Tag Archives: training

Running Update: 18 Days Until Boston

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Hi friends!

So, I’ve been kind of holding off on this post because 1) I haven’t had very much spare time recently (I feel like I haven’t had spare time since January), and 2) I was trying to wait until I wasn’t angry about this dumb leg and its dumb inability to move without pain (just like I was trying to wait to run until after I could walk up the stairs without hurting, but since neither of those things have happened, here we are).

I am angry about my dumb leg and its dumb inability to move without pain.

Since last we spoke about marathon training, I had just completed an uneventful 20 miler 2.5 weeks ago.  YAY! 20 miler complete, ability to complete marathon verified.

Then I attempted some mile repeats (finally running a sub-7 minute mile for the first time this training cycle) which caused massive shin splints.  Annoying, but not a big deal. I rested for a couple of days, and everything was ok. BUT THEN, when the shin splints were not bothering me any more, the dumb calf thing appeared out of nowhere (during a rest day) AGAIN and started hurting AGAIN.

More rest. More annoyance.  Mild panic over the fact that my most crucial training weeks were rapidly being wasted.  I did however buy a bag of Easter egg Reese’s cups (they were on sale at Target!), and eat them.

Then, last weekend, I ran Bataan (bad Amy) but at a slower pace than I wanted, not because I was being cautious, but because I hurt so bad.  When I caught up to my dad, he asked me if everything was ok since he was expecting me to pass him long before.  I said no, as a matter of fact, I wasn’t ok.  But, as I mentioned in that epically long Bataan post, that particular race really changes one’s perception of “discomfort.” And, at mile 10 my body just stopped caring and the pain went away.  Until I crossed the finish line and remembered it.  Then it came back.

MORE rest.

I didn’t run all week.  I tried once, but I got less than 2 miles in before having to stop.

Sunday was scheduled as our final long run.  We had chosen the course weeks ago as a ridiculously challenging 22 miler with a steep uphill and a steep downhill, up and down until mileage was complete.  A 10K is actually run on this course…it is called, “The World’s Toughest 10-K.”  My goal was to mimic the long downhill stretches followed by long uphill stretches of the Boston course.

Tramway Elevation

It sucked for the following reasons:

1) I was throw-up sick both Friday and Saturday (this happens for no apparent reason every once in awhile, and no, I’m absolutely not pregnant), so most of what I ate didn’t stick around long enough to provide energy or nutrients,

2) The course included almost 1,000 feet of elevation gain over 4.5 miles (meant to make the Newton Hills look easy),

3) Intense spring winds made downhills feel like work (even Aaron said so!).  My average pace was 10:20 which was not confidence boosting.

Thanks to a fabulous bacon themed party the night before, we stayed up past our bedtime and woke up late/got a later start than planned, and I ran out of time.  I only got in 19.6 miles instead of the 22 I had wanted to run.

Luckily, the course ended at a resort (we’re so clever!), and we headed straight into a massage (slightly ironic that the massage was the cause of my run being cut short).  It simultaneously felt amazing and painful.  I told the masseuse to let out her life frustrations on my calf, and she did.

But I still hurt.

It isn’t an injury.  Nothing is broken.  It just hurts.  I’m making an appointment with a sports chiropractor (thanks, Beth!), and I’m hoping he doubles as a miracle worker.

I’m able to run, but not fast.  I’ve lost 2 weeks of training and my last long run wasn’t long enough to satisfy me (I considered attempting 20 miles again this weekend but I have decided against it).  And we are EIGHTEEN DAYS AWAY from Boston.

So, my training isn’t suggesting that I’ll hit 3:30 much less even match my Chicago time (not that I won’t fight to the death to try). But I am excited nonetheless.

My Runner’s Passport and welcome brochure came in the mail this week which was comparable in excitement level to getting my first college dorm and roommate assignment. In just a few short weeks, I’ll be lining up in Hopkington and running this amazing race.  IMG_6120

Also, thanks again for all of your kind words regarding the Bataan Memorial Death March! I shared a photo album (from someone else) on the blog’s facebook page if you want a better idea of what that race looked like!

I hope everyone is having a good week!

Marathon Reflection Monday: 34 Days Until Boston

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For me, there is an exciting moment when the Garmin beeps, and I realize that I have just run 20 miles. I don’t think there is anything more reassuring during marathon training than knowing that you have hit that milestone.  It is the moment (for me, anyway) where I realize that I am going to be able to run this beast of a distance.

THANK GOODNESS I was able to experience that moment again this past weekend.

I was worried about Saturday’s run because my last attempt at a long run ended with a 5 mile walk home.  I also approached it cautiously since my last successful long run was 17.5 miles…more of a mileage jump than I’d like.

The weather on Saturday was supposed to be pleasant during the morning and rainy in the afternoon, but I think weather.com lied.  Because it was windy and snowy (I was wearing shorts) so, it wasn’t the least miserable run ever.  Aaron had to work on Saturday morning, so I ran this one solo, but he did get out on his bike to meet me at about mile 14.

