walking pace was NOT up to par. My running speed was typical, and yes, I did run more than the original plan of 1/4 of each mile, but it wasn't enough to make up for an unusually slow walking pace. I think that means that I need to do some serious walking over the next four weeks. Apparently I've neglected that part of my training in my excitement over learning to run.
Still, though, I just keep telling myself that my only goal is to finish. I don't care if I'm the last one over the finish line as long as I get my participant medal.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Fun run?
Today, I ran. Not for speed, nor for distance. I didn't turn on my GPS. I didn't time myself. I had no distance goal. I just ran.
And it was fun.
A couple of weeks ago a coworker lent me a book he'd just finished reading: Born to Run. It had been sitting on my desk, untouched, ever since. I don't read much anymore. I like reading, but there are so many other things I fill my time with. I don't generally have time available while in an environment suitable for reading quietly. But last night I was kind of bored and decided I might as well start reading. I was feeling pretty good about my 18 mile run on Sunday morning (which went great, by the way -- perfect temperature, cloudy sky, moderately windy, and my pace was good despite the fact that for the last few miles my hamstrings were painfully tight, which is why I didn't go for 20) and, apparently, in the mood for reading about running.
I should have been asleep by 9pm at the latest. I finally finished the book at 11pm. And although I then went to bed, I was actually chomping at the bit to put on my shoes and go running. Which, you know, is weird, because although I've been doing more running than I ever though I'd willingly do, it's not been my favorite thing ever. It's been uncomfortable and hard, and I've only been doing it because I felt I was afraid I couldn't finish the marathon fast enough otherwise.
But all day today I thought about getting off work and putting on my running shoes and just hitting the trail to see what would happen if I ran just to run. No iPod, no MiCoach, no timer. Just grab my water bottle and run as long as I felt like running. I'd never run just for the sake of running before. I wanted to know if my overweight, out of shape body could actually have fun running.
So I did.
I parked my car, tied the car door key to my shoe, put everything else but my water bottle and phone in the trunk, and started running. And for the first time ever, I wasn't thinking about how much time or distance I had left, what my pace should be, or how to spread the effort over the distance. It was just one foot in front of the other, head up, only focused on the moment.
Since the trail is marked off in 1/4 mile increments, though, I can tell you that I ran about 5/8 of a mile, walked about 1/4 mile, and then ran the entire remainder of the 1 1/2 mile loop.
I was back at the parking lot before I had a chance to get bored. I was relaxed, the way I used to be after a really long walk. Despite the fact that it's been months since I ran more than 1/4 mile in a single interval, I didn't feel exhausted or even that sweaty, to be honest. Finally, I had run without my brain babysitting my body. I had actually enjoyed the run.
So thanks to Jason's book recommendation, I finally feel like my head is in the right place to finish up my training and line up at the starting line. And yes, I know that I didn't suddenly gain the miraculous ability to run farther and enjoy it more just because I read an inspirational book. I know that my ability to run has improved because, well, I've been running. Duh. And it's not that I didn't know how to enjoy running before. I just never thought about the fact that, you know, I could. Or should. Because until last night, this was never about running. This was about pushing myself through to the end of something, just to get to the end, just to prove that I could stick it out through the drudgery. It wasn't supposed to be fun. I assumed it was supposed to be hard and uncomfortable. I assumed that people who say they love running really mean that they love the results they get from running. But today I learned that even I can actually enjoy running.
And I've decided that, outside my weekend long runs, I'm abandoning a training schedule. I'm going to stop worrying about how many miles I should or shouldn't be putting in per week. I'm going to forget about speed work or interval training. No more number crunching. I'm just going to go out each day and run whatever distance I feel like running that day.
Just for the fun of it.
And it was fun.
A couple of weeks ago a coworker lent me a book he'd just finished reading: Born to Run. It had been sitting on my desk, untouched, ever since. I don't read much anymore. I like reading, but there are so many other things I fill my time with. I don't generally have time available while in an environment suitable for reading quietly. But last night I was kind of bored and decided I might as well start reading. I was feeling pretty good about my 18 mile run on Sunday morning (which went great, by the way -- perfect temperature, cloudy sky, moderately windy, and my pace was good despite the fact that for the last few miles my hamstrings were painfully tight, which is why I didn't go for 20) and, apparently, in the mood for reading about running.
I should have been asleep by 9pm at the latest. I finally finished the book at 11pm. And although I then went to bed, I was actually chomping at the bit to put on my shoes and go running. Which, you know, is weird, because although I've been doing more running than I ever though I'd willingly do, it's not been my favorite thing ever. It's been uncomfortable and hard, and I've only been doing it because I felt I was afraid I couldn't finish the marathon fast enough otherwise.
But all day today I thought about getting off work and putting on my running shoes and just hitting the trail to see what would happen if I ran just to run. No iPod, no MiCoach, no timer. Just grab my water bottle and run as long as I felt like running. I'd never run just for the sake of running before. I wanted to know if my overweight, out of shape body could actually have fun running.
So I did.
I parked my car, tied the car door key to my shoe, put everything else but my water bottle and phone in the trunk, and started running. And for the first time ever, I wasn't thinking about how much time or distance I had left, what my pace should be, or how to spread the effort over the distance. It was just one foot in front of the other, head up, only focused on the moment.
Since the trail is marked off in 1/4 mile increments, though, I can tell you that I ran about 5/8 of a mile, walked about 1/4 mile, and then ran the entire remainder of the 1 1/2 mile loop.
I was back at the parking lot before I had a chance to get bored. I was relaxed, the way I used to be after a really long walk. Despite the fact that it's been months since I ran more than 1/4 mile in a single interval, I didn't feel exhausted or even that sweaty, to be honest. Finally, I had run without my brain babysitting my body. I had actually enjoyed the run.
So thanks to Jason's book recommendation, I finally feel like my head is in the right place to finish up my training and line up at the starting line. And yes, I know that I didn't suddenly gain the miraculous ability to run farther and enjoy it more just because I read an inspirational book. I know that my ability to run has improved because, well, I've been running. Duh. And it's not that I didn't know how to enjoy running before. I just never thought about the fact that, you know, I could. Or should. Because until last night, this was never about running. This was about pushing myself through to the end of something, just to get to the end, just to prove that I could stick it out through the drudgery. It wasn't supposed to be fun. I assumed it was supposed to be hard and uncomfortable. I assumed that people who say they love running really mean that they love the results they get from running. But today I learned that even I can actually enjoy running.
And I've decided that, outside my weekend long runs, I'm abandoning a training schedule. I'm going to stop worrying about how many miles I should or shouldn't be putting in per week. I'm going to forget about speed work or interval training. No more number crunching. I'm just going to go out each day and run whatever distance I feel like running that day.
Just for the fun of it.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Marathon Training, Week... whatever
Five weeks until race day.
I've neglected blogging something awful, I know. Luckily, I've only neglected my training a little.
As of my last blog post, I'd just finished my first 12-miler in record time. The following week I did 10 miles, also in record time, shaving 5 seconds off the pace I'd averaged the week before. I was feeling awesome about my progress and all that.
And then it got hot. And I got promoted, which meant my schedule changed and I had to start doing my runs in the morning instead of at night. When I did my 14-miler the following Saturday morning, things went fine until about, oh, mile 11. By that time the sun had come out and it was in the upper 80s and my body just... died. I spent the last three miles dragging myself along the trail at, like, 3mph. Dying. I had plenty of water and cramp-buster shot bloks, but none of that mattered. I'd never tried exerting myself that much in temperatures that high, and it sucked. But I finished.
The next week was another "easy" 10-miler, but the heat was still a problem. My pace wasn't good. I struggled through it. I was starting to feel pretty down on myself for not being able to keep up in the heat, even though I know it's just a fact that heat decreases a body's ability to function. Still, it's discouraging.
So the next week I headed out for my first 16-miler, a little unsure of my ability to finish. I started out strong and tried to stick it out, but after 12 miles it was killer hot again and I knew if I kept trying to push through another 4 miles I'd end up passing out or puking. So I stopped at 12. Amazingly, I again made record time, shaving off a full 14 seconds per mile from my best long run pace up to that point. Still, I was disappointed that I didn't make my distance goal.
I thought about trying to do 16 miles the next week instead of the scheduled 12, but the heat was even worse and I only made 8. Okay, I can't totally blame the heat, since I know I could have gotten my ass out of bed earlier to get things done before it got really hot, but I was getting discouraged and really down on myself for "screwing up my training schedule." Besides that, the new work schedule made it so that Kourt and I couldn't go to the gym together anymore. I told myself I'd go right after work, but even if I took gym clothes with me I found it far too easy to go straight home instead. So my weekly workouts have been seriously neglected, and I felt like my failure to keep myself motivated and active was negatively impacting my long runs, and was only exacerbated by the heat wave we've been having.
So two weeks ago when I headed out for what was supposed to be 18 miles, despite the fact that I was really worked up mentally over the sad state of my training program, I took to the trail absolutely determined to get to at least 16 miles even if it was the slowest 16 miles ever. I had a later start than I intended, but weather.com said it was only supposed to get up to the upper 70s by noon and that rain clouds should be here by then.
Weather.com lied to me.
I should have known better. I should have put on sunscreen. Yes, snow-white-complexion here left the house for an 18 mile run/walk with zero sunblock on. In capris and a sleeveless shirt. It was 87 degrees when I hit mile 16, and there was barely a cloud in the sky. Those 16 miles sucked something awful. But you know what? I did it. I did all 16 miles. Of course, I spent much of the last several miles of that distance trying to creatively maneuver my shirt to try and minimize the sun damage to my arms, because at that point I knew I was totally fried. Extra crispy. The only lucky part was that I'd finally settled on headgear -- a visor -- so my face didn't burn. But my arms and shoulders and the back of my neck were pretty badly sunburned. Not to the point of blistering, but still really bad. And although it looked on the trail like my legs were still paper white, when I got home and took off my running capris it looked like I was wearing red knee socks. I honestly felt like I could have made the last two miles, but I was afraid of burning any worse. I've burned to the point of blisters before, and wasn't going to go there again. As it was, the sunburn took the better part of a week to recover from.
