Speedwork and coaching

This week I started my mom on the Couch 25K program to prepare for the Skirt Chaser inTempe in Feb. She did a great job w/ her first ever treadmill and running workout. It's an exciting change of pace to be coaching another beginner through her first steps and I"m mighty proud of her.

On x-mas day, Luke and I went for a nice 4.5 miler from his house. This was my first time running this route since we got married in 2005. In 2005 I had must started running. We lived in Pasadena and I'd do a 3 mile loop around the Rose Bowl. It was flat, but it was really hard for me and I felt really proud of the accomplishment. So, after our wedding I was excited to try to go for a run with Luke in his local stomping ground. I had no idea how long the route was, or that it was a pretty hilly  run. Plus I was trying to keep up with Luke, who had never run with me before. I was running about 11 minute miles, he was pushing 8? 7:30? It felt like 4 minute miles. By mile 3 I was dead. Then we hit the second to last hill at 3.5. With the cramping, tension, distance, and speed I burst in to tears and started to sob. By the time we made it 4 miles and were staring up at a .6 mile hill, I was threatening divorce. I mean, married less than 24 hours... there should be some sort of annulment option. Like a return policy. I made it, I nearly killed Luke, and I swore we would never run together again.

So this route? it had a history.

I also kicked it's ass. I'm not used to running hills, and I had to take it easy on the downhills to stop from cramping, but we maintained a 9:30 min/mi average pace, even with a good amount of rolling elevation change. The day was cold, but sunny, and we chatted nearly the whole way. It. was. awesome.

One of my favorite parts of running is seeing the slow and steady progress you can make if you just put in a little extra effort or a few extra miles. I'm amazed at how fast I am compared to where I was, and I look forward to going faster, longer, and stronger. I'm having a good time looking back on where I was when I first started, and giving my mom the encouragement I needed, and received, to keep going.

I'm running or XTing every day, but not necessarily blogging b/c of all the family around. I should be back to things after the new year. Until then, happy miles, happy new year, and follow me on DailyMile!

Sunday Circuit

So far I'm loving the Nike Fitness App for iphone/pad/pod. I've started doing their fitness workouts as a way to add strength training. The program uses a  combo of body weight training (pushups, planks, burpies, froggers, etc) and balance moves combined with weights. I've lost a lot of balance since stopping ballet and the challenge is good for me. My left side is also much worse than my right. In addition, I'm keeping up with the IT strength exercises I blogged about a few days ago. And the rolling, lots of rolling.

Getting back into it

So far, I've been taking my recovery slow.

Monday: couch, beer, bath triathalon
Tuesday: Gym work out, XT using Nike Fitness
Wed: Elliptical and abs
Thursday: Went for a slow run (close to 10 min miles) and met up with Colette. Best quote: "I think some alien stole my body and ran those sub-9 min. miles"
Today: slow run or gym, still, at 5pm, unclear.

I've been stretching a lot and taking it really easy as I've headed back into cardio-land.  I'm just trying to get myself back into a gentle running schedule through the holidays before beginning any real running training (speed work, endurance work). In the mean time, I'm working on adding cross training/strength training into my work outs, including circuit work, balance, weights, core, and IT-specific stuff.

For now, that means rolling on the foam roller and doing these exercises from Saturday Morning Zen. If you've had IT problems, they're really easy to work into a post-run cool down/stretch. See more here. 

Tucson Half Marathon 2011

Yesterday I teamed up with two awesome runners to run the Tucson 1/2 Marathon. The race started near the biosphere (about 30 miles north of Tucson) and ran along desert scenery before ending in the town of Catalina. The course is mostly flat, with a long downhill stretch for the first 6 miles. I finished in 2hours, 1 min and 13 seconds. Just 1 min and 15 seconds longer than my race in Nov. Some things went better, some worse, here's the break down:

Night Before
I made pasta with a redwine, portobello mushroom, and chard sauce. It was fine and carb heavy but tasted much blander than my previous version than the recipe. It didn't matter for the race, but apparently I forgot to add the 3/4 lb of overn-roasted tomatoes that made up the bulk of the sauce.  Oops. I write it off to pre-race jitters.

Start
This may have been the hardest part. We had to get out the door at 4:30 am to drive north and catch the race bus. That meant 1) being up early, 2) sitting in the desert in December for a hour waiting for the race to start. For those not in the know, the desert is freakin' cold in December. Probably mid-30s, lower when the wind gusted.

Our intrepid team of runners consisted of myself, Colette, and Chris.

It was very, very cold

Chris started running seriously around the same time I did. Because we live on opposite coasts, we started talking about running and races when he came to visit his gfriend/fiance/wife, and followed progress electronically. This summer we finally bit the bullet and signed up for the Tucson 1/2 marathon. Chris has been my most outstanding training partner and inspiration. Whenever I wanted to ditch out on a run, I'd see he just PR'd in training and boy, oh, boy did it get my ass off the couch and out the door. We ran his first 10K together last year. He swore it would be a 12 min/mile pace. My ass. Try 9:15. As in that race, he totally rocked this one and finished in 1:58:something.

in orange

Colette is a new addition to my running life in Tucson. So far we mainly talk about running together but haven't actually gotten out yet. I'm super inspired by her trail runs (in the morning! for miles & miles!). We have become climbing buddies (again, super inspired by her abilities). Hopefully I'll drag my butt out of bed and get out on the trails with her sometime, and maybe I'll be able to talk her into checking out the free track workouts near my house. Colette is another "I run 10 minute miles, I'm really slow!". My ass. She rocked this half marathon finishing in 1:54. She shaved nearly 13 min off her last HM pace. Like I said, total inspiration.

 Blurry, but I love the stride and smile.

We prepared by packing cheap sweats to toss or bag (in drop bags) before the race, and jumping up and down a lot. This race i ran in my red running capris, lavender and navy blue ski socks, bright teal Brooks Cascadia 6s (I cannot tell you how much I love these shoes), a New balance long sleeved running tech top, champion C9 running gloves, a pink head band/ear warmer, and a new pink Brooks thermal running hoodie (a gift from my mom). In preparation for the race start, I was wearing a pair of sweats and another soft shell jacket.

check the awesomeness of the shoes, socks, running capri/skirt

Food: Banana with almond butter at 4am (ugh), packet of sports beans 30 min before race.

Run
This was a small race in comparison to the Woman's Half. And it started cold. The singer of the national anthem had a lovely voice, but I was ready to strangle him w/ the damn microphone chord ever time he milked one of the notes w/ unending vibrato.

We started in the 2nd wave and in the time I turned to Colette to confirm that we were going to try running together but to break off if we needed to, Chris was gone. Colette and I started but after the 2nd mile she was pulling faster than I wanted to run and I hung back to settle into a pace.

The first half of the race is downhill. Between the cold and the decline, I ran it pretty fast. My main concern was to not fuck up my knees and to have a good time. Because of the cold and the placement of the water stops, I missed taking my gel at the 5 mile mark and had to save it for mile 6. Gel went down just fine and I ran comfortably through the mile 6 water stop, pausing to toss off my thermal and hand it to our intrepid cheer squad: Sarah (Chris' partner), Luke, and KT.

At the 6.5 water stop I needed more fluid to get the gel digested. Learning from last race, I was all about water. No powerade for me. So when I said "water?" and the guy confirmed "water!" I grabbed the cup and slugged it down. Not water. Poorly mixed electric blue powerade. Within minutes, it hit my stomach and came right back up. Hacking and coughing, I went back for actual water and kept going. I must have gotten some of the gel in my system, but not enough. By mile 10 I needed more, but didn't want to throw anything else in my stomach.