As luck would have it,  I ran into a coyote during this rare solo run.  It just ran across the road in front of me, and then stood there, about 10 feet away, eating something while I had a heart attack.  Albuquerque is a city where coyotes can be found in just about every part of town, but this was only my second time running into one.  My reaction was to freeze, call Aaron (more as an “in case I die, this is where to find me” precaution), walk slowly, and then bolt.  It worked, apparently, but I was pretty nervous.  That mile split was about 13:00.

Also, it is worth acknowledging that despite the random snow storm on Saturday, we have had great spring time weather which unfortunately means pollen.  I only developed allergies maybe 2 years ago, but now I’m a sneezy little person.  This past week, I have hacked up more yuck stuff from my throat then I care to think about.  I also think, unscientifically, that my lungs aren’t taking in adequate amounts of oxygen, leaving me much more out of breath than I should be.  All part of the sport I suppose.

Otherwise, the run went as well as it could.  I was expecting to feel like hell at mile 19 since I hadn’t built up the mileage, but everything felt great during and post run.  We celebrated victory by watching basketball ALL day.  Aaron’s team (New Mexico) lost by 1 point in the last few seconds.  I was only minorly sad since I typically don’t cheer for the Lobos, but the environment of disappointment was almost too much to handle at the sports bar.  Except for the lady watching hockey.  She didn’t care.

Meanwhile, my Saint Mary’s Gaels won by 3 points and are set to play Gonzaga for the WCC championships tonight.  Interestingly enough, the way the current bracket predictions are going, Saint Mary’s COULD play New Mexico in the 3rd round.  I do not want to see what this might look like for our marriage. Also, I would fear for my life if I went anywhere in this town with an SMC shirt should that game occur (though really, the odds of us getting past the 2nd round aren’t high).

Bracket

UH OH

ANYWAY.

I have a back down off it week this week including Bataan next weekend (14.2 trail race) and then one last long run before tapering.  SO NUTTY.  This has gone by so much faster the second time around.  And I’m so thankful that aside from some minor hiccups, I’ve managed to stay injury free.  Let’s just hope I can get through the next 2 weeks without any major issues!

TRAINING RECAP:

Monday: 5 mile recovery run

Tuesday: 1.2 mile walk (had to postpone the scheduled workout to Wednesday morning)

Wednesday: 8 x hill repeats (7 miles total) + 1 hour spin

Thursday: 5.5 mile tempo run/7.5 miles total, 58:48 (7:58 pace).  I really wanted to die for a lot of this, and had to stop on about 3 occasions to cough stuff up.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 20 miles!!! 3:03:34 (9:10 pace)

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Sunday: BLERG. We put off running until the afternoon because we didn’t get up in time (time change), but on my way back home from lunch with my family, I started feeling really sick and I spent the afternoon in bed sleeping.  The thermometer confirmed my fever.  I’m feeling fine today (even though I still technically have a fever…don’t tell), but I was looking forward to celebrating 50 miles this week, and now I can’t.

TOTAL MILEAGE: 40.7

MARATHON GOALS:

I think this week was one of those that really shows how hard it is to lose weight while marathon training.  Spinach salad with grilled chicken just wasn’t enough to satisfy my enormous hunger, and after a hard workout, the last thing I wanted to do was more squats.  Sunday night is usually our yoga night, but I wasn’t up for it yesterday.  Staying on track with my goals was just much harder than it has been.  With 5 weeks to go, I’m running out of chances to hit 2 perfect weeks in a row.

IMG_6047Hope you have a great week despite the sleepies this morning!

 

Marathon Reflection Monday: 41 Days Until Boston

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Today officially marks the half-way point of my Boston marathon training.  Well, that went by fast!  I have three weeks left of actual training before the taper, and this is the point where I (and apparently most people) start having a minor freak-out (because I haven’t been freaking out the rest of the time?).

The taper crazies are definitely, well, crazy, but there is another perhaps more intense type of panic that occurs when you still have time to make a difference.

I feel faster and I feel stronger than I did at this point in Chicago training, but my mileage has been much more in line with a half marathon training program (I haven’t even hit 40 miles a week yet).  And I also don’t feel like I’m working as hard.  It might just be that everything feels easier the second time around, but I truthfully don’t feel like I’ve put forth as much effort.

So, I don’t really know what’s going to happen at the start line in 6 weeks.  It is quite tempting to go Rocky Balboa style for the next three weeks, but I know the “right” answer is not to over-train.

The Boston Marathon actually has a really helpful social media presence, and they posted this on Thursday.

Training TipBE CONFIDENT WITH WHERE YOU ARE WITH YOUR TRAINING. I mean, I’m not, but all I can do is finish out strong and make the most of the time I have.

My plan for the next few weeks is to really rededicate myself to injury prevention. Now is the time to make sure that my core is strong and my quads are adequately prepared for a mostly downhill course.  I didn’t put “get 8 hours of sleep” on my checklist, but I probably should have because I have been going to bed way too late and waking up way too early.  So, sleeping will be a priority. As will making sure that my body is prepared to successfully finish the last two long runs (two twenty milers).