At this point we decided that since we hadn't been working out consistently on our own and hadn't seen our trainer in a while, we'd start seeing him every week to try and get back in a groove. Despite the few weeks of lackluster effort, my strength hadn't really suffered. And it felt good to work out and leave feeling like he'd kicked our asses. So last Sunday morning I headed out for what was supposed to be 12 miles at race pace, thinking I was good to go. I did remember sunscreen this time. But still, the heat was unbearable and I only did 8. And my pace wasn't what I'd hoped. This time I am chalking it up to the heat, though. And I was totally pumped to be really good about getting to the gym after work this past week until I went to a potluck at a friend's house Sunday night that ended with Flaming Dr. Peppers and a lot of puking. It turns out starting the week off with a killer hangover is really, really bad on your body. The worst of the hangover only lasted a day, but I've not been right ever since. I've been just... exhausted.
If there's one lesson this training process has reinforced, it's that it only takes one little hiccup in a plan, one tiny setback, to throw me into a downward spiral of low self-esteem and avoidance. If I "fail" once, I become afraid that the next attempt will be worse, so I start sitting on my ass to avoid having to face more failure. This heat and change in schedule and lack of consistency in my training program have made things harder, and the harder they get the more I want to just stop. I've not been tracking my food (although I haven't gained any weight through this, luckily) and have just felt like a quitter, really. But I know the pattern, and despite the fact that I haven't been able to shake myself out of it I knew I needed to somehow just jump back in and get in one good workout to prove to myself that all was not lost.
Friday, then, we met with our trainer. He put us on the assisted pull-up/dip machine, which we haven't used as part of our strength training routine since sometime last Spring. The last time we used it, we had it up to the maximum weight (which is a counterbalance, so the more weight you put on the machine the easier it makes the exercise) and I could do maybe 5 or 6 pull-ups and 12 or so dips. He set it at the maximum again, and this time I breezed through 17 pull-ups and 27 dips. Between sets he had me doing burpees, which I haven't done in a while either and struggled with before, and I was doing them like a boss! For the first time in over a month, I was reminded how much stronger I am and how much more endurance I have. I left the gym feeling like I could do anything!
Tomorrow morning I'm slated for 20 miles. The forecast says the temperature should hold steady in the low 70s pretty much all morning. I'm going to bed early so I can hit the trail early and avoid as much sun as possible. I have just over a month to go, and I know I can't let the last month's setbacks continue to affect me. I'm confident that if I push hard this last month to stick with my training plan, I'll be fine. I won't have lost as much weight as I hoped by race day, but that's nothing to beat myself up over. Spilled milk and all that. I just want to cross the finish line, even if I'm the last one to cross. And I can't change what's already happened. No amount of beating myself up over missed miles will make up that lost ground. I can only go forward.
I've neglected blogging something awful, I know. Luckily, I've only neglected my training a little.
As of my last blog post, I'd just finished my first 12-miler in record time. The following week I did 10 miles, also in record time, shaving 5 seconds off the pace I'd averaged the week before. I was feeling awesome about my progress and all that.
And then it got hot. And I got promoted, which meant my schedule changed and I had to start doing my runs in the morning instead of at night. When I did my 14-miler the following Saturday morning, things went fine until about, oh, mile 11. By that time the sun had come out and it was in the upper 80s and my body just... died. I spent the last three miles dragging myself along the trail at, like, 3mph. Dying. I had plenty of water and cramp-buster shot bloks, but none of that mattered. I'd never tried exerting myself that much in temperatures that high, and it sucked. But I finished.
The next week was another "easy" 10-miler, but the heat was still a problem. My pace wasn't good. I struggled through it. I was starting to feel pretty down on myself for not being able to keep up in the heat, even though I know it's just a fact that heat decreases a body's ability to function. Still, it's discouraging.
So the next week I headed out for my first 16-miler, a little unsure of my ability to finish. I started out strong and tried to stick it out, but after 12 miles it was killer hot again and I knew if I kept trying to push through another 4 miles I'd end up passing out or puking. So I stopped at 12. Amazingly, I again made record time, shaving off a full 14 seconds per mile from my best long run pace up to that point. Still, I was disappointed that I didn't make my distance goal.
I thought about trying to do 16 miles the next week instead of the scheduled 12, but the heat was even worse and I only made 8. Okay, I can't totally blame the heat, since I know I could have gotten my ass out of bed earlier to get things done before it got really hot, but I was getting discouraged and really down on myself for "screwing up my training schedule." Besides that, the new work schedule made it so that Kourt and I couldn't go to the gym together anymore. I told myself I'd go right after work, but even if I took gym clothes with me I found it far too easy to go straight home instead. So my weekly workouts have been seriously neglected, and I felt like my failure to keep myself motivated and active was negatively impacting my long runs, and was only exacerbated by the heat wave we've been having.
So two weeks ago when I headed out for what was supposed to be 18 miles, despite the fact that I was really worked up mentally over the sad state of my training program, I took to the trail absolutely determined to get to at least 16 miles even if it was the slowest 16 miles ever. I had a later start than I intended, but weather.com said it was only supposed to get up to the upper 70s by noon and that rain clouds should be here by then.
Weather.com lied to me.
I should have known better. I should have put on sunscreen. Yes, snow-white-complexion here left the house for an 18 mile run/walk with zero sunblock on. In capris and a sleeveless shirt. It was 87 degrees when I hit mile 16, and there was barely a cloud in the sky. Those 16 miles sucked something awful. But you know what? I did it. I did all 16 miles. Of course, I spent much of the last several miles of that distance trying to creatively maneuver my shirt to try and minimize the sun damage to my arms, because at that point I knew I was totally fried. Extra crispy. The only lucky part was that I'd finally settled on headgear -- a visor -- so my face didn't burn. But my arms and shoulders and the back of my neck were pretty badly sunburned. Not to the point of blistering, but still really bad. And although it looked on the trail like my legs were still paper white, when I got home and took off my running capris it looked like I was wearing red knee socks. I honestly felt like I could have made the last two miles, but I was afraid of burning any worse. I've burned to the point of blisters before, and wasn't going to go there again. As it was, the sunburn took the better part of a week to recover from.
At this point we decided that since we hadn't been working out consistently on our own and hadn't seen our trainer in a while, we'd start seeing him every week to try and get back in a groove. Despite the few weeks of lackluster effort, my strength hadn't really suffered. And it felt good to work out and leave feeling like he'd kicked our asses. So last Sunday morning I headed out for what was supposed to be 12 miles at race pace, thinking I was good to go. I did remember sunscreen this time. But still, the heat was unbearable and I only did 8. And my pace wasn't what I'd hoped. This time I am chalking it up to the heat, though. And I was totally pumped to be really good about getting to the gym after work this past week until I went to a potluck at a friend's house Sunday night that ended with Flaming Dr. Peppers and a lot of puking. It turns out starting the week off with a killer hangover is really, really bad on your body. The worst of the hangover only lasted a day, but I've not been right ever since. I've been just... exhausted.
If there's one lesson this training process has reinforced, it's that it only takes one little hiccup in a plan, one tiny setback, to throw me into a downward spiral of low self-esteem and avoidance. If I "fail" once, I become afraid that the next attempt will be worse, so I start sitting on my ass to avoid having to face more failure. This heat and change in schedule and lack of consistency in my training program have made things harder, and the harder they get the more I want to just stop. I've not been tracking my food (although I haven't gained any weight through this, luckily) and have just felt like a quitter, really. But I know the pattern, and despite the fact that I haven't been able to shake myself out of it I knew I needed to somehow just jump back in and get in one good workout to prove to myself that all was not lost.
Friday, then, we met with our trainer. He put us on the assisted pull-up/dip machine, which we haven't used as part of our strength training routine since sometime last Spring. The last time we used it, we had it up to the maximum weight (which is a counterbalance, so the more weight you put on the machine the easier it makes the exercise) and I could do maybe 5 or 6 pull-ups and 12 or so dips. He set it at the maximum again, and this time I breezed through 17 pull-ups and 27 dips. Between sets he had me doing burpees, which I haven't done in a while either and struggled with before, and I was doing them like a boss! For the first time in over a month, I was reminded how much stronger I am and how much more endurance I have. I left the gym feeling like I could do anything!
Tomorrow morning I'm slated for 20 miles. The forecast says the temperature should hold steady in the low 70s pretty much all morning. I'm going to bed early so I can hit the trail early and avoid as much sun as possible. I have just over a month to go, and I know I can't let the last month's setbacks continue to affect me. I'm confident that if I push hard this last month to stick with my training plan, I'll be fine. I won't have lost as much weight as I hoped by race day, but that's nothing to beat myself up over. Spilled milk and all that. I just want to cross the finish line, even if I'm the last one to cross. And I can't change what's already happened. No amount of beating myself up over missed miles will make up that lost ground. I can only go forward.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Marathon Training, Week 7
13 weeks until race day.
Had a bit of an injury last week. Luckily, it wasn't my legs. We were lifting weights on Sunday afternoon, and I was feeling all, you know, ambitious and strong. Halfway through my second set of dumbell flys, I let my arms go out a little farther than usual and found myself unable to lift the left one back up and had to kind of twist my arm and drop the weight to the floor. Immediately I knew I'd strained my tricep. Initially it didn't hurt much, but by the next day it was pretty sore and on Tuesday it wasn't any better. Before I started running I wasn't aware of this, but your upper body gets used more than you think when you run, so I held off on my Tuesday run and did it on Wednesday when my arm felt good enough for running but not quite good enough for a tricep workout. It's all good now.