Around mile 8 I started to get some IT band pain in the left knee. Mile 8.5 was when the cramping on the right hand side struck. No amount of flapping or running with my arm raised seemed to help. By mil 9 I was really counting down the miles and taking walk breaks every mile to .5 mile depending. I tried shifting my stride around as much as possible and found alternating between low, long, heel strikes (no knee pain, but massive cramping), and mid-foot and even toe running (no cramping, super painful on the knees), helped. When we hit the only incline in the race at mile 10, I was elated. The change in terrain took so much pressure off my knees and thankfully gave me a different stride pattern. By mile 11 and 12 I slowed down to 9:45 and 10 min/mile paces and just cruised on in.

The last 4 miles were really hard, but I made the best of it. I chatted with the sheriffs helping with the traffic. I cheered on a woman in a Woman's Half Marathon tech tee. I co-miserated with a fellow runner. I stopped to give KT a high 10 before running through the finish line (Luke cried out - finish strong! I was really glad to finish at all...), and jogged comfortably past the finish line.

The Finishers!

The race was organized, the water stops were frequent and well staffed, and the after-race food was fine (fruit, salty stuff, flatbread w/ PB & J). This would be a great, fast race for a first timer, someone looking to PR, and anyone who can handle long stretches of downhill. Personally, this race was much more physically demanding than the generally flatter but w/ occasional hill course i ran in Nov. I really don't like down. Down = knee problems and cramping. Uphill = slow, hard, but much easier on my body.

Sexy husband wearing the scarf and cap you knit him makes all the race pain go away.

One final shout-out to our awesome team of cheerleaders. Seeing Katie, Luke and Sarah at the 6.5 and 9 mile marks gave me a real boost. Never underestimate the power of people cheering your name:

The whole team

Recovery:
Even though the race was really tough, my recovery has been really good. Keeping the sugary drinks out of my stomach (as much as possible), and slowing the pace at the end, really saved me. No runner's stomach. At all. Yay! We all felt good enough to go to the Sonora Desert Museum in the afternoon, and finish the evening with Chris' Mighty Margaritas and fish tacos.

Today (the day after) my quads and IT bands are sore. Inexplicably, my shoulders are also sore and I have a killer knot in the middle of my left back.

Reflections:
I really wish I had had 2 months in between races so that I could have properly trained for this one. I really felt the lack of long runs in the interim month due to my knees recovery from the last race. I also need to figure out what I'm doing (other than running 13 miles) to irritate my IT band and get on changing that ASAP.

Plans for the New Year:
I have plans to run a 5K with my mom in Feb, but no other long races. I'd like to sign up for a bunch of 10Ks and work mainly on speed work. I may plan for a HM in the later Spring, but i'm not planning on anything just yet.

I'm taking this week off to recover and then will ease back into training. Goals for next year:

-add strength training. I need to settle on a strength training plan and start sticking to a twice a week routine. I need to strengthen my hips (should help with IT band), core, and upper body (for climbing and running). I'm going to try to start adding exercises at various parts of my day to break up my long stretches at the computer.

-add some gentle speedwork. This is going to start with doing Fartlek Runs with Luke.

-keep the long weekend runs. I think I may do pyramids of 7 miles - 13 (or longer!) miles, and then back down, just to make sure I keep up the long, slow runs. They really made a huge difference with my endurance and speed.

-keep my 4.5 mile loops

-keep cross training. climbing, swimming, gymming it, sexy time (wait, is this a family blog?), whatever

-And, I'm getting the Chi Running low down with KT on Sunday!

"Taper" week

This week is going really differently than my last tapering week. For  one, I'm dealing with the "careful with the knees" issue. Second, I'm only 4 weeks off my last HM with the knee issue, so I haven't been doing long runs, or running as often. Sunday I did a hour long run on the treadmill. I think I'm the only person in the world who is slower and exerts more effort when I'm running on a treadmill than outside. So I only went 5.6 miles in a hour, but I wanted the hour long run and it felt just fine. Yesterday I walked 3 miles, today I ran 5. Even though I haven't had a long distance run in a while, I feel really good and comfortable, so I feel confident about the run on Sunday.

Next challenge: weather. Winter hit the Old Pueblo and hit it hard. As in 22 degrees lasi night, high of 47 today. Running in the cold here is odd b/c the air is cold, and being in the shade is cold, but once you're in the sun it feels about 20 degrees, maybe even 30 degrees warmer than it is. Today I wore my VS yoga pants (my only long pants!), a long sleeved New Balance shirt, cap, and Champion running gloves. My cold weather trials were my new $7 fleece vest from Old Navy and my skiing socks. I plan on running in my skirtsport skirted capris and ski socks. Why ski socks? They're knee high, offer mild compression, and are wicking and non-chafing. Gave it a try today and they ran like a dream. The vest was nice for the first mile and in the shade, but got pretty warm in the sun. The gloves were off before the 1st mile. My cap has gotta go, but I might pick up a headband to keep my ears warm. My ears actually ache a little from my music vibrating in the cold.

It's going to be 38 the night before the race, and we have to be on the busses at 4:30am. Yup, 4:30 am for a 7am race. They'll have drop bags, but I am not a happy camper. I'm getting better at narrowing down what i want to run in, but I'm scared of freezing while waiting for the race to start.

The next race...

....because there is always a next race.

Since running the woman's 1/2 people keep asking me if I have a marathon on my mind. I feel absolutely confident in saying: "no". I really like the 1/2 marathon distance and I'd like to run several more in order to improve my 1/2 marathon race rather than trying to double the distance. I don't have any particular race in mind for the spring, but may try to run another one in April/May.

Before then, I have convinced my mom to start training with me for her first 5K! We're going to do the Tempe SkirtChaser 5K sponsored by SkirtSports. My mom is a life-long exerciser, but has not really pushed her cardio beyond moderate to light exercise in several years. But she's in good shape, I know she can do a 5K, and I think the training and sense of accomplishment would do her good. I'm going to set her up on one of the Galloway walk/run plans- joint protection and injury prevention are the key words in her training. Hopefully we'll be set up as training partners on Daily Mile or SkirtSports KickitForward and I'll be able to post updates on both of our progress.

The next big goal is to then do a 5K with my mom and sister in the later spring, and/or a 10K with my sister.

Both my mom and sister have been inspired by my own conversion into running and I'm excited to introduce them to the sport.

Tuesday's run

Knees still hanging in there

I did my normal 4.5 mile loop last night and it felt wonderful. No soreness or looseness while running, and nothing last night or this morning. The plan is to do a 10 miler on Sunday and use it as a diagnostic. If I can do it alright and recover w/o problems, I can do the 1/2. If I have any problems at all, I'm out. I'm ok with that decision, I'd rather skip the race and keep going in my recovery than run the race and not be able to run for most of December.

Looking back, I'm amazed at what a difference in conditioning that training for a 1/2 has made. I used to run short distances really regularly. I *knew* that speed work would make me faster, but when you are used to running 4.5 miles and topping off at a 10K, it's really easy to fall back into normal patterns and not push the speed. I also didn't have an incentive to run long distances, and I was scared of them, so I didn't bother. I'm really impressed at what a difference adding slow, long miles has made in my running conditioning. It seems somewhat counter-intuitive, but the long slow runs really increased my stamina, form, and improved just about every part of my running.