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I have created a facebook page for the blog.  I’m not too concerned with how many “likes” I can get, but I would like to have a place for all of my running related links/pictures/etc. that doesn’t impose on the news feeds of my personal facebook friends who have likely all unsubscribed from me already.  I’ll very likely use this more than twitter since I’m considerably more comfortable with facebook.  You can like me HERE.

facbookWorkout Recap

Based on a lot of advice, I decided to take things pretty easy last week in order to not push myself into injury.  Also, last week my job had me on my feet all day on a concrete floor (easily walking 4 miles a day on said floor) which surprisingly tired me out, and made my legs ache.  My little desk-dweller body isn’t used to not sitting down for that many hours. I’m hoping this was the main cause of my heavy legs all week. We did yoga three times this week just to make sure that all my muscles were loosened up and less prone to causing sudden bursts of sharp pain because that wasn’t too fun.

Monday: Rest (still trying to figure out and heal the weirdness from the failed long run)

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: 1 hour spin, plus 2 easy miles to test the waters

Thursday: 5 mile tempo run: I accidentally ran too far.  I only like to add .5 miles per week to my tempo distance, but I mis-remembered last week’s distance, and added a full mile.  7.1 miles total (8:04 pace).

Friday: 3 easy miles

Saturday: 14.2 miles (9:05 pace).  This is back down off it week, so our long run was shorter.  Overall, I felt ok.  Still having issues with that side calf that has been bothering me for weeks now, but no leg spasms, and no problems afterward.

Sunday: 3 easy miles.

Marathon Goals:

SO CLOSE to hitting all of my goals! As I’m heading into these last few weeks, I’m rededicating myself to getting those goals accomplished.  If over-training isn’t encouraged, then at least I have six weeks to make a difference with the little details.

IMG_6046Hope everyone has a fantastic week! It is suddenly springtime here (this week anyway), and I couldn’t be happier!

 

 

 

Marathon Reflection…Uh Whatever Day This Is: 45 Days Until Boston

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This week has been weird.  Typically, I sit at a desk for 8 hours a day and take an hour long lunch break where I can blog stalk, but this week I’ve been out of the office (in a warehouse moving and staging office furniture) with a 20 minute “standing up” lunch break and no computer access. But hey, I’ve gotten to wear running shoes and workout clothes to work all week! I don’t feel so bad for not getting Marathon Reflection Monday out somewhere in the vicinity of Monday, but I do feel bad for not having the chance to get caught up on everyone’s training.  Hopefully everyone is doing well! 

I’m not going to say that I’m injured, because I don’t necessarily think that I am.  I don’t think anything is broken, torn, or sprained.  But I think I’m slowly falling apart.  I feel like the runner equivalent of The Wicked Witch of The West, slowly melting into a giant puddle of green mush.

I did something on Saturday that I’ve never done during a training cycle before (dun dun dun). For the first time ever, I didn’t complete a long run that I started.

Truthfully, it was one of those runs that seemed to not really want to happen in the first place (check it out…foreshadowing!).  We had 19 miles on the schedule.  I woke up and had no energy. Aaron handed me the sunscreen and the thought of reaching my arm out to grab it seemed exhausting.  It wasn’t tired in the “I just woke up” sense.  It was a tiredness that affected every bone in my body.  But, I kept getting ready and we managed to get ourselves out the door.  But of course my Garmin beeped “low battery” as we headed out.

The run started off ok.  It wasn’t as fast as last week’s long run, nor did it feel as effortless.  But we soldiered on.  We made it through the 7.5 miles of uphill,  turned the corner, and had started on the faster, flatter part of the run.

And then it happened.

Right as we hit the 9.75 mile point, a painful spasm engulfed my leg and stopped me in my tracks. Stemming from under my knee, it felt more “nerve” related than muscle related, and it made me cry out in pain.  I tried stretching for a bit, tried running again, even tried to convince myself that it didn’t hurt THAT badly (it totally did), but as my Garmin beeped “10″ (and then died…much like my run), I knew there was no way I could run another step. This, on my good leg…the leg that hasn’t been giving me any problems this whole training cycle.

Unfortunately, we were just over the halfway point of our run, and almost at the farthest point out.  From where we were, our house was about 5 miles away.  So, Aaron and I walked home, hand in hand, looking like the most over-prepared walkers with our fuel belts.  It was a moment that made me completely grateful for my husband.  I would have been crying had he not been there to help me laugh the situation off.

At a few points along the way, I tried running again, but I would only make it a few strides before the spasms started.

Saturday’s workout ended up being 15 miles in something like 3 hours and 15 minutes (at least I got lots and lots of time on my feet!).

After getting home and analyzing the situation, I’m positive that nothing is broken/torn/strained. But after stretching/rolling/yoga, it is very evident that my leg muscles are tighter than they have ever been.  I’m positive that the tight muscles in my right leg caused me to over compensate with my left leg, tightening those muscles to the point that other things were  getting pulled, causing the spasms.