Friday's long run was my longest distance yet: 12 miles. Made it in 3:17:20. Not that I'm racing through my long runs, but I'm pushing myself to the upper end of "comfortable pace." I was pretty happy with the end time, because that means my average pace was faster than my 8 mile run last week. So, you know, w00t.
Since I've had a recurring problem with inner arm chafing, I tried wearing a yoga top I have that doesn't have trim on it. That didn't solve the problem, although it wasn't quite as bad as it has been. I guess I'm going to have to start experimenting with anti-chafing products, because the last thing I want to deal with on race day is the discomfort of my arm being rubbed raw. It's not cool.
And I'm also going to have to start paying more attention to keeping up a regular stretching routine. By about mile 9 my muscles were getting pretty tight. But the hardest part of the increased distance was the sheer monotony of going around and around the loop 8 times. I was only on the trail about 20 minutes longer than during my 10-miler, but this time I started to get tired of being out there after a couple of hours. I'm curious to see if I have the same problem on my upcoming 14-miler.
Had a bit of an injury last week. Luckily, it wasn't my legs. We were lifting weights on Sunday afternoon, and I was feeling all, you know, ambitious and strong. Halfway through my second set of dumbell flys, I let my arms go out a little farther than usual and found myself unable to lift the left one back up and had to kind of twist my arm and drop the weight to the floor. Immediately I knew I'd strained my tricep. Initially it didn't hurt much, but by the next day it was pretty sore and on Tuesday it wasn't any better. Before I started running I wasn't aware of this, but your upper body gets used more than you think when you run, so I held off on my Tuesday run and did it on Wednesday when my arm felt good enough for running but not quite good enough for a tricep workout. It's all good now.
Friday's long run was my longest distance yet: 12 miles. Made it in 3:17:20. Not that I'm racing through my long runs, but I'm pushing myself to the upper end of "comfortable pace." I was pretty happy with the end time, because that means my average pace was faster than my 8 mile run last week. So, you know, w00t.
Since I've had a recurring problem with inner arm chafing, I tried wearing a yoga top I have that doesn't have trim on it. That didn't solve the problem, although it wasn't quite as bad as it has been. I guess I'm going to have to start experimenting with anti-chafing products, because the last thing I want to deal with on race day is the discomfort of my arm being rubbed raw. It's not cool.
And I'm also going to have to start paying more attention to keeping up a regular stretching routine. By about mile 9 my muscles were getting pretty tight. But the hardest part of the increased distance was the sheer monotony of going around and around the loop 8 times. I was only on the trail about 20 minutes longer than during my 10-miler, but this time I started to get tired of being out there after a couple of hours. I'm curious to see if I have the same problem on my upcoming 14-miler.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
The hardest part about learning to run
As I was running on the treadmill last night, it suddenly occurred to me why I still feel like running is difficult, even though I'm very quickly gaining endurance. It's not painful anymore, my stride is a lot more relaxed and natural than it was at the beginning, and it takes me a while to really get out of breath.
The difference, though, is that when I walk -- even when I walk really hard -- my brain wanders. As soon as my body finds its rhythm, I don't really have to pay conscious attention to how I'm moving. I just keep going, and my brain finds other things to do.
But when I'm running, I still have to think about it. Instead of thinking about the things I need to do when I get home or getting caught up in the lyrics of whatever song is on my iPod or brainstorming ideas for centerpieces for my wedding or deciding what to cook for dinner, my brain has to think about what my legs are doing and remember to relax my shoulders and pep-talk myself over the hills. I'm very conscious of every step, and I don't get to that point where my brain can wander off and let my legs go on autopilot. That's where the zen of walking comes from. I can get so distracted by other things that suddenly I've gone a mile before I realize it.
Guess I'll just have to keep running until I'm comfortable enough with it that my brain can stop babysitting my body.
The difference, though, is that when I walk -- even when I walk really hard -- my brain wanders. As soon as my body finds its rhythm, I don't really have to pay conscious attention to how I'm moving. I just keep going, and my brain finds other things to do.
But when I'm running, I still have to think about it. Instead of thinking about the things I need to do when I get home or getting caught up in the lyrics of whatever song is on my iPod or brainstorming ideas for centerpieces for my wedding or deciding what to cook for dinner, my brain has to think about what my legs are doing and remember to relax my shoulders and pep-talk myself over the hills. I'm very conscious of every step, and I don't get to that point where my brain can wander off and let my legs go on autopilot. That's where the zen of walking comes from. I can get so distracted by other things that suddenly I've gone a mile before I realize it.
Guess I'll just have to keep running until I'm comfortable enough with it that my brain can stop babysitting my body.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Marathon Training, Week 6
14 weeks until race day.
Apparently I'm better at keeping up with weekly workouts than weekly blogging.
We're back on the workout wagon, and things have mostly been going well. But with all the running I'm doing now, I have finally reached that point where I've noticed the lower body weight workouts are negatively affecting my running ability. Especially now that we've been doing a more traditional bodybuilding workout, I think it's not been beneficial to try and get my leg muscles to train for two different types of activities at once. It leaves my legs too fatigued and/or too sore when it's time to hit the treadmill. So from now until the race I'll be saving my legs for running, but I have and will continue to do my upper body workouts.
I did my 8 miles Friday night alone, as my sister and I couldn't agree on a time to meet to run. She's not a night person, and I hate the sun. In the end, I shaved five minutes off my 8-mile long run time, and that was in 90 degree weather. I'm still wondering when this is going to get really difficult.
My sister has decided, though, that she's not up for a full marathon. She's planning to do the first part (half?) and then meet me towards the end to see how I'm doing. So I'm kind of losing my training partner. In some ways this makes things easier, because now I can do long runs at my own pace. On the other hand, this means I'll probably be doing the rest of my long runs at Cooper on the 1.5 mile looped trail because I don't want to just head out of town on an isolated trail by myself. But I'm cool with it. I was worried at the beginning of this process that I would need somebody to spur me on to keep going with the training and do the long runs every week without skipping, but so far I've not had trouble keeping up, so it's all good.
Apparently I'm better at keeping up with weekly workouts than weekly blogging.
We're back on the workout wagon, and things have mostly been going well. But with all the running I'm doing now, I have finally reached that point where I've noticed the lower body weight workouts are negatively affecting my running ability. Especially now that we've been doing a more traditional bodybuilding workout, I think it's not been beneficial to try and get my leg muscles to train for two different types of activities at once. It leaves my legs too fatigued and/or too sore when it's time to hit the treadmill. So from now until the race I'll be saving my legs for running, but I have and will continue to do my upper body workouts.
I did my 8 miles Friday night alone, as my sister and I couldn't agree on a time to meet to run. She's not a night person, and I hate the sun. In the end, I shaved five minutes off my 8-mile long run time, and that was in 90 degree weather. I'm still wondering when this is going to get really difficult.
My sister has decided, though, that she's not up for a full marathon. She's planning to do the first part (half?) and then meet me towards the end to see how I'm doing. So I'm kind of losing my training partner. In some ways this makes things easier, because now I can do long runs at my own pace. On the other hand, this means I'll probably be doing the rest of my long runs at Cooper on the 1.5 mile looped trail because I don't want to just head out of town on an isolated trail by myself. But I'm cool with it. I was worried at the beginning of this process that I would need somebody to spur me on to keep going with the training and do the long runs every week without skipping, but so far I've not had trouble keeping up, so it's all good.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Marathon Training, Weeks 4 and 5
15 weeks until race day.
Week 4 was, well, weird. It had nothing to do with training, but it threw me completely out of my game. Kourt and I have started planning a wedding, and the first part of the week I was consumed in a weird emotional tug of war with my parents over the whole thing. I wasn't sleeping well and was carrying a lot of stress, and that just makes me really exhausted. So we skipped on Sunday. I went by myself and ran that Tuesday and actually did really well. I managed to get Kourt to the gym to lift weights that Wednesday, but struck a bargain to skip cardio. By that Thursday we'd kind of resolved the weirdness with my parents, but both our work shifts were pretty demanding so we skipped again. And then that weekend I had a high school reunion gathering to go to. It was great, and I didn't let myself skip my 6 mile long run on Friday, but we ate too much and didn't work out at all the rest of the weekend.
Oddly enough, at the beginning of this week my leg muscles were sore. It took me a bit to realize that it was from walking around downtown in high heels all Saturday night. I've gotten very unaccustomed to wearing heels on a regular basis. The reunion events ran through Sunday, so it wasn't until Tuesday that we got back into the gym, and I was actually still sore. But I ran. Didn't make it through all the intervals as planned -- I think it was because it had been too long between my last meal and going to the gym. But I did the whole distance, just not without modifying the interval lengths.
I got to thinking, though, about the whole running vs walking bit. I'm challenged by running. Walking just doesn't challenge me anymore. I've been doing the incline intervals, and those did kick my ass, but Chicago hosts one of the flattest marathon courses ever. So why not just keep working on my running?
So we've changed up our routine a bit this week. On Wednesday, we did two of our three weightlifting workouts together, but no cardio. Then on Thursday we only did cardio, and I ran shorter but faster intervals with longer rests.
Friday, then, Brenda and I met to do a 10 miler. We started early because she'd started taking allergy meds that make her drowsy and she didn't want to be still out when the sleepiness kicked in. Plus, we knew 10 miles would take a bit. Turns out the sun is still pretty high and hot at 5:30. But I pushed on. Brenda bailed after mile 3, partly due to the meds and partly due to residual discomfort from physical therapy on her shoulder that morning. But I kept on going, and made it in under 3 hours, which I consider pretty good considering how freakin' hot it was. The sun finally set around mile 8, and after that I had a ton more energy to keep going. And in the end, 10 miles turned out to be not the challenge I expected it to be. The only problem I had was that there's a stripe on the tank top I wore that is top-stitched onto the shirt and it chafed against the inside of my upper arm. It didn't leave much of a mark, but it was an annoyance. Apparently it's time for a wardrobe change. Next week's long walk is another 8-miler, and then the week after that it jumps to 12. I'm curious to see how long these runs get before I start struggling.