Once I'm recovered from my knees and the race on Dec 11 I'm going to re-evaluate my running plan. I really want to maintain the long runs and I think I've found a similarly-paced trail-running partner to do that with. I also want to add speed play (with Luke) and serious cross training and strength building. Ideally I'll keep running 4 days a week with one long run and one speed run (is that too much? should I alternate long run/speed work every other week?), and do at least 1 day of additional short cardio and strength training.

Jogging again!

I spent most of the last week visiting my brother and sister in law in Montana and used it for a week of knee recovery. The town they live in affords breath taking views of the Montana Landscape. Their house is situated on 200+ acres of land with lots of lovely hiking trails. Fortunately, the wind gave us enough of a break to get one long walk in Big Timber, and a second in Missoula. Other than those two walks, I spent a lot of time icing, taking advil, and just resting.

And I, tentatively, think it's paid off.

Yesterday I did a slow 4 mile loop from my house with short walk breaks at every mile. Rather than do my standard 4.5 mile loop, I decided to run laps around my neighborhood so that I could head home at the lightest sign of discomfort. Fortunately, no knee funniness for the run! I did get some hamstring cramping on the left side near the knee. I'm beginning to think that my IT band, left ham, and left calf  are putting stress on the joint. I get fairly consistent cramping and my left calf has been sore and knotted (in comparison to the right). However, no knee issues either before or after the run!

The neighboorhood got in the holiday spirit this weekend and I had a lovely time running through the various holiday lights:

I'm taking today off for rock climbing but will be back out tomorrow. My main goal is to keep the pace slow, incorporate walk breaks and see if I can do distance at a slower pace. I really want to be able to run on December 11, although I will absolutely pull out of the race if my knees are giving me problems. No point in running a race only to not be able to run for several weeks after.

Should have seen this one coming...

Last night's run sucked. S. U. C. K. E. D. First mile, awkward, second mile, great, third mile, pain. stopping, trying not to cry, walking, wanting to run, trying to run, back to trying not to cry, walking, very slow jogging home. I got home feeling sad, desperate, and like I might have to drop out of the the Tucson HM b/c I'm not sure I can do it without causing injury.

I had Dr. Luke (not a "real" doctor but he plays one sometimes at home), take a feel of my knee, my gait, my stride, basically everything. He's take - "your knees are creaking, you can feel the tendons when you bend and straighten, it's probably tendonitis from over use. Take your own advice and start taking advil regularly." Huh, maybe I should listen to my husband every now and again.

We're headed to MT to visit our in-laws, newborn nephew, and a litter of puppies. It's also going to be cold and I've been worrying about getting in mileage while dealing with 20-40 degree temps. In light of everything that's going on, I'm going to take the opportunity to not run for a week. Instead I'll focus on walking when it's warm enough, Jillian Michael's yoga, and maybe the elliptical or rowing machine if I can handle it. But I'm going to stop running for a while, give myself real rest (not the, I'll-just-run-4-times-a-week "rest" I've been doing), and reassess when I return.

Cross your fingers and make a sacrifice for my knees.

Still Recovering

Despite my personal desires to run,run, run, faster, faster, faster... my body has other plans. It's been about a week and a half since the HM and despite my attempts to convince myself to the contrary, my knees are still recovering. As I said before, I'm not getting pain, but I'm getting that-doesn't-exactly-feel-normal that could turn to pain/injury pretty quickly.

Following advice, I've cut my mileage to about 13-17 slower miles per week with walking, cross training or climbing on my off days. I'm also taking advil, rolling around on my foam roller, and doing leg lifts.

I've been paying a lot of attention to my body and I think I'm having knee problems because of my hip rather than my feet. Both hip flexors are tight and I think they're causing my legs and knees to track in a funny way.

It's frustrating b/c I want to be back out running and getting in miles, but I also want to make it through my next race w/o any injuries and a quicker recovery time. Very annoying when you can push your body faster than you thought you could, but then have to give it a while to recover for the push.

rain, rain

Well, my long run got rained out. Which is actually probably good b/c I've been experiencing some patellofemeral pain in the left knee post running. I don't get it when I run, but if my knees are bent when I sleep sometimes it'll wake me up. I think it might be the shoe. It also might be the distance. I'm going to add leg lifts to see if I can strengthen the quads, and keep stretching the hams, calves, gluts. Cannot. get. injured. Especially now that I've come to love running this much.

Headed to the climbing gym instead. Likely back out tomorrow.

Still recovering

Here's been the schedule so far:
1. Monday - rest
2. Tuesday - Rock climbing (2 hours w/ a new running AND climbing buddy!). Some of those movements out of deep flexion? Painful to the quads.
3. Wednesday - run/jog. Great for the first 2.5 miles, then it felt like someone inserted hot pokers in my quads. Clearly still recovering.
4. Thursday - walk
5. Friday - walk
6. Sat - jog. 4.5 miles, average 9:30 pace, felt good! My quads are recovered, although my knees feel a bit... loose. Not sure how to describe it. I'm definitely going to start some mild weight training next week now that my legs are recovered. I really need to build my lower quads to protect the patella tracking.

7. Tomorrow: planned 8 mile run w/ new running buddy and Luke. A bit nervous, but generally looking forward to it.


Finally, this week I learned why you never run a race with new shoes. I picked up a pair of Cascadias at the expo and was psyched to try them out this week. Well, they talked me into 1/2  a size bigger and it was a huge mistake. The're ok to start, but w/in .5 mile I can feel that all the proportions are wrong and my foot was sliding around in the shoe like crazy. Normally my cascadias feel like a second skin on my feet - these? not so much. Pretty soon into the run I started feeling the effects on my knees. Not horrible, but not good. Fortunately, they'll let me exchange them for store credit which I will use to by the 9.5s. It means I didn't get the 20% off, but I need new shoes anyway so it'll be worth it for something that fits.

Does make me wonder how many people experience knee problems from too big shoes.

2011 Women's Half Marathon

Yesterday I ran 13.1 miles. Receiving the official race results last night: I ran 13.1 miles in 1 hour 59 min and 58 sec. Boo-ya! Under 2 hours by 2 seconds! Here's how it went:

Saturday, Day Before 
The day before the race my mom and I went to the expo to get my stuff. The good: I snagged a pair of Cascadia 6s for 20% and a new sports skirt Lotta Breeze Capri for a discount.  My mom bought me a race gift of a really nice Brooks hoodie with the sleeves that turn into fingerless gloves and a thermal hood with a hole for my ponytail. The bad: going to any sort of expo with my mother is bad for my pocketbook :). The second bad: The sizing on the shirts was off. Way off. I ordered a medium (for a 34" chest according to the size chart. FYI I have closer to a 39" chest in the bust, but fit a 32-34 elsewhere (shoulders, etc). It has probably 6 inches of negative ease (extra fabric). You could fit two of me in there. So I'm going to have to do some taking in. I tried to exchange it (me and a bunch of other women in the same "too big" boat), but they told me no can do.

We went for a walk the night before the race and I finished with a light dinner of pasta and a salad.

I had a hard time sleeping, and before I knew it it was 5:30 am and time to get up.

The Race
I woke up at 5:30 and snagged a banana with almond butter and some licorice tea. My mom, kind heart that she is, got up with me and dropped me off at the start line. My stomach was nervous so I grabbed a last minute pit stop before lining up. (a shout out on the porta johns - the race had 75 porta johns lined up for over 3K runners. The lines weren't too long and moved fast. Good job.)

The start was cold. 43 degrees cold. That's cold no matter where you live but when you're used to running in the mid 80s, 43 is really cold. Fortunately I had checked the weather and decided to buy a pair of arm warmers at the expo. After trying a lot of $25 and $30 pairs (seriously? for sleeves?) I settled on a pair of asics $8 el cheapos. El cheapos for the win! Great wicking, didn't overheat, no chafing, and no ugly arm pinching.