Sunday, I decided to do my miles on the treadmill so if something weird happened, I wouldn’t have a long walk ahead of me.

I only ran 5 miles…in other words, I didn’t get anywhere near my target mileage this weekend.  I still don’t know if it was the right decision to keep Sunday’s run so short (or if it was the right decision to take Monday and yesterday as rest days).

But every muscle in my legs is tight right now and running won’t loosen them up.  And the incredible number of injuries that I’ve seen over the last month are making me perhaps more paranoid than normal.  A painfully tight muscle today is just waiting to turn into plantar fasciitis, a stress fracture, or a myriad of other issues.  I’m taking all of the proper measures (icing, rolling, massage, rest, etc. etc. etc.), but I haven’t run without pain since last Saturday, and it is getting old.

It is kind of funny though.  Before that happened, I had a great week of training.  It seems that when I have a really bad week of training, my long run feels great.  When I have a great week of training, my long run hurts.  Just another reminder that I have a long way to go before I figure out how in the heck to train for marathons.

Workout Recap

Monday: 4.5 mile recovery run

Tuesday: 4 mile tempo run with 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool-down (6.1 miles total, 8:14 pace).  Tempo pace ranged from 7:20-8:00

Wednesday: 1 hour spin, 1 mile walk

Thursday: 4 miles at half marathon pace (overall average pace 7:53)

Friday: Organized group workout: 2 hours of weights/abs/treadmill (I walked)/body pump/body jam/spin…I took this workout as easy as I could without looking like a bad sport.  The trainer in charge of the treadmill section even asked if I was ok since I was walking so slow.  Perhaps I didn’t take it easy enough?

Saturday: Long run (ish): 10 miles running, 5 miles walking, 3:15 hours on my feet and a bruised ego

Sunday: 5 not-so- fast miles

TOTAL MILES: 36.6 (should have been 44)

Marathon Goals:

Despite the terrible long run, this was a great workout week.  I’m hoping that I can finally hit a 2 week streak this week!

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*ALSO I’m trying not to make this a pity party.  I do feel a weird sense of guilt for not completing an important long run, but I have to remember that it isn’t the end of the world.  I think I’m just in a grumpy mood in general this week (being on your feet all day is actually really tiring), so that isn’t helping. And I’m thankful that even though everything DOES hurt, at least I’m not actually injured (KNOCKS OBNOXIOUSLY LOUD ON WOOD).

Have you ever had to cut a long run short? 

Marathon Reflection Monday: 69 Days Until Boston

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First, I wouldn’t be an American if I didn’t mention the spectacle that took place last night (because really, even if you hate football and Beyonce and commercials and an excuse to eat 10 bowls full of queso dip…not that I did…, at the very least you know that all of that took place AND you probably even know that there was a blackout if not who won).

In my “I have a degree in communication and took at least 1 adverting class” expert opinion, this year’s Super Bowl commercials were pretty creative and well constructed as a whole (except for that first Go Daddy commercial. You know what I’m talking about.  Yuck). I really  liked the M&M’s ” I would do anything for love” montage, the Audi kid who enjoyed every second of getting a black eye, the Live Mas Taco Bell commercial (esta nochhhhheeeee), and the Clydesdale horse commercial.

And the outage. I was actually laughing in an “ARE YOU SERIOUS?” type of way.  Event Coordination Fail.  I also thought Beyonce did a spectacular job and her on-stage light show was out of this world.  And  HOW AMAZING WAS IT WHEN MICHELLE AND KELLY POPPED UP ON STAGE?!?! I was the perfect age to be a big Destiny’s Child fan in the early 2000′s  (much more so than I’ve ever been a solo Beyonce fan), and even though everyone pretty much knew it was going to happen, I still got a bit emotional when the girls all sang together on stage…even though Beyonce’s microphone was obviously louder, but did anyone actually expect otherwise? Destiny’s Child, not children.

Ok.  Obligatory Super Bowl mention done.

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I think the most appropriate thing I can say right now is thank goodness for back down off it week this week.

This weekend was the first real long run duo of marathon training: 16 miles on Saturday and 8 miles yesterday.  The runs themselves weren’t so bad, but my body seems to be rebelling a bit and punished me by making it difficult to walk yesterday.  I’ve been rolling and stretching right when I get back, but for some reason, my left calf just completely knotted up.  I’m looking forward to today’s recovery run, and a shorter mileage weekend.

Speaking of  mileage, January was the first month that I’ve been actively tracking how many miles I run/walk.  It looks like I hit 98.64 for the month (yes, I am slightly annoyed that I didn’t hit an even 100).  I’m not really too concerned with what this number implies or doesn’t imply.  I’ve determined looking around blog land that I’m a pretty low-mileage marathon trainee (which served me fine the first time around). I usually base my progress on how much faster I run (determined by race times or the number of sub-8 miles I can hit during training) over how many miles I run since I’m more of a quality over quantity type person, but it is interesting to see the overall monthly total.