I was sore, however, on Saturday. Not so much in my legs, but tiny little muscle twinges in my arms and shoulders. So we took Saturday as a rest day, and I think that's going to be a practice I continue. As the long runs get longer, I think my muscles are going to need that extra rest.
Our new plan, then, is to do double weightlifting sets on Wednesdays and Sundays, and runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays (and maybe sometimes Mondays if I'm feeling really ambitious), with long runs on Friday nights until the weather cools down again and we can move them back to Saturday mornings.
Week 4 was, well, weird. It had nothing to do with training, but it threw me completely out of my game. Kourt and I have started planning a wedding, and the first part of the week I was consumed in a weird emotional tug of war with my parents over the whole thing. I wasn't sleeping well and was carrying a lot of stress, and that just makes me really exhausted. So we skipped on Sunday. I went by myself and ran that Tuesday and actually did really well. I managed to get Kourt to the gym to lift weights that Wednesday, but struck a bargain to skip cardio. By that Thursday we'd kind of resolved the weirdness with my parents, but both our work shifts were pretty demanding so we skipped again. And then that weekend I had a high school reunion gathering to go to. It was great, and I didn't let myself skip my 6 mile long run on Friday, but we ate too much and didn't work out at all the rest of the weekend.
Oddly enough, at the beginning of this week my leg muscles were sore. It took me a bit to realize that it was from walking around downtown in high heels all Saturday night. I've gotten very unaccustomed to wearing heels on a regular basis. The reunion events ran through Sunday, so it wasn't until Tuesday that we got back into the gym, and I was actually still sore. But I ran. Didn't make it through all the intervals as planned -- I think it was because it had been too long between my last meal and going to the gym. But I did the whole distance, just not without modifying the interval lengths.
I got to thinking, though, about the whole running vs walking bit. I'm challenged by running. Walking just doesn't challenge me anymore. I've been doing the incline intervals, and those did kick my ass, but Chicago hosts one of the flattest marathon courses ever. So why not just keep working on my running?
So we've changed up our routine a bit this week. On Wednesday, we did two of our three weightlifting workouts together, but no cardio. Then on Thursday we only did cardio, and I ran shorter but faster intervals with longer rests.
Friday, then, Brenda and I met to do a 10 miler. We started early because she'd started taking allergy meds that make her drowsy and she didn't want to be still out when the sleepiness kicked in. Plus, we knew 10 miles would take a bit. Turns out the sun is still pretty high and hot at 5:30. But I pushed on. Brenda bailed after mile 3, partly due to the meds and partly due to residual discomfort from physical therapy on her shoulder that morning. But I kept on going, and made it in under 3 hours, which I consider pretty good considering how freakin' hot it was. The sun finally set around mile 8, and after that I had a ton more energy to keep going. And in the end, 10 miles turned out to be not the challenge I expected it to be. The only problem I had was that there's a stripe on the tank top I wore that is top-stitched onto the shirt and it chafed against the inside of my upper arm. It didn't leave much of a mark, but it was an annoyance. Apparently it's time for a wardrobe change. Next week's long walk is another 8-miler, and then the week after that it jumps to 12. I'm curious to see how long these runs get before I start struggling.
I was sore, however, on Saturday. Not so much in my legs, but tiny little muscle twinges in my arms and shoulders. So we took Saturday as a rest day, and I think that's going to be a practice I continue. As the long runs get longer, I think my muscles are going to need that extra rest.
Our new plan, then, is to do double weightlifting sets on Wednesdays and Sundays, and runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays (and maybe sometimes Mondays if I'm feeling really ambitious), with long runs on Friday nights until the weather cools down again and we can move them back to Saturday mornings.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Marathon Training, Week 3
17 weeks until race day.
This week went much better than last week. For starters, it occurred to me that maybe I wasn't consuming enough water for all the hard workouts and hot weather. It's never been a problem before, but my digestive system has been increasingly stubborn lately, so I decided to see what would happen if I tried drinking more water. Funny thing, as soon as I did, I dropped a pound a day for three days in a row. And another one later in the week. So apparently now that I'm an elite athlete (*snicker*) I need to hydrate like one.
Both Tuesday's run and Thursday's incline walks (with decreased speed on the highest incline) went exactly as planned, so that's two workouts off the checklists. This Tuesday I'll be going for 3/4 mile running intervals with 1/4 mile walking rests. And Thursday I'll go for a second successful attack at the inclines.
Well, okay, exactly as planned except that on my cooldown after Tuesday's run, I tripped on the treadmill. Kourt was trying to point say something to me, and I leaned too far over to try and hear her and stepped off the belt a bit. Ended up hitting the emergency stop button on accident, and while I didn't actually fall down, the contortions I went through to stay on my feet were pretty jarring. As we left the gym I felt just a little tightness in my muscles, but it seemed to go away by the next day.
My sister wasn't available to do our long run on Friday night, so I had to go it alone. The trail we've been using is a straight out and back, and since it's not lit at night and I wasn't sure what time, exactly, the sun would set, I wasn't comfortable with the prospect of finding myself still two miles out with no light and all alone. So I went to the park we used to walk at before I started training this time around. It's lit at night, there's a lot of people around (especially if there are baseball games going on, which is almost every night in the summer), and therefore is a lot safer for somebody running alone. The downside is that it's a 1 1/2 mile loop, so it can get monotonous. It's also not flat like the new trail. There's one hill with about a 23' vertical rise over about an eight of a mile. Short, but kind of brutal.
The temperature was 86 degrees when I arrived at the park and the humidity was high, but it makes all the difference in the world when the sun isn't also beating down on me. It made so much difference that I set the goal of running it with the same strategy I'd like to use for the race: run 1/4 of each mile. It's easy on this trail, because the distance is marked off in 1/4 mile increments, so I could leave my phone in my pouch and just run to the distance markers. I managed the whole run, feeling good. I felt like a runner. I caught a glimpse of my shadow as I ran around a bend and was kind of impressed: shoulders back, confident stride. As the run progressed, though, the uncomfortable tightness in my muscles from the trip on the treadmill came back, and worsened with each mile. It didn't hurt, per se, so I didn't stop (except to stretch briefly here and there), but it was noticeable. I stretched thoroughly when I got home and took a rest day on Saturday, and haven't noticed a twinge since.
But no more trying to talk to me on the treadmill!!!
This week went much better than last week. For starters, it occurred to me that maybe I wasn't consuming enough water for all the hard workouts and hot weather. It's never been a problem before, but my digestive system has been increasingly stubborn lately, so I decided to see what would happen if I tried drinking more water. Funny thing, as soon as I did, I dropped a pound a day for three days in a row. And another one later in the week. So apparently now that I'm an elite athlete (*snicker*) I need to hydrate like one.
Both Tuesday's run and Thursday's incline walks (with decreased speed on the highest incline) went exactly as planned, so that's two workouts off the checklists. This Tuesday I'll be going for 3/4 mile running intervals with 1/4 mile walking rests. And Thursday I'll go for a second successful attack at the inclines.
Well, okay, exactly as planned except that on my cooldown after Tuesday's run, I tripped on the treadmill. Kourt was trying to point say something to me, and I leaned too far over to try and hear her and stepped off the belt a bit. Ended up hitting the emergency stop button on accident, and while I didn't actually fall down, the contortions I went through to stay on my feet were pretty jarring. As we left the gym I felt just a little tightness in my muscles, but it seemed to go away by the next day.
My sister wasn't available to do our long run on Friday night, so I had to go it alone. The trail we've been using is a straight out and back, and since it's not lit at night and I wasn't sure what time, exactly, the sun would set, I wasn't comfortable with the prospect of finding myself still two miles out with no light and all alone. So I went to the park we used to walk at before I started training this time around. It's lit at night, there's a lot of people around (especially if there are baseball games going on, which is almost every night in the summer), and therefore is a lot safer for somebody running alone. The downside is that it's a 1 1/2 mile loop, so it can get monotonous. It's also not flat like the new trail. There's one hill with about a 23' vertical rise over about an eight of a mile. Short, but kind of brutal.
The temperature was 86 degrees when I arrived at the park and the humidity was high, but it makes all the difference in the world when the sun isn't also beating down on me. It made so much difference that I set the goal of running it with the same strategy I'd like to use for the race: run 1/4 of each mile. It's easy on this trail, because the distance is marked off in 1/4 mile increments, so I could leave my phone in my pouch and just run to the distance markers. I managed the whole run, feeling good. I felt like a runner. I caught a glimpse of my shadow as I ran around a bend and was kind of impressed: shoulders back, confident stride. As the run progressed, though, the uncomfortable tightness in my muscles from the trip on the treadmill came back, and worsened with each mile. It didn't hurt, per se, so I didn't stop (except to stretch briefly here and there), but it was noticeable. I stretched thoroughly when I got home and took a rest day on Saturday, and haven't noticed a twinge since.
But no more trying to talk to me on the treadmill!!!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Miscellanea
1. I have my race shoes! I've known from the beginning that one pair wouldn't take me all the way from February to race day, so I've gotten a pair to use on outdoor runs (and then for the race), and my existing pair will be for gym workouts. I was super excited to see that the ones I've been using were still available to order, although I'm a little bummed that my sister got her pair for about $20 less because she ordered them months ago, but whatever. I like the way they feel, the pair I have has served me well, so I don't feel bad about paying full price. And most of all they're so pretty! All hot pink and neon green!
Now all I need is a different colored pair of laces, so I know which pair is which.