The gun goes and of course, b/c I'm i the 3rd corral, it's a slow walk to the starting line. The course started through downtown scottsdale which meant snaking our way through city streets. As with most races, getting through the participants was a slow going pain. I've said it before an dI'll say it again: I love no problem with walkers. I'm a walker. But, if you plan on walking a race, it's just rude to force your way to the front and then walk 4 abreast, refusing to let faster walkers and runners pass. The first mile was like a frustrating, real life game of frogger: trying to get around women walking an 18 minute mile with giant water belts and backpacks.

The plan? Run 10 min, walk 1 min, walk water breaks, aim for a 10 min pace.

 Reality? yeah, not so much. My first mile I was running a comfortable 9:21 pace, even with the walker-frogger game I was stuck in. By the time my first walk break hit I was just getting into some open running space. So I kept going. Pretty soon I realized that I was going to be better taking my walk breaks at every 2 mile water stop.

The first 6 miles were beautiful. My average pace went from 9:21 to 9:12. I felt great, the air was cool, and I was happily flying along to the dance party in my head. The only interruption was the crappy race band playing the same damn Elvis song. Dude, I had Rhiana telling me to "shut up and drive". Elvis totally squelched my juju. I planned to take a gel at mile 4.5 or 45 min. W/ my pace, that meant I actually ended up taking my Hammer gel espresso around the 5.5 water break. Totally easy, no stomach problems. Yay!

Mile 7 we hit an incline. It slowed me but not too bad. I started to feel some stitches that could lead to cramping and decided to channel... I have no idea what. But I realized that if I slowly raise my arms out to the side and above my head (for dancers: basically a porte de bras from second to high fifth and back; for everyone else: I'm flapping my arms like a bizarre bird), it stopped the cramp. So I'm running up this incline, slowly flapping my arms and bopping around to the music. I see a number of woemn around me struggling and then i glance at the ground to see a shadow behind me doing exactly the same thing :)

By the time I hit mile 7-8 my average pace was 9:09. Yup, I'm running negative splits on my first half marathon. 7-8 goes great and I take 1/2 of my second gel at the start of mile 9. In the 9-10 mile I'm getting tired. But I kept channeling my friend KT's guide to Chi Running: Relax, fall forward, and run from bent ankles. As soon as I reminded my body into the posture running was effortless. I fully credit her input as the reason I can run as fast as I can.

Mile 10, I'm ready to be done but I'm still feeling great. Tired, but great. I'm flapping around a bit, but also avoiding all cramping. My calves are sore and tired, but what do I expect? I've just run 10 miles at one of my fastest paces.

Half way through mile 10, I see the  2 hour pace team leader exit the porta john. The 2 hour pace team is not just w/in my sight, but w/in reach. I make it my goal to keep him in eyesight through the finish. Considering I thought I'd take 2 hours and 30 min to run the 1/2, revised to maybe 2 hours and 15 min during my training, this was an unthinkable goal a week ago.

Luke snapped this one of me .1 miles from the finish

By the time mile 12 rolls around I'm still flying and hit the mind-over-matter part of the race. I'm going to finish this thing and I'm going to finish fast. Rounding the corner to the finish line I see my mom and Luke cheering, smiling, and jumping up and down. I feel fast, happy, tired, and totally amazing. I pick it up just a bit and cross the finish.

We were given our finisher medals by uniformed air force service men. Here's my issue with this. Yes, they are well dressed young men (like the firemen at the end of the Nike Woman's 1/2 marathon), but this is a woman's empowerment race - how about a female air force service person? Aside from the problematic gender-stertyping assumption that all women like men in uniform, it seems a bit silly to 1) assume that all women also like men and 2) is patronizing to get a "good job girl" pat on the head from a dude. I'd have rather had a female servicewoman or a female marathon finisher welcome me to the finish line. Because I run for myself and to run with other athletes, not to get a gift from a dude.

Anyway... Post race I grabbed an orange and a banana and found Luke and my mom by the cookie cafe. Cookie Cafe: great idea for non runners, the last thing in the world you want after running a long distance. I got lots of hugs and a dry shirt.

Probably one of the most memorable kisses since our wedding :)

So excited... can't... stop... talking... long... enough... to... eat...

Me and mom.

Cookies, medal, and nice, dry shirt

Gear:

•  I wore my el cheap arm warmers (awesome), 
• my on-sale el cheapo RoadRunner tech T ( also awesome, need more...),
• my black Gym Girl Ultra skirt (a bday gift from mom),
•  my pink bday sunglasses (from Luke) a sweaty bands head band (new from expo, also reflective so I don't get hit by cars when running at night), 
• running socks... addidas I think, and 
• what I have now discovered are Brooks Cascadia 5s. I picked up the 5s at the RoadRunner sports outlet in San Diego. They are stiffer and not as comfortable as the 6s, but my old pair of 6s are tread-worn and my new pair hadn't been run in. Plus, even though not as light, they are still great shoes.
• Moving comfort Fiona sports bra
• Target up&up sunscreen spf 50
• Body Glide
• spf 30 Blistec 5 star protection chapstick ( a must in the low humidity)

Food:

• Pre-race: banana, 1/2 packed jelly belly sports beans, almond butter
• Water or gatorade during the race
• 1 hammer gel espresso at mile 5.5 (needed more post-gel water)
• .5 hammer gel espresso at mile 9 (needed more post-gel water)
• orange, banana, and nuun electrolyte drink post-run

Post-Run
I felt really good until about an hour or so after the run, then I started getting sore. Fortunately my mom's place has a really nice community hot tub and we headed over for a soak.

Then runner's stomach hit. I definitely pushed myself. I shaved 13 or so min off my training times, and my stomach paid the price. Not as bad as after some of the wharf to wharfs, but I had the hungover stomach/GI problems until about 2:30/3pm. In retrospect, I think that I didn't get enough water after taking the gels and I made the mistake of drinking 2 cups of gatorade instead of water after taking the gels. Too much sugar combined with really pushing myself. Oh well, it happens, and it was totally worth it.

Today my quads are sore and parts of my calves are stiff, but not too bad. I'm going to try to get in either a light jog or walk .

The next challenge: recover while still preparing for another 1/2 marathon on Dec 11th. The added challenge: figuring out how to run for a week in November when visiting my new nephew in MT in near freezing temps. Till then, I've got this:

finished my first 1/2 marathon in 2hours 8 seconds. A personal best in time and distance. It was fun, fast, and I'm going to be sore. Headed to the jacuzzi, full write up with pics tonight or tomorrow.



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Starting line!!!

7 am and ready to go!




-



Posted using BlogPress from my iPhonev

Location:N Fountain Dr,Scottsdale,United States

My 1/2 marathon dance party playlist.