Anyway, this was an ok 2nd week of training.  Last week was a really crazy week both professionally and personally, and my mind was elsewhere.  I’ve always thought that running successfully comes down to a strong mental will, and I didn’t have it this week.  I’m hoping for my own 49er’s post-blackout moment!

Workout Recap:

Monday: 3 mile recovery run

Tuesday: 1 hour Spin class (cross-training)

Wednesday: 5 quarter mile hill sprints.  Mentally, I wasn’t into it at all.  4.5 miles total

Thursday: 3 miles at half marathon pace, 1 mile walk.  4.4 miles total

Friday: REST.

Saturday: 16 miles.  My Garmin died at mile 10.36, so I have no idea what my pace was.  My feet really started hurting at mile 14 (I was wearing my less supportive shoes) but otherwise, it wasn’t too bad for a long run.  I also could have run the last 5.5 miles at an average pace of 14 minute miles, but whatever.

Sunday: 8 miles.  The first 4 miles were pretty hard and I had to stop and stretch every half mile or so, but the last 4 felt great! I’ve been really trying to push hard on downhills in order to prepare for the Boston course, so I actually had to put effort into the downhill miles.  We also did yoga Sunday night which helped stretch out the sore muscles.

Marathon Training Goals:

My strategy this week was to do as much as possible early on since it is harder to eat clean during the weekends and doing squats after long runs feels about as fun as it sounds.  Mondays aren’t usually fun anyway, so eating clean wasn’t too hard to tack onto an already lackluster day. I can’t tell if any of this is actually making a difference, but I am glad that I’m starting to feel stronger again.  And I *think* I’m actually getting more flexible!

And I managed to have a perfect marathon week! I got all of my workouts in, and I achieved all my goals! Thanks to the checklist (and knowing that I’ll post it up here), I’ve really made a commitment to following through with everything even when I’d rather sit and veg on the couch (MUST DO PLANK OR BLOG FRIENDS WILL JUDGE!).

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I hope you are having a wonderful Monday! Because of last week’s craziness, I am super behind on blog stalking/paying attention to my own blog, but I hope to catch up very soon!

Marathon Reflection Monday

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Happy Monday and Happy July! Crazy, isn’t it? (and yes, I said the exact same thing when June rolled around).

I’m now a month into marathon training, and the mileage is starting to indicate that we are not in half-marathon land anymore, Toto.  Saturday I did 13 miles which is the longest I’ve ever run in a  non-race situation. And then I ran 6 miles the following day.  It seems like just the other day that 6 miles WAS the long run.  But surprisingly, my body seems to be taking it pretty well.  My legs are definitely tired, and there are some deep-rooted knots in my muscles, but I appear to be functioning as a completely normal person despite the increased mileage.  Hopefully I can say the same when I’m running 20 miles in just one month’s time (Doubtful.  Even just saying that made my stomach do a little flip-flop).

But all is not is sunshine and happiness in Lavender Marathon Country.

After the 10-K last week, Aaron developed tendinitis (I forget where, but his foot hurts), and after our 2.7 mile dog rescuing run last Monday that aggravated it more, he’s been out of commission.  As you can imagine, this is extraordinarily frustrating for him, but we’re glad that we still have plenty of time to make up for it, though essentially he’ll be having to start over in a few weeks once he’s all healed up.

He’s been sticking to bike riding, elliptical, and swimming while trying not to go crazy over not getting his runs in.  So I’ve been running on my own, which is something I’m not used to.  I started running so we’d have something to do together, so running by myself seems weird.  Though, it was nice on Saturday when he rode his bike along the trail during my 13 miler  because he was able to carry lots of water and provide it to me along the way! Hey there, water boy!

I guess all of the planning and training in the world is no guarantee that a little glitch won’t ruin everything.

So, this week, I’ve decided to switch up my tactic to this whole marathon thing.  Instead of focusing on every. little. detail, I’m going to take a big picture approach.  In other words, Amy is trying to take a chill pill.

I’ve had 4 really good races.  3 out of those 4 were run without a Garmin or other time keeping device.  2 of them were without following a real training plan.  I’ve never sat there and analyzed every little thing that I was doing right or wrong, and I certainly didn’t change my diet/ beer:30 habits. I figured that if I took that approach, I could go from the faster end of average to a 3:30 marathon, but instead, all I’ve been doing is driving myself INSANE and probably driving everyone else insane too. Nobody likes an OCD drama queen.

So I’m going to take a step back.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m still going to push myself to the point of not being to go any further, and I’m still taking this whole thing seriously, and my goals haven’t changed.  I’m just not going to get obsessive over not hitting a certain pace on long runs (Dear Amy, get it through your head…LONG RUNS ARE FOR ENDURANCE, NOT PACE OBSESSION), or feel guilty over eating a cupcake at lunch because that might ultimately cost me my BQ.  (it won’t).  Trying to be perfect and then having a meltdown when things don’t go my way will not make me run any faster.