2. During my internet down time, I hit another 10-pound weight loss milestone and took more pics. The odd thing is that between the first pic (210 lbs) and the second pic (200 lbs) I didn't feel like there was a big change in my body, but the pics show noticeable difference. This time (190 lbs), I feel so much smaller and more toned, and yet it just doesn't read that way in the pics. But whatever. Maybe it's the tighter workout pants.
3. I really thought I had more to write about, but I can't come up with anything else.
2. During my internet down time, I hit another 10-pound weight loss milestone and took more pics. The odd thing is that between the first pic (210 lbs) and the second pic (200 lbs) I didn't feel like there was a big change in my body, but the pics show noticeable difference. This time (190 lbs), I feel so much smaller and more toned, and yet it just doesn't read that way in the pics. But whatever. Maybe it's the tighter workout pants.
3. I really thought I had more to write about, but I can't come up with anything else.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Marathon Training, Week 2
18 weeks until race day.
It's been a somewhat lackluster training week. It started out strong on Sunday with our hamstrings and shoulders workout, which meant I finally got to put Kourt through the lovely drop sets that Andrew put me through the night I trained by myself. Muahahaha! Then an hour on the elliptical machines.
We took our rest day, and then on Tuesday I went to the gym alone to run. I had to make myself go, as I wasn't feeling into it. Constipation's a bitch. But I knew I should go, so I made myself get dressed and get in the car. I got on the treadmill and started running, and kept going until the 2.5 mile mark, at which point I felt things starting to, well, move. And at that point I decided the run was over and I did a quick cooldown and headed for the locker room. I never thought I'd see the day when I was disappointed in myself for "only" doing 2.5 miles instead of 3. So next week it'll be the half mile intervals again so I can make it to the end.
Wednesday we lifted again, triceps and back, but only did a half hour of cardio because we got a late start. We decided that maybe it would work a lot better for us on work nights if we just go to the gym as soon as Kourt's shift is over and get it over with. If we come home and cook dinner first, we feel compelled not to run right to the gym without letting dinner settle, and then we get sidetracked with things and it's sometimes 1am before we get our fat asses out the door.
So Thursday we did just that. I came home and changed and met Kourt for our workout directly after she got done with work. I think that will have to be our plan from here on out, as we were finished with our workout before the time we'd usually be heading out the door. Plus, I get off work an hour before she does, so as my training workouts get longer I can get a head start and not force her to hang out at the gym waiting for me to do my last couple of miles. The workout that night, though, wasn't a resounding success. I'd concocted a series of incline interval workouts to do, and had been trying to do quarter mile intervals increasing the incline by 2% each time, dropping back down to a level incline at the beginning of each mile. And I intended to maintain 4mph for the whole workout, since 4mph is a reasonably easy speed with no incline. Apparently, though, 4mph at 7% is a little TOO challenging, because the only way I could keep going was to hold on to the handrail, which is a big, big no-no. I wasn't able to do it last week, and I thought it was because I'd already spent all the muscle endurance in my legs that night, but my ability wasn't much better on fresh legs. So it looks like I need to back off on the speed a little if I'm going to conquer that kind of incline. Of course, I could also just stop trying to do such a steep incline, especially considering that the Chicago marathon course is pretty darn flat from what I've heard, but it's like a personal challenge at this point. I feel like I should be able to do it.
Friday we skipped. I'd proposed that we go to a local amusement park that day, which would involve a hell of a lot of walking up and down hills and is always a good workout, but upon further consideration I decided that there were simply too many errands and chores to get done. Plus, our service appointment to get our cable fixed (IT'S BACK!! IT'S FINALLY BACK!!! I LOVE MY BROADBAND!!!) was yesterday afternoon and I knew they'd want somebody to be here for that. So we slept an hour or so late, ran errands all morning and into the afternoon, and then rushed home to be here for the cable guy. Once that was done we dosed all our cats with their flea meds, did some more errand-running, had dinner, and it was pretty late at that point so I was more than willing to just call it a day. Sometimes things just need to be done, you know?
Today's long run was just 4 miles. When I got up, Weather.com said it was 84 degrees out already. The trail is asphalt, and by mid-to-late morning there's basically no shade to speak of. It was miserable. I have no idea how hot it had gotten by the time we started out on the trail, but it was into the 90s by the time we were done. I took off running after walking the first mile, and wore myself out in pretty short order. We walked the rest, and only did three miles because my sister tripped on a curb the other day and thinks one of her toes is broken. We've decided that if the rest of the summer is going to be this hot and humid (it's only June, and this is August-type weather!), we'd be better off doing our runs in the evenings on Fridays. It'll be cooler, none of us have to be anywhere important on Saturday mornings so time won't be a factor, and I won't have to drown myself in SPF 50.
So, the agenda for next week? Tuesday I need to get through the whole three miles of running intervals so I can mark it off my list. Thursday I'm going to tackle the inclines again at a lower speed and see if I can't keep my hands off the bar for the duration. I should spend one of my cross-training days on the treadmill since I've not gotten in any good running other than Tuesdays for a few weeks. And then our long run Friday night will be 8 miles. Hopefully going out at sunset will allow me to actually get in some good running.
It's been a somewhat lackluster training week. It started out strong on Sunday with our hamstrings and shoulders workout, which meant I finally got to put Kourt through the lovely drop sets that Andrew put me through the night I trained by myself. Muahahaha! Then an hour on the elliptical machines.
We took our rest day, and then on Tuesday I went to the gym alone to run. I had to make myself go, as I wasn't feeling into it. Constipation's a bitch. But I knew I should go, so I made myself get dressed and get in the car. I got on the treadmill and started running, and kept going until the 2.5 mile mark, at which point I felt things starting to, well, move. And at that point I decided the run was over and I did a quick cooldown and headed for the locker room. I never thought I'd see the day when I was disappointed in myself for "only" doing 2.5 miles instead of 3. So next week it'll be the half mile intervals again so I can make it to the end.
Wednesday we lifted again, triceps and back, but only did a half hour of cardio because we got a late start. We decided that maybe it would work a lot better for us on work nights if we just go to the gym as soon as Kourt's shift is over and get it over with. If we come home and cook dinner first, we feel compelled not to run right to the gym without letting dinner settle, and then we get sidetracked with things and it's sometimes 1am before we get our fat asses out the door.
So Thursday we did just that. I came home and changed and met Kourt for our workout directly after she got done with work. I think that will have to be our plan from here on out, as we were finished with our workout before the time we'd usually be heading out the door. Plus, I get off work an hour before she does, so as my training workouts get longer I can get a head start and not force her to hang out at the gym waiting for me to do my last couple of miles. The workout that night, though, wasn't a resounding success. I'd concocted a series of incline interval workouts to do, and had been trying to do quarter mile intervals increasing the incline by 2% each time, dropping back down to a level incline at the beginning of each mile. And I intended to maintain 4mph for the whole workout, since 4mph is a reasonably easy speed with no incline. Apparently, though, 4mph at 7% is a little TOO challenging, because the only way I could keep going was to hold on to the handrail, which is a big, big no-no. I wasn't able to do it last week, and I thought it was because I'd already spent all the muscle endurance in my legs that night, but my ability wasn't much better on fresh legs. So it looks like I need to back off on the speed a little if I'm going to conquer that kind of incline. Of course, I could also just stop trying to do such a steep incline, especially considering that the Chicago marathon course is pretty darn flat from what I've heard, but it's like a personal challenge at this point. I feel like I should be able to do it.
Friday we skipped. I'd proposed that we go to a local amusement park that day, which would involve a hell of a lot of walking up and down hills and is always a good workout, but upon further consideration I decided that there were simply too many errands and chores to get done. Plus, our service appointment to get our cable fixed (IT'S BACK!! IT'S FINALLY BACK!!! I LOVE MY BROADBAND!!!) was yesterday afternoon and I knew they'd want somebody to be here for that. So we slept an hour or so late, ran errands all morning and into the afternoon, and then rushed home to be here for the cable guy. Once that was done we dosed all our cats with their flea meds, did some more errand-running, had dinner, and it was pretty late at that point so I was more than willing to just call it a day. Sometimes things just need to be done, you know?
Today's long run was just 4 miles. When I got up, Weather.com said it was 84 degrees out already. The trail is asphalt, and by mid-to-late morning there's basically no shade to speak of. It was miserable. I have no idea how hot it had gotten by the time we started out on the trail, but it was into the 90s by the time we were done. I took off running after walking the first mile, and wore myself out in pretty short order. We walked the rest, and only did three miles because my sister tripped on a curb the other day and thinks one of her toes is broken. We've decided that if the rest of the summer is going to be this hot and humid (it's only June, and this is August-type weather!), we'd be better off doing our runs in the evenings on Fridays. It'll be cooler, none of us have to be anywhere important on Saturday mornings so time won't be a factor, and I won't have to drown myself in SPF 50.
So, the agenda for next week? Tuesday I need to get through the whole three miles of running intervals so I can mark it off my list. Thursday I'm going to tackle the inclines again at a lower speed and see if I can't keep my hands off the bar for the duration. I should spend one of my cross-training days on the treadmill since I've not gotten in any good running other than Tuesdays for a few weeks. And then our long run Friday night will be 8 miles. Hopefully going out at sunset will allow me to actually get in some good running.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Marathon Training, week 1
19 weeks until race day.
I'm currently without internet access, and having to use my Blackberry as my primary computer, which is a pain in the ass. Lightning struck near our house on Tuesday night, knocking out a transformer, frying one of our TVs, and doing something catastrophic to Mediacom's infrastructure.
One would think having no internet would make my training easier by removing distracions, but it doesn't. I can't access my trainer's schedule on my phone. I was all excited about ordering my new running shoes once I got my reimbursement, but I had to wait until I could go to my parents' house and use their internet connection, so I don't have them yet. I can only do basic tracking on my Sparkpeople app, and that doesn't allow adding mileage or workout notes.