Ain't Nothing Wrong With That Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Americano Lady Gaga
Bad Kids Lady Gaga
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich Lady GaGa
Beyonce Feat. Jay-Z - Crazy In Beyonce
Blazin [Explicit] Nicki Minaj
Blow Ke$ha | www.RNBxBeatz.com
boom boom (feat. cham) rihanna
Boom Boom Pow Black Eyed Peas
Born This Way Lady Gaga
Breakin' Dishes Rihanna
California Gurls Katy Perry
Catch 22 Pink
Centerfold [Bonus Track] Pink
Check It Out (With Nicki Minaj)[EXPLICIT] will.i.am
Crazy Beautiful Life Ke$ha | www.RNBxBeatz.com
Disturbia Rihanna
Don't Stop The Music Rihanna
The Edge Of Glory Lady Gaga
The Fame Lady GaGa
Fly [Explicit] Nicki Minaj
God Is a DJ Pink                          
Here I Am [Explicit] Nicki Minaj
I Gotta Feeling Black Eyed Peas
I Wanna Go Britney Spears
I’m The Best [Explicit] Nicki Minaj
Just Dance - (The DJ Vice Megamix) Lady GaGa
Last Chance [Explicit] Nicki Minaj
Matthew Sweet - Ultrasuede Matthew Sweet
One Tribe Black Eyed Peas
Only Girl (In the World) (Remix) (Bonus Track) Rihanna
Party All The Time Black Eyed Peas
Pon de Replay Rihanna
Raise Your Glass P!nk
S&M Rihanna
Scheiße Lady Gaga
seven deadly sins Flogging Molly
Shut Up & Drive Rihanna
Simple Little Melody Black Eyed Peas
Super Bass [Explicit] Nicki Minaj
Teeth Lady GaGa
Tightrope (Feat. Big Boi) Janelle Monáe
TiK ToK (Extended Club Remix) [Explicit] Ke$ha
Till The World Ends (the Femme Fatale Remix) Britney Spears feat. Nicki Minaj & Ke$ha
Tonights the Night Pink
U And Ur Hand Pink
Umbrella (Feat. Jay-Z) Rihanna
We Found Love Rihanna
We R Who We R Ke$ha | www.RNBxBeatz.com
Who's That Chick? (Doritos Night) (Bonus Track) Rihanna
Ya se fue Ozomatli
Your Love [Explicit] Nicki Minaj
Your Love is my Drug (X-Change Mix) DJ X-Change

New PR!

After a miserable run on Wed. I didn't have much hope for Thrusday's run. I even told Luke, "yesterday was a bust, today may be too, so if I'm dying, please feel free to run ahead and I'll meet you at home." Real confidence, eh?

We set out and I felt good. Really good. Part of it is the weather. Part of it is the totally awesome rockin' dance party that is my 1/2 marathon play list.  And I kept feeling good. I started to get patella twinges around mile 3, I had a very strange stomach thing around mile 3.5, and then I hit mile 4 and I could have gone for hours.

My pace? Average of 8:49 min mile!

It's going to be hard to rein the pace in at the start of the race. I'm considering setting my paceing notifications to occur more often (currently every 6 min). Then again, the start of the races are always slow. But I'm excited and ready.

My plan is to stick to my 10 min run, 1 min fast walk, pattern. Unfortunately this won't line up with the water stations (every 2 miles) that I will walk through in order to get water. So after the first 4 miles or so I may switch to running in-between and walking my minute at the water stations. I will do another reassessment at mile 7 and see if I can run the last 10K straight. If I'm not feeling it, I'll reassess at mile 10 and will likely run the last 5K straight. But again, this is all based on assessment of knees, cramping, etc. So, basic plan is stick to the 10 min run, 1 min walk, unless I feel really good afterI've made it at least 1/2 way, and then consider scaling back the walk breaks.

I plan to do a banana w/ some almond butter for bfast. I'm going to take 2 hammer gels expresso and a small bag of shot blocks sodium with me. My plan is to take one of the gels at 45-50 min (mile 4.5-5, when I seem to need it), and a second gel at 1h 30. It seems like more nutrition than I "should" need, but the gels stop the leaden legs that I seem to get w/o fuel every 40-50 min. I wish I had had more long runs to see if I really need the 2nd gel or if I'd be ok w/ just getting some electrolytes, but as everyone says, the race is not the day to start experimenting. If anything, I'd rather be over-prepared- esp b/c my body didn't have a problem w/ anything i put in it during the run. (Pre run is another story, only bananas and oranges seem to help me avoid death cramps).

For the most part I"m sticking to water at the water stations, although I may be up for the sodium in a gatorade towards the end. For recovery, I've got nuun tablets. I wish there way a way to carry nuun w/ me during the race w/o having to carry my water bottle. I love the bottle for long runs, but it does become a pain in the ass when I'm trying just to focus on my running and not what the damn bottle is doing.

Ugh

Yesterday's run was rough. really, really rough. As in, felt like back to square 1 rough. I was going slow on the start and before I hit .5 miles, a wall of side cramps came on with a vengeance. Ok, clearly a sign to walk. So walk I do. And the cramps? they don't leave. I kept going for nearly 4 miles, but everything was very tight and it felt impossible to breathe.

I know why this is happening, and it's not race nerves. I've been going through some serious dissertation stress it the last week or so and I just can't shake it. Sometimes running/walking is great for stress relief. But others, like yesterday, I'm so tight and tense that the act of running/walking just makes everything tighten further with ever step.

After the completed, but sort of failed, walk I went climbing with Luke. Climbing was hard but in a different (no-impact) way and it was nice to get back on the wall.

I'm headed out again today, we'll see how it goes. Somehow I've got to find a way to shake the stress before Sunday's race.

Clearly I don't understand the word "taper"

So maybe starting to add strength training the week I start tapering for my first 1/2 marathon isn't the brightest idea out there.

I am sore.

I am also dumb.

I will be walking today.

Sigh.

Running and Strength Training

I'm beginning to realize that as much as I love running and cardio, I' would really benefit from more strength training. I used to get a lot of body weight training in ballet, but now I'm pretty much all cardio all the time. This will change somewhat as Luke and I have purchased a year-long membership to our local climbing gym, but I could honestly use strength training to also improve my climbing. In college I lifted 2 days a week and was quite strong with the muscles to prove it. I still have a pretty good musculature, but I've lost a lot of strength.

My weight training goals:
-improve upper body strength - biceps, triceps, shoulders, pecs, and upper back - to support arms and rock climbing

-improve core - abs, lats, back, gluts - for stability and strength in all sports, and as a preventative measure for my back as I age.

-strengthen lower body - hams, hips/gluts, quads, calf work only through ballet training) - this is mainly to prevent knee and hip injuries as well as improve efficiency in movement

I read a whole lot on Runner's World and decided that their core workouts looked interesting, but most of their strength training was sort of boring and static. I want something that uses dynamic movements to work a variety of muscles at the same time.

I decided to start with these exercises on Friday night: http://www.womens-running.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-275-559-13652-0,00.html

They're good all around stability/strength work outs, although I'm not used to working out and hot getting my heart pumping.

I added in some other squats and upper body work that I like. While at the gym, I spent a lot of time looking at what other people were doing. I've added and exercise in which you stand in 2nd position (legs apart, hips externally rotated), squat to 90 degrees, rotate one knee  into the body, and externally rotate it back to the squating position using the external rotators, return to standing. Repeat.

I'm also doing ball-core work that my friend Amanda taught me and 3 years later still kicks my ass.

I was sore, but in a good way. I'm going to aim to incorporate at least 3-4 exercises (3 sets of 10 reps) following all of my short runs, with a full body day on Fridays.

Today I did a 4.5 mile run and then the hamstring curls, lunges, the "rotating" squats, and abs.

Music for a 1/2?

I'm trying to decide what to put in my ipod for the race.
As it is, I generally listen to one 45 min pod cast, and then put my "race music" on shuffle for the second part of the run. Keeps me interested.

However, I run faster and more steadily when i listen to music as opposed to listening to podcasts. If  I go with music the whole way, do I take the time to make a playlist (and download more music for the race) and try to time my songs with where I'll be (and what motivation I'll need) in my run? Or do I just throw a bunch of stuff in a play list and happily let it shuffle away?