{Yes, I enjoyed every second of this cupcake and its banana salted caramel goodness with Zero guilt}

Push myself? Yes. Transform into Marathon-zilla? No.

{This girl’s form kind of annoys me}

WHAT WENT WELL:

1) Despite losing my running buddy, I’ve still kept up with my training! I haven’t had to run by myself outside of a treadmill since….college? So, this is a big step! I’m also prepared to use my kung fu training on any possible Amy-nappers.

2) Cross Training! I went to spin class last week! It was actually fun to do something completely non-running related.  I also started the 30 day ab challenge with Amanda from Run to the Finish yesterday.  I’m hoping to have some awesome abs by the time July is over!

3) Recovery. Me and the foam roller have reconnected, and I’ve added icing to my post run rolling/protein routine.

4) Hydration. Ever since I started drinking a Nuun after my longer/overheated runs, I haven’t had any dehydration issues, even though I am still running in 90 degree temperatures.  Highly recommend!

5) Making good food choices. In keeping with the “let’s give Amy a chill pill thing,” I’m not going to stress over what I’m eating as much as I was (truthfully, I was still eating cheeseburgers but feeling horribly guilty about it.  I don’t want that kind of relationship with food).  I AM making better choices.  For example, we went to an all-you-can-eat Indian buffet yesterday, and I really wanted a second serving of the  chicken masala, and I totally didn’t go back!  Also, surprise! Chicken masala sauce has flour in it.  Let’s just say Aaron was not very comfortable digestively speaking while watching the Espana/Italia game yesterday (P.S. GO ESPANA! Those are my peeps!).

6) This is kind of irrelevant, but I ran 13 miles by myself with no music.  And I was ok with it.  I feel in some small way, this contributes to general bad assery.  Little victories!

WHAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT:

1) I have a tendency to get really tense in my shoulders when I run (if you haven’t noticed I tend to be a pretty tense person all of the time anyway).  I want to work on 1) building up shoulder/back muscles so they can hold their own and 2) RELAXING.

2) Sleep.  For some reason the last couple of weeks I’ve been having a hard time getting to bed at a reasonable hour and/or sleeping through the night.  So, I’ve been sleeping for 5 hours, loading myself up with insane amounts of coffee, and wondering why I have no energy all day.  If y’all could please stop being interesting after 8:00 pm MST, I would appreciate it!

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So, I hope you have a wonderful week! I’m loving the 4-day-ness of it, but having a day off right in the middle is stressing me out.  You’re so surprised, right?

Albuquerque Half Marathon Recap

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Sometimes, I should probably read my own blog.

Like, when I say that I haven’t been training, so I’m just going to enjoy the half marathon ride instead of trying to PR.

But first….

 

The Albuquerque Half Marathon is a small, local race with just over 600 runners.  No expo, no race photos, no race swag. It took place on Saturday and got off to a late morning start at about 8:10 on what turned out to be a very warm day.  Not quite Boston warm, but still in the mid-80′s.

The race course took us through Albuquerque’s Los Ranchos and North Valley neighborhood which is a little bit of country in the middle of the city.  It smells like farm.

As the gun went off and I felt the surge of energy, I decided at that moment that I could keep a 7:50 minute mile pace (11 seconds per mile faster than my last half marathon in January), PR, and have a nice day. Nevermind that I had no evidence that I could hold this pace for 13.1 miles, and nevermind that I hadn’t trained to run at this pace.  And those running experts who say not to start off fast? What do they know?

After my initial 6:45 start, I slowed down a bit to 7:45 and I was able to keep it for awhile, never getting above 8:00.   I was feeling awesome! At a looping point, I saw that there weren’t very many people ahead of me (Aaron of course was one of them). I was the cockiest little running skirt girl on the course.

I ran my fastest 10-K ever at just under 48 minutes.

At around mile 6.5, a whole mass of people passed me.  Something was wrong.

I looked down at my Garmin and realized that my 7:50 pace had become an 8:20 pace without me even realizing.  I tried picking it up a bit.

About this time, it was 9:oo am, the sun was getting hotter.

It was also about this time that I could feel a bunch of yuck phlegm start to build up in my lungs thanks to the pollen in the air.  This is the first time I’ve ever felt like I was going to suffocate while running.  I will  have  to start taking Musinex before runs, because coughing up phlegm balls while running is not cute.

I was starting to get to the point where every little thing was driving me nuts.  I was convinced that the bike rider people along the course (race marshalls?) were making me run slower.

I took my GU at mile 7.5. Typically my GU makes for a nice mid-race treat that I look forward to.  This time, I was having to squeeze tiny little squirts in my mouth, trying hard not to have them come back up.  I also didn’t time it very well, so I had to run half a mile before reaching a water station.  Phlegmmy lungs plus sticky GU and no water was just a little more than I wanted to deal with.

And then I started getting cold chills.  On a warm day, I didn’t take this as a good sign.

But I ran on.