And we've been told they might not be able to get it fixed until as late as the 3rd. Grr.
Be that as it may, though, training goes on.
Sunday we went to the gym in the late afternoon/evening and did an hour on the elliptical.
Monday, then, we had an appointment with our trainer. Kourt, however, came home from work with a serious headache, so I went myself. At our last appointment he put together a triceps and back workout, so Monday was shoulders and quads. I was going to do some cardio after, but by the time Andrew was done torturing me with drop sets my legs just didn't have it in them. Plus, my plantar fasciitis flared up out of nowhere on Monday, and my right foot ached.
Tuesday, though, I ran. I've put together a little list of progressively more challenging workouts for each component of my training routine, and my plan is that when I've completed one twice I'll take it off the list and go to the next one. I've been running intervals on Running Tuesdays, running at an easy pace of 5mph and walking 1/4 mile rest intervals at 3.5mph. So I decided to up the rests to 4mph and try to push through 1/2 mile running intervals for the whole distance. I wasn't sure I could do it, but I persevered. And as long as I was running my foot didn't hurt as much as it did while I was standing on it at work. And then we ran right off to give blood to help the victims of the tornado in Joplin. My blood pressure has never been very high, but it was noticeably lower than it has been in the past. My pulse was kind of high, but I had just run 3 miles, so I figure that's to be expected.
Since I had the workout with Andrew on what is usually our rest day, I took Wednesday as a rest instead, especially since we'd just given blood and I didn't want to push my luck. Then Thursday I intended to dive right back in with some incline work for Walking Thursday. Unfortunately, I ended up skipping. We have these weekly sales goals in the summer, and Kourt bought enough of our store brand energy drink to make sure her store met the goal. That means we've got a bag full of these things here, and although I don't like the taste as much as my Rock Star, and don't like the fact that it's sweetened with HFCS and sucralose, we've got a ton and might as well drink it. I'm hopelessly addicted to caffiene, and one would assume that all energy drinks have copious amounts of it, but by about 8pm I had a throbbing withdrawal headache and noticed that caffiene is listed fairly far down in the ingredient list. Once the headache is there, just consuming caffiene won't get rid of it. I hoped if I just waited it out it might subside to a tolerable level, but by the time I got home I had no choice but to take an NSAID, and wasn't about to risk barfing on a treadmill after that.
So I held off on my incline interval workout until after our training session on Friday. By then, my foot was back to being pain free. Andrew put us through a very hard hamstring and chest workout, after which it took some effort to even punch the buttons on the treadmill. I made it through the first mile and a half of my planned workout, but my legs were just too exhausted to take on tough hills like that for the rest of the 4 miles. I'll try it again next week, not on a day I lift weights. I did the whole distance, just not with the all the planned inclines.
Today, then was a 6 mile long walk. Since my legs had been through a pretty tough week already we walked the whole distance and skipped the running. Next week's long run is a mere 4 miles, which is a nice, short distance, and I should be much less wiped out and more able to run by then, especially if we shuffle the weight workouts to put biceps and back on Fridays.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
BRING IT ON!
My training officially starts tomorrow, with a day of cross-training. I've chosen a 20-week training plan which won't be very different from my pre-training routine. I didn't set out thinking that the plan I was on for pre-training would basically be my training routine, but it's served me well so far and don't see a reason to make drastic changes. Monday will still be my rest day. I'll keep Running Tuesdays and Walking Thursdays, as my walking speed and running endurance are the two things I need to work on most (beyond the long walks increasing my general endurance, of course). Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays will be strength training and either cross training or shorter runs/walks, depending on how things are going week to week, which allows for some flexibility in the schedule. And Saturdays are for long runs, which will be the single biggest change to my routine. My distance comfort zone is up to about 8 miles, so I'm curious to see what happens when the long runs start stretching into double digits.
I'm hoping to lose 36 more pounds and be at 155 by race day. It's doable, but if I fall a little bit short it's no big deal. The only significance of that number is that it'll put me 100 pounds from my heaviest weight, which just sounds nice. And the main stumbling block on the path to that goal is the simple fact that I need to eat enough to support my activity level, especially when the long runs get really long.
I don't want to necessarily set a time goal for my first marathon, as it will be a big deal just to finish. But there is a six and a half hour time limit, and I'd like to head into it feeling able to pull off more like a 5:30, just so I'm not scared the whole time that if I stop to pee too often or the lines are too long at the port-o-potties or it takes too long to cross the start from the back of the open corral or something I'll end up not making it. So that means my goal pace is 12:35 per mile. Looking at my long run GPS stats so far, my "comfortable running speed" is about 7mph (8:34), and a reasonable projected walking pace is about 4.5mph (13:20) or faster. And that means I don't necessarily need to increase my running speed, I only need to increase my endurance to the point where I can run a quarter of each mile for the duration of the marathon. Technically, I could just walk the whole thing at that speed and come in under the time limit, as long as there were no unexpected delays. So I'm pretty confident about this whole thing right now. Especially considering I've shaved 2:20 off my pace already in 15 weeks. Another 20 weeks of training and I should be golden.
At this point, I think it's just a matter of putting in the miles and starting to figure out what works best for me in terms of gear and energy gel and what/when to eat/drink before long runs so I'll have a plan for race day. My biggest goal right now is to just get myself to the gym at least five days a week. We've been hitting four with decent consistency, but I need to be less easily talked out of gym time.
I'm hoping to lose 36 more pounds and be at 155 by race day. It's doable, but if I fall a little bit short it's no big deal. The only significance of that number is that it'll put me 100 pounds from my heaviest weight, which just sounds nice. And the main stumbling block on the path to that goal is the simple fact that I need to eat enough to support my activity level, especially when the long runs get really long.
I don't want to necessarily set a time goal for my first marathon, as it will be a big deal just to finish. But there is a six and a half hour time limit, and I'd like to head into it feeling able to pull off more like a 5:30, just so I'm not scared the whole time that if I stop to pee too often or the lines are too long at the port-o-potties or it takes too long to cross the start from the back of the open corral or something I'll end up not making it. So that means my goal pace is 12:35 per mile. Looking at my long run GPS stats so far, my "comfortable running speed" is about 7mph (8:34), and a reasonable projected walking pace is about 4.5mph (13:20) or faster. And that means I don't necessarily need to increase my running speed, I only need to increase my endurance to the point where I can run a quarter of each mile for the duration of the marathon. Technically, I could just walk the whole thing at that speed and come in under the time limit, as long as there were no unexpected delays. So I'm pretty confident about this whole thing right now. Especially considering I've shaved 2:20 off my pace already in 15 weeks. Another 20 weeks of training and I should be golden.
At this point, I think it's just a matter of putting in the miles and starting to figure out what works best for me in terms of gear and energy gel and what/when to eat/drink before long runs so I'll have a plan for race day. My biggest goal right now is to just get myself to the gym at least five days a week. We've been hitting four with decent consistency, but I need to be less easily talked out of gym time.
Marathon Pre-Training, Final Week
This week's stats:
So today, as the last outdoor run/walk before training starts, I decided I wanted to do a time trial. My intent was to go four miles, but there was some kind of huge gathering at the trailhead so we had to park farther up and get on the trail just past the 1 mile mark. That meant walking about a mile from the car to the trail, so we cut it to three miles to make sure we had time to finish before our weekly lunch date with the family. It was hot out, around 80 degrees, and sunny. And humid. I wanted to do four miles because if you start at the trailhead the one and two mile points are clearly marked on the pavement, meaning I could do the whole thing without glancing at the miCoach stats on my phone. But since we started in the middle and I had to turn around after a mile and a half, I had to rely on the phone to tell me when to turn around. I did, however, manage to keep myself from looking at my time until the end. I hoped to run more of it than I did -- I'm sure I ran, cumulatively, around a quarter mile -- so I didn't feel like I was doing that well. It was just so hot out, and I'm not fond of full sunlight, so it felt like trying to run in a sauna. It turned into more a test of my walking speed than anything else. I was confident I would end up with an average pace under 15:00 per mile, and I was hoping for 14:00. When I got close to the end and took out my phone so I could stop the timer just as I hit the "finish line," I was shocked to see the time. I finished at 39:53, for an average pace of 13:20. Just over 4.5mph. And that's primarily walking.
While that's faster than I have to go to finish the marathon in the given time, I know I still need to work on my average speed. My 5k pace should be faster than that. And I know I'll get there. After all, 15 weeks ago the best I'd ever managed to average over a 3-6 mile distance was about 15:45 per mile, so I've achieved a HUGE improvement. I've now got 20 more weeks to shave off more time, and just increasing my running stamina will do wonders. At this point, then, I feel good to go.
- 8.24 treadmill miles
- 3.00 outdoor miles
- 1 hours on elliptical machine
- 2 weightlifting sessions
- 1 pounds lost
- 15 weeks
- 108.10 treadmill miles
- 54.51 outdoor miles
- 24 pounds lost (@ 191)
So today, as the last outdoor run/walk before training starts, I decided I wanted to do a time trial. My intent was to go four miles, but there was some kind of huge gathering at the trailhead so we had to park farther up and get on the trail just past the 1 mile mark. That meant walking about a mile from the car to the trail, so we cut it to three miles to make sure we had time to finish before our weekly lunch date with the family. It was hot out, around 80 degrees, and sunny. And humid. I wanted to do four miles because if you start at the trailhead the one and two mile points are clearly marked on the pavement, meaning I could do the whole thing without glancing at the miCoach stats on my phone. But since we started in the middle and I had to turn around after a mile and a half, I had to rely on the phone to tell me when to turn around. I did, however, manage to keep myself from looking at my time until the end. I hoped to run more of it than I did -- I'm sure I ran, cumulatively, around a quarter mile -- so I didn't feel like I was doing that well. It was just so hot out, and I'm not fond of full sunlight, so it felt like trying to run in a sauna. It turned into more a test of my walking speed than anything else. I was confident I would end up with an average pace under 15:00 per mile, and I was hoping for 14:00. When I got close to the end and took out my phone so I could stop the timer just as I hit the "finish line," I was shocked to see the time. I finished at 39:53, for an average pace of 13:20. Just over 4.5mph. And that's primarily walking.