Here's who I know will be with me:

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance, Beautify Dirty Rich, Boys Boys Boys, The Fame (Album Mixtape), Just Dance extended remix, shake Ure Kitty, Summerboy, Teeth, Vanity, Sheisse, Money Honey, Highway Unicorn, Hair, Bad Kids, Americano. And I think I need to set Edge of Glory to start playing when i hit my last mile...

P!nk - Raise your gllass, U and UR Hand, CenterfoldI need to add more P!nk

Matthew Sweet- Ultrasuede

Rhianna - Only Girl, S&M, Breakin' Dishes, Disturbia, Do't Stop the Music, Shut up & Drive, Umbrella, boom boom, and my fav: Pon de Replay

Robyn- TBD. I started running w/ her a few months ago but now find myself skipping her tracks when they come up. Same with Katy Perry.

Ke$ha - Yes I'm ashamed, but damn if she isn't katchy

Black Eyed Peas - Party all th eTime, One Tribe, boom Boom Pow, Now Generation, Simple Little Melody, Rockin to Beat, in fact most the album off The End. Silly, yes. Easy to run to, hell yes.

Edna's Goldfish and some Reel Big Fish - cause SKA makes me happy

Ozomotli - Ya Se Fue has got me through more runs than I can count, Lo Que Dice, Mi Alma, Coming War, Cumbia, Donde Se fueron, Oh Le E, Party People, Mi Gente. They'll totally on the list

Jurassic 5 - (can you tell I went to college in LA in the late 90s?) Still have to make my choices off these guys. Too many good songs.

Same for Flogging Molly  - but I Rebels of the Sacred Heart, Tobacco, Drunken Lullabies, Seven Deadly Sins will all be along for the ride

Janelle Monae - If you don't know her, you must watch the videos for Tightrope and Cold War. She'll be in my ears.

I'll have some Beyonce (Single Ladies - I have issues wit hthe song but it's great for running), and I think I'm actually going ot download Britney Spears "Til the World Ends" 'cause damn if it isn't catchy.

Any other suggestions? Clearly I like Female popular dance oriented music, ska, and 90s underground hiphop with a good dance beat.

Last Long Run

Finished 9 miles this morning and now I begin tapering. The run went well and I feel good looking at November 6. I'm getting faster in my running intervals. I also took a cue from Runner's world and tried pumping my arms to pick up my pace when I start flagging. Lo and behold, it worked! I felt like a flapping bird, but it's much easier to pump my arms faster than try to convince my legs to run faster.

I took a gel at 50 min and it made a big difference in my post-10K slump. I still got "lead butt", but it only lasted a few min instead of a few miles. I definitely need to take nutrition in 45 min intervals. I also had a return of the back of the knee hamstring cramp. Still not sure what to do about it. I'm thinking of taking a gel and 3 sodium cliff blocks. I'll take a gel at 45 min w/ the idea that if I need another one after 1.5 hours I can grab one off the 8 mile water stop (yes, I checked, they're going to have espresso gu and I can take that w/o any problems). The sodium infused cliff blocks will be popped in one at a time around mile 7-8 to see if I can starve off the cramping. Or, I'll take the 2 gels I know I like and maybe crush up a nuun tablet to drop in my water so that I can get electrolytes and sodium and help w/ the cramping.

I love how strong I feel in my 1/2 marathon training. I've stuck to it and I'm really proud of myself. I need to do more speedwork, but travel got in the way. I think I'm going to stick to making Luke run fartleks with me for the time being. He makes me run much faster than I "normally" do, and it's good to have the motivation.

Quads

So far I've been really happy with some of the changes I've made in my running stride. The smaller, quicker steps definitely help me up the pace w/ less exertion. However, I haven't listened to any advice I've given to others over the years, which is: Go slow with changes. My new stride uses different leg muscles (mainly quads) and I'm really feeling them after my 12 mile run. I went out and did 4.5 or so miles yesterday and my thighs felt like they were on fire. I wasn't even going very fast! Interestingly, to me, when I tried to switch back to my "old stride" to give my thighs a break, my right side stitches roared into being. As soon as I switched to my "new stride", the side pains were gone.

I'm doing a lot of stretching and trying to get my legs to loosen a bit. I have a groupon for a 90 min massage, but the masseuse is out of town for the next week or so. I think today will be a walking day in order to give my legs a break. I'll definitely recover from this in a few days, but I want to take it easy and I'm glad I'm in my tapering period.

12 miles!

This morning was my last long training run before tapering for my race! I decided to run at "race time" in order to get used to running at the ungodly hour of 7am. It actually wasn't so bad and I think I'm going to keep running at this time for the next 2 weeks.

The deets:
Food: Ate a banana w/ some almond butter before leaving. Really started to get heavy legs, cramping around mile 6 so went with a Gu (espresso). Learned I prefer Hammer Gel to Gu, mainly for taste. Around mile 10 I started getting heavy legs and some fatigue. I really feel a boost from the gels, but 2 over the course of a race seems excessive. I have a 9 mile run next week and will experiment w/ gel at one point and either a cliff block when I start to get tired, or putting an electrolyte drink/tab (nuun) in my water bottle. I'd really prefer not to have to carry a water bottle for the race, but if some electrolytes in the water help, I'll do it.

The running: I've settled well into a walk/run pattern suggested by friends, and 1st time marathoners, Mira and Andy. I run 10 min and walk for 1 min. Simple, and works well. I run faster in the run segments and the walk breaks change up my pace and stride length enough to help reduce or eliminate side stitches and keep leg cramps at bay. For the race I'm expecting to stick to my walk run plan until I get through mile 7 or 8. If I'm feeling good and want to pick up the speed or reduce the walks, I'll do it. But I"m aiming for conservation early in the game.

I did a mix of my faux-chi running I tried last week and some of my "normal" stride running. The chi-running position is strange for my upper body and back, but great for my lower body. It's amazing how much "easier" running is. I still got some IT funkiness on the left side around mile 9, but alternating my stride patterns every so often helped it turn from funkiness into pain or problems. Otherwise, no back of the knee cramping AT ALL!

As usual, I got tired around the 6 mil/10K mark, then the gel picked me up, I got fatigued around mile 10, but was able to keep, and even pick up my pace, through miles 11.5 As with all my long runs, i get really tired on that last 1/2 mile when I add distance, but that's to be expected.

I'm really proud of how fast and confidently I did this run. My average pace was 9min 54 sec. I'd really like to run my 1/2 w/ a 10 min/mile pace. Of course, I'll happily take a faster run, but I have also had races go bad (cramping and the like) and don't want to set my sights too high only to have cramping really drag me down.

In Ears:
I've become a huge fan of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. The PCHH gang is funny and make the first 50 min go by like a breeze. Unfortunately, I run slower when I listen to podcasts and all the laughing makes me stumble. Post, PCHH I had a mix of Lady Gaga, Rhianna, P!nk, Ke$ha (yes, Ke$sha), Black Eyed Peas, and Matthew Sweet. I find a really prefer to run to female pop/dance vocalists. The beat keeps me going and the songs make the time pass.

I'm debating what to do for the race: my standard PCHH podcast with my Race Playlist randomized? Or all music? Or PCHH with a set playlist that is designed to encourage and motivate me w/ specific songs for specific miles?

Clothing:
Running cap (Brooks), sunglasses, Addidas socks, newer Brooks Cascadia 6s, Road Runner Sports running T, Moving Comfort Fiona Bra, and Mojito SportSkirts.