I had decided before the race that if I finished 10 miles in 1:20 or less, I would push it hard and attempt a PR.  All I’d have to do was run 7:55 miles, and glory would be mine.

I hit the 10 mile mark at 1:20:35, and I decided to go for it.  Finally, I started passing people again!

This is about when those 7:45 miles started catching up to me.

My pace dropped back down to 8:20.  I decided to wait until mile 11 to start picking up the pace.  I hit mile 11, and figured picking up the pace could wait until mile 12.  I came to a water station, and for the first time ever, I came to a complete stop to drink in the shade.  My knees started to collapse under me.  I had to keep moving. More cold chills.

I started playing with the idea of walking the last mile.  No shame in that right?  Mile 12 came.  I didn’t pick up the pace.   In fact, I did mile 12 in 8:39, which is the slowest I’ve ever run a mile during a race including the Shamrock Shuffle when I actually tripped, fell, and limped in agony for several feet.

Even as we turned the corner, and the finish line was in sight, I had a hard time mustering up the energy.  I finished strong, sprinting to the finish line thanks to all of the nice cheering people.

I crossed in 1:47:31, 6 seconds slower than my slowest half marathon time.  I finished 102/641 overall, 27th female overall, and 6th in  my age group.

Right after crossing the finish line.

The difference between my best and worst times is less than 3 minutes.  I can at least say that I’m pretty consistent?

My last few races haven’t been wonderful in either time or overall disposition since February, so I’m hoping that this will be the peak of race suckiness.

Aaron finished 30th overall, 4th in his age group.

We toasted our water bottles to what will hopefully be our worst half marathon ever.  This race was really not fun at all for either of us between allergies and the heat.

After finishing, we made a beeline for our car (parking was another 3/4 mile walk, which was not fun), rushed home, and I got ready very fast in order to help host a baby shower across town less than 2 hours after crossing the finish line.

And had to apologize for coughing up yuck stuff the entire party.

Could I Hate Hills Any More? And Misspelling Tweets to Olympians

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Hills. I hate them.

At least I hate having to run up them (they are fairly nice to look at though).

Unfortunately, hill sprints are one of the necessary evils of a training program, especially to get faster.  And I need all the help there I can get.

I live in a city situated right next to a mountain, so hills aren’t hard to come by.  And basically any run we go on has some uphill.

You would think I would be more accustomed to uphill running.

But I’m not.  My hill pace is drastically slower than my flat pace.  And this past week, I’ve felt so low on energy anyway (my pace per mile times definitely confirms that).

Yesterday we did hill sprints in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. The foothills themselves are very scenic and very hiker/mountain biker/runner friendly.  I really don’t like hanging out in the foothills during the summer months because I have an irrational fear of rattlesnakes.  I’ve never actually seen one in the wild, but I know they’re there, and I run much slower because I’m convinced that one is going to drop on me and inject venomous poison into my bloodstream.

But right now it is too cold for rattlesnakes, and I have no good excuse for running as slow as I did.

Because the sun sets just shortly after I get home from work, we’re having to do our intervals the day after our long runs (not so fun) on the weekend when we have daylight.  Luckily, next weekend we can go back to doing hill workouts during the week in between recovery runs.

This is my Garmin elevation report.  If you’ll notice, Albuquerque is pretty high above sea level.  This makes it an ideal place to train.  I think it makes hill sprints more miserable than they should be.

I registered for Daily Mile a couple of days ago, and I was really hesitant to put in my workouts this week because I feel like I usually put forth a better effort.  I’ve actually been running a lot the last couple of weeks, and somehow I’m getting slower.  Even my tempo run (on a treadmill) had me at a 9:35 average pace when I felt like I was maxed out.  This doesn’t make too much sense to me.

I don’t really know what’s going on, but it better fix itself fast.  I can usually run a race at a minute faster per mile than I do in training, but I don’t know if I can run two minutes faster.

At least Daily Mile tells me how many donuts I can eat per week!

In other news, the USA Indoor Track and Field Team headed to Istanbul last night.  I tweeted my BFF Sanya Richards Ross, wishing her good luck (Yikes…I spelled Istanbul wrong in the tweet.  Embarrassed.  This is why you don’t tweet famous people after hanging out at the winery all afternoon.  I thought my phone was supposed to prevent me from doing something like this!).

At 4:12 am this morning (presumably from Istanbul) she responded!

As if I needed a reason to be more obsessed over this lady. Hopefully she doesn’t judge me for not being able to spell foreign cities correctly.  She has enough to judge me about with my hill sprint pace.

In Honor of Sherry Arnold: Be a Safe Runner

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I’ve been seeing a lot of talk about Sherry Arnold over the last month, but it wasn’t until yesterday that I looked up her story.

Sherry Arnold was a 43-year-old math teacher, wife, and mother from a small town in Montana.  She went for a run in January and was abducted a mile away from home.  Even though her body hasn’t been found, two men are in custody, and the police have declared her dead. 