While that's faster than I have to go to finish the marathon in the given time, I know I still need to work on my average speed. My 5k pace should be faster than that. And I know I'll get there. After all, 15 weeks ago the best I'd ever managed to average over a 3-6 mile distance was about 15:45 per mile, so I've achieved a HUGE improvement. I've now got 20 more weeks to shave off more time, and just increasing my running stamina will do wonders. At this point, then, I feel good to go.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Marathon Pre-Training, Week 14
This week's stats:
I only have one more week to go until marathon training actually begins. I had all kinds of good intentions about working out consistently even though I had to go on this business trip. My hotel did have a workout room with a treadmill, a recumbent bike, and a weight machine, and they had a deal where you could get free passes to a nearby fitness center.
But I only got one workout in while at the hotel.
I didn't workout Sunday because I had to work my normal morning shift and then drive to Arkansas, and by the time I got to the right hotel (there was a bit of a mixup with the directions I was given) and got checked in, I had to go to bed in order to be able to get any kind of decent sleep before getting up at 5am.
Monday I worked ten hours on about six hours of sleep, then went in search of a grocery store and made up lunches to take to work the rest of the week, and then unintentionally fell asleep for several hours. So, no workout that night.
Tuesday I intended to go back to the hotel and work out, but ended up working twelve and a half hours at the store. About half that day was spent reorganizing and cleaning the cooler, which involved hefting heavy boxes and cases of beverages around, and I was literally exhausted when I finally got back to the hotel. I decided to count all that box moving as my workout and just go straight to bed after dinner.
Wednesday, though, I worked out. But the treadmill sucked. It took me a couple of minutes just to figure out how to get the display to tell me what I needed to know, and the controls were buttons that said things like "faster" and "slower." Not exactly useful. So after warming up on the treadmill and deciding I hated it, I tried the weight machine. It was wobbly from overuse and after trying a few exercises I started to feel that it wasn't the safest piece of equipment to be using. So I ended up doing an hour of very challenging intervals on the bike while watching NCIS. If nothing else, my quads and calves got a really good workout. And I felt good about actually getting my ass out of the room and putting in the effort.
Thursday night, then, was spent packing and doing laundry and preparing to check out the next morning, and then going to bed early so I would be rested for a day at work and a long drive home. I knew I wouldn't get a workout in on Friday, either, but by that point I'd decided that as physically exhausted as I'd been all week from traveling and working long hours that maybe a week of rest was perhaps what I needed most.
You can imagine, then, how surprised I was to get home and step on the scale and find that I'd lost 2 pounds. But in reality I did put in a lot of physical work at the store during the week and the one thing I did really well on this trip was manage my eating. My hotel room had a very basic kitchenette -- microwave, sink, fridge. So although the company's allowance for reimbursement for food on this trip would have allowed me to go out for dinner each night, I opted instead to buy enough groceries for meals at the hotel and lunches to take to work so I could more closely control my caloric intake. That also allowed me to be able to come back to my room and really relax instead of spending an hour each night finding somewhere to eat dinner in a city I'm unfamiliar with.
In the end, I do feel kind of bad that there was no Running Tuesday, no Walking Thursday, and no strength training this week, but rest is a good thing. I think I benefited from it.
This morning, then, I got up for my long walk. Kourt didn't want to get up, and Brenda was unavailable this weekend, so I was on my own. I almost skipped. It was cold out. I went back to bed for a couple of minutes, but realized I wasn't tired enough to sleep more and, although my bed is comfy, I really felt compelled to get up and go anyway. So I did. My running intervals at the beginning of each mile were longer than last time, and I think the rest this week had a lot to do with that. So I got in over seven miles today, which makes me feel a lot more like I'm back into my routine.
So, starting a week from tomorrow I'll be officially "in training." Race day will be here before I know it.
- 0 treadmill miles
- 7.32 outdoor miles
- 1 hours on a recumbent bike
- 0 weightlifting sessions
- 2 pounds lost
- 14 weeks
- 99.86 treadmill miles
- 51.51 outdoor miles
- 23 pounds lost (@ 192)
I only have one more week to go until marathon training actually begins. I had all kinds of good intentions about working out consistently even though I had to go on this business trip. My hotel did have a workout room with a treadmill, a recumbent bike, and a weight machine, and they had a deal where you could get free passes to a nearby fitness center.
But I only got one workout in while at the hotel.
I didn't workout Sunday because I had to work my normal morning shift and then drive to Arkansas, and by the time I got to the right hotel (there was a bit of a mixup with the directions I was given) and got checked in, I had to go to bed in order to be able to get any kind of decent sleep before getting up at 5am.
Monday I worked ten hours on about six hours of sleep, then went in search of a grocery store and made up lunches to take to work the rest of the week, and then unintentionally fell asleep for several hours. So, no workout that night.
Tuesday I intended to go back to the hotel and work out, but ended up working twelve and a half hours at the store. About half that day was spent reorganizing and cleaning the cooler, which involved hefting heavy boxes and cases of beverages around, and I was literally exhausted when I finally got back to the hotel. I decided to count all that box moving as my workout and just go straight to bed after dinner.
Wednesday, though, I worked out. But the treadmill sucked. It took me a couple of minutes just to figure out how to get the display to tell me what I needed to know, and the controls were buttons that said things like "faster" and "slower." Not exactly useful. So after warming up on the treadmill and deciding I hated it, I tried the weight machine. It was wobbly from overuse and after trying a few exercises I started to feel that it wasn't the safest piece of equipment to be using. So I ended up doing an hour of very challenging intervals on the bike while watching NCIS. If nothing else, my quads and calves got a really good workout. And I felt good about actually getting my ass out of the room and putting in the effort.
Thursday night, then, was spent packing and doing laundry and preparing to check out the next morning, and then going to bed early so I would be rested for a day at work and a long drive home. I knew I wouldn't get a workout in on Friday, either, but by that point I'd decided that as physically exhausted as I'd been all week from traveling and working long hours that maybe a week of rest was perhaps what I needed most.
You can imagine, then, how surprised I was to get home and step on the scale and find that I'd lost 2 pounds. But in reality I did put in a lot of physical work at the store during the week and the one thing I did really well on this trip was manage my eating. My hotel room had a very basic kitchenette -- microwave, sink, fridge. So although the company's allowance for reimbursement for food on this trip would have allowed me to go out for dinner each night, I opted instead to buy enough groceries for meals at the hotel and lunches to take to work so I could more closely control my caloric intake. That also allowed me to be able to come back to my room and really relax instead of spending an hour each night finding somewhere to eat dinner in a city I'm unfamiliar with.
In the end, I do feel kind of bad that there was no Running Tuesday, no Walking Thursday, and no strength training this week, but rest is a good thing. I think I benefited from it.
This morning, then, I got up for my long walk. Kourt didn't want to get up, and Brenda was unavailable this weekend, so I was on my own. I almost skipped. It was cold out. I went back to bed for a couple of minutes, but realized I wasn't tired enough to sleep more and, although my bed is comfy, I really felt compelled to get up and go anyway. So I did. My running intervals at the beginning of each mile were longer than last time, and I think the rest this week had a lot to do with that. So I got in over seven miles today, which makes me feel a lot more like I'm back into my routine.
So, starting a week from tomorrow I'll be officially "in training." Race day will be here before I know it.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Marathon Pre-Training, Week 13 (long overdue)
So, I'm in a hotel in Jonesboro, Arkansas, which is basically why I didn't blog about last week's pre-training over the weekend. Last Tuesday I was asked to go on a week-long business trip to help manage a store down here which I wasn't exactly excited about, mostly because I knew it would seriously cut into my exercise regimen. Not to mention how traveling tends to totally fuck up a diet. But it's one of those opportunities that you don't turn down, and my reasons for not wanting to go basically boiled down to not wanting to drive that far, not wanting to screw with my workout and diet, and the fact that it was in Arkansas. None of those are exactly great reasons, and ultimately there was no way I was going to say no. So I spent the weekend packing and making arrangements and driving, and not blogging.
But I won't go babbling about this week until I get back.
Last weeks stats, then:
Otherwise it was a pretty normal workout week. We met with our trainer, who added a few things to our suspension trainer routine. We really like working on the suspension trainer, so we told him we didn't want him to get rid of it yet. He did make us get on the big stair machine -- the one with the actual stairs, like an escalator. It's not my favorite machine, but it is certainly an effective exercise.
And now, since I'm very tired and have to be at work at 6am, I'm going to stop blogging and go to bed.
But I won't go babbling about this week until I get back.
Last weeks stats, then:
- 8.46 treadmill miles
- 4.5 outdoor miles
- 1 hours on the elliptical machine
- 3 weightlifting sessions
- 1 pounds lost
- 13 weeks
- 99.86 treadmill miles
- 44.19 outdoor miles
- 21 pounds lost (@ 194)
Otherwise it was a pretty normal workout week. We met with our trainer, who added a few things to our suspension trainer routine. We really like working on the suspension trainer, so we told him we didn't want him to get rid of it yet. He did make us get on the big stair machine -- the one with the actual stairs, like an escalator. It's not my favorite machine, but it is certainly an effective exercise.
And now, since I'm very tired and have to be at work at 6am, I'm going to stop blogging and go to bed.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Marathon Pre-Training, Week 12
I'm a little late on the weekly recap this time around.