I'm debating what to wear for the race - do I bother with a hat? T-shirt (no chafing) or Tank (a b-day gift from mom, or the race T-shirt (matches my skirt but not a flattering cut over all :) ). You know, all the stuff that really matters.

Chi Running: take 1

On the whole, I haven't been too impressed with the mid-foot strike and minimalist running stuff. It's not that I'm opposed to shoes, I dance barefoot and absolutely agree that the barefoot footwork is what has strengthened and saved my rather flat feet from all sorts of ailments. But I actually hate running barefoot and hate stepping on things. I like the grippy and stability of a shoe when running. I also think I'm one of the few people who was really turned off by Born to Run. Interesting premise, basis a whole lot of the argument on anecdotal "evidence" and "historical" and quasi-Orientalist/ "Noble Savage" generalizations that really pissed me off. It reminded me too much of the "old way of eating" diets that some people espouse. You know, "back in the day before processed and preserved food." Now I'm all about non-processed foods, that's pretty much all I eat. But be aware that most Europeans "back in the day" survived on porridge, boiled grains with some milk or blood, beer, and more boiled grains. Little meat, only fresh produce at certian times of th eyear and even that was avoided. As a historian, I really bristle at the notion that we have to "get back" to the "good old days" because most people who espouse the "way things were" don't actually have any idea as to how things actually were for the majority of folk. Right, so I was NOT a Born to Run convert. It works for some people, fine.

 So I haven't paid much attention to things like Chi or PASS (PACE?) running techniques. Until one of my favorite bloggers, who is not a runner but is training for her first marathon, blogged this: http://dooce.com/2011/10/11/working-gravity . And because Heather is my hero, a pragmatic, totally psycho OCD, hero, I decided to at least look into Chi Running.

The idea behind Chi running is biomechanical: a long front stride actually uses the foot to break momentum as the body transfers weight over the front leg. I've been working on lengthening my stride w/ hopes of getting faster. What I've discovered is that the longer stride means my front foot is further out in front of me, contacts with the ground, and then pulls me forward while my back foot is simultaneously pushing me forward. Every time the front foot pulls, it puts strain on my quads, knees, and hamstrings. The constant pulling motion of my front foot strike was causing a good amount of stress, pain, and fatigue on my legs. As I remarked yesterday, this became and issue in my last long run. And, I'm not getting that much faster without working a whole lot harder.

I decided to try the Chi running technique (watched some videos and did some reading) to see if it really did make running easier and pain free. Holy shit, it actually worked. I started out on a 5 mile run and effortlessly (for my body, not my breathing) was running near 8 min miles in no time. I even had a couple of segments at sub-8 minute miles. More importantly, no pain. No cramping. No ball of lactic acid behind my knees that made extending them hurt like a mofo. No IT band issues. No calf issues. Nada, zip, zilch. AND running faster. I think I'm a convert.

Now, this does take some adjustment. After about .75-1 mile my quads started saying "whoa, you are using muscles you're not used to using, take a break." So I did. But after 30 seconds, was right back up to kicking ass speed. The other thing that has to be readjusted is my breathing. In this running style you take a many more steps that are smaller and faster in comparison to traditional running strides - which means my inhale 3 strides, exhale 3 strides is no longer going to work. In fact, my feet were moving so fast I couldnt figure out how to breath to keep up. I got a little pain in the right shoulder (common when I'm going to start getting mad right side stitches), so I had to slow down for those. Basically, my body could move so much faster, so much more comfortably than my breathing could keep pace with. It's going to take a while to figure out the breathing, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

How about you? Have you tried Chi running or other mid-foot strike running?

Wild Running Update

Since I last posted I've run in Tahoe, Coronado, Victoria, BC, and now New Orleans. Needless to say I've been busy.

I've managed to keep up with at least 2 maintenance runs, cross training (walks, hiking) and one long run a week, but the speed work has been getting the shrift.

 My 10 miles in Victoria was slow, but easy and very comfortable. Monday I completed 11 miles in an average time of 10:04/min miles. I ran/walked and my running segments were about a 9:30 sec pace for 10 min and then walk for 1. My knees were feeling funky and I"m sore after a run for the first time ever. I ran in the late evening so I slammed a vanilla gu pre-run and an espresso-gu mid run. I like the Hammer gel much better (less sugary). I think I ran too fast at some points and need to stretch more.

I'm learning a lot, and learning to love, the long runs. I'm also thrilled that my shorter runs are getting faster now that the temps are dropping. And I consistently run faster outside than on a TM. How's that for conventional wisdom.

Here's where I'm having problems :
1. Some IT band funkiness (yes I need a roller, I've been using a tennis ball)
2. lactic acid build up/knots in my legs. I get these tight painful knots behind my left knee and in other random parts of my legs, mainly the hamstrings. It feels like the muscle is knotted and contracted and can't open or stretch. I can generally massage it out, but it's consistent enough for me to know that there is something up.

Maybe not enough sodium?

I'm back on a semi-normal running schedule this week. Did 11 miles on Monday, XT Tuesday, walk today, run Th and Fri, long hike on Sat, hopefully time for a quick run on Sunday.

Next Monday is my last long run- 12 miles! - before tapering.

9 miles!

After my happy 4.7 miles yesterday I did my first long run in... um... 2 weeks? What can I say I had a wedding! Today I ran 9 miles from my dad's place on Coronado. Hands down, Coronado is pretty damn perfect conditions. Beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, a gentle breeze... hard to get better than that.

The run went very well. I averaged  9:50 mile pace. I took a friend's advice and tried doing 1 min walking breaks every 10 min of running. For the most part (until the last mile) I was averaging 9:20-30 min miles during the running, and about 13 min miles in the walking segments. Breaking up the repetition of the running really helped my body.

I took a Hammer Gel chocolate after 6.5 miles or so. My body has no negative reaction and the fuel definitely gave my body a little kick. I'm actually thinking of trying to find a way to split the gel over two segments (spacing out the nutrition), during the race. I also need to find a way to add a bit of sodium and/or sugar to my water so that my body will recognize that it needs to move the fluid through my system. Esp in the colder temps, I had some stomach sloshing in the beginning of my run. But on the whole, I'm really pleased with how my attempts to eat and run are going. No negative effects yet. I also finished with a nuun tablet in my water once I got home. I like nuun and I think I'm going to keep using it after my long runs.

Today I had NPRs Pop culture Happy Hour in my ears with a few ending songs from Nicki Minaj.

Catch me if you can

Whew! Lots of travel and more in store. This past weekend I was in Tahoe for a wedding, then the CA coast, and now San Diego. I managed to sneak in a Tahoe run (4.3 miles at about a 10 min/mi pace), 2 hikes (4 and 6 miles respectively), and just accomplished a 4.71 mi run with an 8:50 min/mi pace! Woohoo!  Apparently running at sea level, on a foggy day, at 68 or so degrees IS faster than 98 degrees in the desert. Who knew ?  This also tells me that I am not doing my intervals fast enough.

Fortunately for me, one of the wedding guests is a tri/running coach. He hooked me up with a treadmill work out that I'll post once i find it at the bottom of my suitcase... Since I started HM training I feel like I've become a "real" runner. I have a better sense of pace, time, nutrition, stretching, all that stuff, now that I'm actually training for something.