This horrible story has really affected the running community because not only have we lost one of our own, but this could have been any of us. I know in dark parking lots I’m paying attention to my surroundings and I’m focused on getting where I need to go safely.  Sometimes this common sense goes out the window when I’m more intent on having a good run in broad daylight.

Today there is a virtual l run/walk in honor of Sherry.  The organizers are asking  that you dedicate today’s miles to her. 

I think this is an appropriate time to emphasize runner safety. Even though this has been reblogged a million times, it is too important to not pass on (plus, I managed to miss it until yesterday, so other people probably have too).  Originally published by Skinny Runner, one of her readers gave some common sense tips for female joggers (and males too…sometimes I think men are a little more careless than they should be).  The reader has personally known 2 women who were attacked while jogging.

What I got out of this: running in daylight, running with mace, running in a small town, running in a good neighborhood all create a FALSE sense of security. 

Tips for Reducing Your Risk (via Skinny Runner)

* Switch up your routine. Do not run the same route day after day. Both my friend and family member felt the attack was well planned.

* Run in a group. There is something to be said about safety in numbers.

* Know that just because it is daylight does not mean you are safe. Crime does not have an address or a time preference.

* Pay attention to your surroundings. This is not just when running – all the time.  Look under your car while walking up to it (especially trucks) after your run.

*Don’t look so engaged in your phone/ipod/garmin that you look vulnerable.

  *Do not share your route(s) on social media; it’s about being smart. Are you true friends with all 500 people on your FB page? (I’d also add to set your Garmin Connect to private and avoid “I’m running around the Golf Course” status updates).

*If you run alone, try to run without your music. Yes, it is hard, but trust me, it’s not as hard as being a victim.  Remember, my friend had one ear bud out of her ear, heard him and it still happened.

* Do not bring mace or a weapon. Everyone thinks they would fight and beat up the bad guy, but once I heard in explicit detail what happened to my family member, I can honestly say I do not know what I would do if it was me. Some fight and some freeze.  You will not know what you would do until it happens which I hope is never.

*If you still feel a weapon is the way to go, first take a self defense class.  I’ve taken one before and they offer a lot of great tips.  If that isn’t enough, look into Krav Maga (self defense system used by Israeli defense forces) or karate classes; Krav Maga actually has you spar with other people.  It is something we are looking into now to help us get back to normality.

In the comments section, readers also provided these tips:

* Run with your dog, especially if it is big and intimidating.

* Run with your phone (but don’t talk on it while running). If you notice someone is following you or driving slowly next to you, call 911.

* If you run from your house, lock your door when you leave and right when you come back.  Also, if you feel like you are being followed, don’t lead the attacker to your home. Head somewhere public.

* Some people said to look everyone you pass in the eye and say hello so they know that you’ve noticed them AND you know what they look like.  Other people said making eye contact leads to being chosen as a victim.  I personally don’t make eye contact, but I DO get a good look at people while they are approaching.

* People are not the only threat…dogs, coyotes, and other wildlife can also attack.  I’ve run next to coyotes before, and I’m right in the middle of a city!

So, please remember Sherry during your run today, and please make good choices.  This doesn’t need to happen to anyone else.

26.2 or Bust

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Just a little bit ago, I registered Aaron and myself for….

THE BANK OF AMERICA CHICAGO MARATHON!

This will be my first ever marathon, and I am way more excited than any rational person should be to earn my 26.2 bumper sticker!

It will also be Aaron’s first marathon…sort of.  He’s technically run three 26.2 distance races… but they were part of Ironman Triathlons.  He’s never done just a regular, old, boring marathon.

Registration opened up at noon CST and the race is notorious for filing up within a few weeks of opening.  Unlike other popular races like the New York Marathon and the Nike Women’s Marathon that have a lottery process, or The Boston Marathon that has really competitive qualifying times, the Chicago Marathon is open on a first come first serve basis.  We didn’t want to take any chances so I was ready to go at as the clock changed! (Years of being a loyal Southwest Airlines customer has made me very good at this).

I’ve also already made our hotel reservations.  According to the facebook page, there are other big events going on that same weekend and the last thing I want is for Aaron and me to be sleeping on the streets of Chicago before the race.

We also qualify for “seeded” corrals which is the most exciting news of my week.  Basically, you can qualify for corrals A-D based on recent marathon or half marathon times (Aaron qualifies for B, I qualify for C, Olympic Gold Medalists qualify for A).  The people who don’t qualify for A-D are bunched into the general populus to start.  After running a few races, I really value the importance of good corral placement! This race is so huge, so not having to fight my through 40,000 other people sounds pretty nice.

So, starting sometime in May we’ll probably get going on a “base” reload followed by marathon training.  I’m ready to make this jump AND help cross off THREE items from my bucket list (run a marathon, visit a new state, and compete in a race every month).

In addition to having a good finishing time, my other goal for this marathon is to NOT give birth immediately after. This is an important one. Though, after shelling out the entry fee, I don’t judge her for wanting to go through with it.  No refunds or transfers, even if you are 9 months pregnant.