Stats:
I'm calling that a good thing, but maybe it does mean it's time to shake things up, push the intensity on the elliptical machine, try some new cardio workouts, etc. I have to admit that, although at any given time during a workout I usually feel like I'm working pretty hard, I don't leave the gym with that spent feeling like I used to. Maybe that just means I've improved my fitness level enough that I recover quickly, which is good. But it could also mean that I'm getting a little complacent and should push myself a little harder or find something more challenging to do at the gym, especially on cross-training nights.
And on that note, I'm off to the gym for Running Tuesday. I'm going to run off the irritation I'm feeling at being told I probably have to go to Arkansas all next week for work. I don't want to go to Arkansas. The hotel had better have a gym.
Stats:
- 8.20 treadmill miles
- 3.48 outdoor miles
- 1.5 hours on the elliptical machine
- 3 weightlifting sessions
- 1 pounds lost
- 12 weeks
- 91.40 treadmill miles
- 39.69 outdoor miles
- 20 pounds lost (@ 195)
I'm calling that a good thing, but maybe it does mean it's time to shake things up, push the intensity on the elliptical machine, try some new cardio workouts, etc. I have to admit that, although at any given time during a workout I usually feel like I'm working pretty hard, I don't leave the gym with that spent feeling like I used to. Maybe that just means I've improved my fitness level enough that I recover quickly, which is good. But it could also mean that I'm getting a little complacent and should push myself a little harder or find something more challenging to do at the gym, especially on cross-training nights.
And on that note, I'm off to the gym for Running Tuesday. I'm going to run off the irritation I'm feeling at being told I probably have to go to Arkansas all next week for work. I don't want to go to Arkansas. The hotel had better have a gym.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
My "Inner Fat Girl" is a whiny baby.
There's a popular thread going on Sparkpeople.com about how one goes about shutting up or getting rid of one's "inner fat girl." She's the voice inside that tells you you'll always be fat, it's fine to eat when you know you shouldn't, you won't look good in that new smaller-sized dress, etc.
I managed to pretty much silence my Inner Fat Girl when I started losing weight back in 2009. I don't really hear that voice in my head these days. But I've discovered I have a different negative voice now.
Running Tuesday was postponed this week until Wednesday. I like doing it on Tuesday because we only do cardio on Tuesdays, so I can run on fresh, rested legs. On Wednesdays we do our strength workout, so there's less left in me for cardio after. Still, I didn't want to skip it altogether, so after a good workout on the TRX Suspension Trainer at the gym (our new favorite piece of equipment!) complete with cardio bursts inbetween sets and some squats and dead lifts at the end, I took on the treadmill.
Spoiler: I made it through. Ran the whole 2 miles again. But it wasn't easy to keep going. After last week's Running Tuesday disaster I went in prepared to struggle through this one, and I was barely into the second interval when I started to consider cutting it short again. It just felt really hard somehow.
But I caught myself before my fingers hit the speed controls on the keypad. Were my legs hurting? No. Was I lightheaded or weak or nauseous? No. Was I having a hard time getting my breath? No. Did my heart rate feel too high? No. Were there any indications that I was pushing myself so hard that I might end up injuring myself? No. Did it feel like any part of my body was about to give out? Nope. I was simply having to push myself a tiny bit harder than usual to keep going, probably on account of the strength training leaving me with a bit less energy. So why the fuck was I about to stop?
Because I don't have an Inner Fat Girl as much as I have an Inner Whiny Lazy Bitch. She knows I don't have to keep running to lose weight. She knows it's way more comfortable to walk than it is to run. She doesn't want to push any harder than she has to. She's the procrastinator who tells me that five months is a plenty of time to prepare and not running the whole distance that one time isn't that big of a deal. She's the one who says it's okay to take an extra rest day because it's kind of late and I should have left for the gym an hour ago and now that I'm home and comfortable I might as well just stay there.
Somehow, I'll figure out how to shut her up, too.
I managed to pretty much silence my Inner Fat Girl when I started losing weight back in 2009. I don't really hear that voice in my head these days. But I've discovered I have a different negative voice now.
Running Tuesday was postponed this week until Wednesday. I like doing it on Tuesday because we only do cardio on Tuesdays, so I can run on fresh, rested legs. On Wednesdays we do our strength workout, so there's less left in me for cardio after. Still, I didn't want to skip it altogether, so after a good workout on the TRX Suspension Trainer at the gym (our new favorite piece of equipment!) complete with cardio bursts inbetween sets and some squats and dead lifts at the end, I took on the treadmill.
Spoiler: I made it through. Ran the whole 2 miles again. But it wasn't easy to keep going. After last week's Running Tuesday disaster I went in prepared to struggle through this one, and I was barely into the second interval when I started to consider cutting it short again. It just felt really hard somehow.
But I caught myself before my fingers hit the speed controls on the keypad. Were my legs hurting? No. Was I lightheaded or weak or nauseous? No. Was I having a hard time getting my breath? No. Did my heart rate feel too high? No. Were there any indications that I was pushing myself so hard that I might end up injuring myself? No. Did it feel like any part of my body was about to give out? Nope. I was simply having to push myself a tiny bit harder than usual to keep going, probably on account of the strength training leaving me with a bit less energy. So why the fuck was I about to stop?
Because I don't have an Inner Fat Girl as much as I have an Inner Whiny Lazy Bitch. She knows I don't have to keep running to lose weight. She knows it's way more comfortable to walk than it is to run. She doesn't want to push any harder than she has to. She's the procrastinator who tells me that five months is a plenty of time to prepare and not running the whole distance that one time isn't that big of a deal. She's the one who says it's okay to take an extra rest day because it's kind of late and I should have left for the gym an hour ago and now that I'm home and comfortable I might as well just stay there.
Somehow, I'll figure out how to shut her up, too.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Marathon Pre-Training, Week 11
Another weird work schedule week. A new employee started training this week (hi, Amanda!) and I worked one overnight shift to help train her. I thought it would make getting our Tuesday night workout in easier, since we could theoretically do it before I went to work but after Kourt came home so she wouldn't have to nap and then work out. But Kourt was too tired to work out once she got home, and I procrastinated just long enough to cut time really, really close at the gym. Unfortunately, I also didn't have any caffeine all Tuesday while I was up, and ended up with a withdrawal headache. Even more unfortunately, instead of getting coffee or an energy drink (didn't want to have to stop the treadmill to pee), I took some naproxen, even though there was this voice in the back of my head reminding me that there was supposed to be some reason I shouldn't do that before a workout. Combine that with the fact that to save time I chose to go to the gym location we don't normally use because it's not kept cool enough to be comfortable, and the result was that the second try at Running Tuesday didn't go as swimmingly as last week. I struggled through a quarter mile, then started to get a bit lightheaded and overheated. Tried to push through a second, but started getting a tiny bit nauseous. Ended up just walking and cutting the whole workout to 30 minutes, partly because of how much I was struggling and partly so I would have plenty of time to get home and shower before work. Still got in close to 2 miles in that 30 minutes, but it wasn't what I'd hoped to achieve.
This week's stats:
So, with four weeks left before I start the official training schedule, I've been giving some thought to how to handle these weird shifts in my schedule and such. It would be far too optimistic to think that there wouldn't be any unforeseen interruptions to my training schedule over the course of 20 weeks. It's going to happen. So I guess my thought at this point is that I maintain a sort of priority list of workouts, with long walk/run at the top, and then tempo and speed walks, then strength training and cross training. If I have to skip something, it should be the strength or cross training first, then maybe the shorter walks if I have to. And unless something drastic like an injury or something happens, the long walk/runs are absolutely no-skip workouts. I should probably feel good about the fact that although I have had low-mileage weeks during pre-training I haven't actually missed a long walk or had a week where I didn't do at least three or four workouts minimum. I just have to keep up the momentum while I'm in training. And not get all neurotic about hiccups in the plan.
It did occur to me this week that a certain weight loss milestone seems to be within reach by race day: 100 total pounds lost overall since my highest weight. At two pounds per week I'd hit that goal with three and a half weeks to spare. It would be pretty damn awesome to be able to celebrate crossing the finish line AND 100 pounds gone at the same time. And although I usually wouldn't celebrate weight loss with food, you can bet my post-race celebration will involve eating whatever I damn well please for the rest of the trip.
This week's stats:
- 10.06 treadmill miles
- 0 outdoor miles
- 1 hours on the elliptical machine
- 3 weightlifting sessions
- 2 pounds lost
- 11 weeks
- 83.20 treadmill miles
- 36.21 outdoor miles
- 19 pounds lost (@ 196)
So, with four weeks left before I start the official training schedule, I've been giving some thought to how to handle these weird shifts in my schedule and such. It would be far too optimistic to think that there wouldn't be any unforeseen interruptions to my training schedule over the course of 20 weeks. It's going to happen. So I guess my thought at this point is that I maintain a sort of priority list of workouts, with long walk/run at the top, and then tempo and speed walks, then strength training and cross training. If I have to skip something, it should be the strength or cross training first, then maybe the shorter walks if I have to. And unless something drastic like an injury or something happens, the long walk/runs are absolutely no-skip workouts. I should probably feel good about the fact that although I have had low-mileage weeks during pre-training I haven't actually missed a long walk or had a week where I didn't do at least three or four workouts minimum. I just have to keep up the momentum while I'm in training. And not get all neurotic about hiccups in the plan.
It did occur to me this week that a certain weight loss milestone seems to be within reach by race day: 100 total pounds lost overall since my highest weight. At two pounds per week I'd hit that goal with three and a half weeks to spare. It would be pretty damn awesome to be able to celebrate crossing the finish line AND 100 pounds gone at the same time. And although I usually wouldn't celebrate weight loss with food, you can bet my post-race celebration will involve eating whatever I damn well please for the rest of the trip.
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