Oh, and I signed up for a 2nd 1/2 marathon in December. You know, because I can :)

Skirt Sports Gym Girl Ultra

 I have a new favorite skirt. It's unseated my previous favorite, a nike tennis/running skirt. The fit is perfect - flatter length, flattering and not too tight. The best part about this skirt is what's underneath. The semi-mesh compression, no chafe shorts are the best I've ever worn. They're supportive, super wicking, and just the right length not to ride up. The also have two perfect pockets on either thigh and a special little headphones port on the right hip. They hold a gel, my ID and my iphone perfectly, and w/o pulling the skirt down. (Especially in comparison to my runningskirts.com skirt, which is great for walking, but when I start running either creeps up above my waist, or if I have my phone in the pocket, rides down).

I got this one on special. The color is "mojito". It's a nice fresh green.

front

side view with leg slits for speed

side pocket

What do you wear on top?

What do you wear on top when you run?

When i lived in Northern California I loved running in tank tops. The weather never got too hot that you even sweated that much, and tanks felt nice and light. I can't stand tanks w/ built in shelf bras b/c it is too much compression with the brumhilde bust-controlling sports bras I have to wear, but I love a light singlet or tank when heading out.

My tanks were just fine through the AZ winter, but once summer hit I started getting allsorts of problems. Warmer weather meant more sweat meant chafing at the arm scythes (yes, I got runner's glide, no it didn't really help). And my cotton had to go. I found myself reaching for my Central Coast running tee and my new Cinco de Mayo 10K tech tee more than anything else in my running stash. I still bust out my cute and coordinated Nike Dry Fit tank and skirt for races, but not for every day. (Although I can't stand their shoes, I really like Nike Dry Fit gear. It's light, has the right level of compression, wicks, and doesn't get stinky).

Then the other day on a TM I discovered shirtless running. A legacy of body insecurities has left me really hesitant to take off my clothes when I run. I shouldn't be, but I'm very aware of what I look like when I'm shuffling along. But the gym was steamy and my tech tee wasn't cutting it (it was doing that thing where you just get hot and itchy rather than wicking appropriately. I think things wick better when used out of doors), and I finally caved to my friend Koldito's advice and ditched the top. Freedom! I felt much cooler, more comfortable and didn't get any of the arm chafing I expected. I can't run shirtless outside b/c the sun is too strong, too hot, and I hate wearing that much sunscreen. It's actually cooler to have white reflective gear on than to bear your skin to the sun. And I think I'm "supposed" to wear t-shirts at all times at the gym, but I've scoped out a corner TM, far from the prying eyes of the undergrads grunting over the free weights, and I may be able to slip into something a little more comfortable from time to time.

this week was an off week

I managed to get in a 4 mile walk in 103 temps, and my first really good interval training on Friday, but since Monday those have been my only "real" runs. And one was a walk! Today I did a 2 hour trail ride in the am and I think will sneak in some rock climbing this evening.

I think I figured out the intervals I should be running and the entire premise of the workout makes a lot more sense. I'm now doing 1 mile warm up, .35 miles at 9 min/mi pace, recovery jog for 90 sec. Repeat 4 times total. 1 mile warm down.

Anyway, summer has broken in Tuscon! The high today is 92 and we have the a/c off. We slept with all the windows open last night. It could not be more beautiful. It's nice to have the house open again and I can't wait to run in the low, comfortable, mid- 80s temperatures :)

So far, I really enjoy 1/2 marathon training. I'm thinking of looking for another race in February just so that I can start a training course again. I like running just for the hell of it - and can't wait to be able to get back into running trails this winter - but I really appreciate having a running plan and schedule.  I am getting some knee wonkiness, esp after long treadmill runs. Hopefully this week's light mileage will give my body some recovery time.

Walk Day

After a long run on Sunday and a short run on Monday, I'm tired and sore. So today was a walk day. Plus it was 103 and because my dissertation and job applications are eating away at my life, I didn't get to the gym.

Learning on the Long Runs

Sunday was my long run day of the week. I did 7 miles (with 5 min walking warm ups), and my goal was not to stop for rest breaks. I ran the first mile at a 10:56 pace, and then picked it up to a 10:30 pace for the miles 2 and 3. At the 3.5 mile (2.5 at that pace) I was getting really hot, overheated (despite the water), and my breathing and heart rate were really pushing hard - 2:2 breathing pattern and my HR was pushing the mid 160s (sad, I know). Normally I would have walked, but this time i just slowed back down to the 10:56 pace. After about 1/4-1/3 of a mile my heart rate had recovered to 140bpm, my breathing was in a comfortable 3:3 pattern and I felt much cooler. After only .5 miles, I was able to pick up the speed again to the 10:30 pace. Now, after about the same distance I started feeling really fatigued, overheated, and my breathing was getting labored again. I didn't slow down because I was nearly done with the run, but I learned something important:

My body tends to overheat after 2-3 miles at a medium to hard pace (which 10:30 is for me on the TM in the high 70s w/ no fan or air blowing on me). Once I start to overheat and my HR is up in the 160s I start to get breathing problems, cramping, feeing like shit. If I just bring my HR down to 140 for a few  minutes of recovery i can start pushing the speed again before too long. But if I just "push through the pain" at that pace, I became a shuffling flesh bag of misery. What's surprising is that the recovery jogs really do allow me to recover if I use them in the right way - namely that my heart rate comes down to about 140 bpm and I feel myself cooling off. The second surprise is that I really need to listen to my body when it says to slow down and let my HR recover and let my body cool down (esp in the heat).

What's extra interesting about all this (for me) is the difference between HR while running and while on an elliptical. I can maintain a 160 bpm with bursts at 170 bpm on an elliptical w/ no cramping, breathing, or over heating for 45 pretty easily. I'm betting a lot of it has to do with the impact of running and the toll it takes on your body. But I find it interesting that take out the jostling and jarring  and I can push my hear fitness much further than I can when I'm running.

How I'm going to use this info:
1- work jog breaks into my long runs w/ closer monitoring of heart rate and perceived body temp. Remind myself that an 11:00 pace WILL cool me down as much as walking, I just have to trust it.

2- I need to rethink my interval speeds or lengths. I'm currently doing 400s , but I can do a lot of them (I can alternate between 400m at 9:15 pace followed by 1 min recovery jog for 30 min). I don't think I'm doing them right. I need to either run longer 800s or faster (sub-9 min miles for sure). If I have readers I'm happy for input :) I'm thinking longer is probably the answer b/c I want to improve my endurance pace... right?

Sabino Hike

Mon mari is an engineer who works on astronomy projects and builds telescopes. Te work he does is incredibly cool but it means he gets stuck in remote locations sometimes. This past week he's been at his satellite location in NM on an observing run. His program failed to record the first 3 days of data, then it got cloudy. Long story short, he's stuck at 9K ft for the Labour Day weekend.

Hangin' on my own, I wanted to try to meet some folks. I had the options of my interval workout at the gym followed by a local wine shop's wine tasting, or trying a Tuscon Meet Up Friday night hiking group. Treadmill... 7.3 miles in a beautiful canyon.... treadmill.... 7.3 miles in a beautiful canyon....

Guess which won :)

The hike was 7.3 miles out and back in Sabino Canyon. The road is paved and there's a fairly steep climb at the end. I ran this as a 12K race earlier in the year (kicked. my. ass.), and I run up to the mile 3 marker during the winter. The company was really nice and the weather was perfect. Warm (95), but the sun was down, we had a showing of Nature's fireworks, and it rained a gentle rain for at least 2 miles. On the way back we saw toads, a 6 month old baby king snake, a diamond back rattler, and a tarantula. As much as I love my npr podcasts, this was so much better than even Wait, Wait, Dont' Tell me.

Since I started HM training I haven't been walking as much as I normally do. It was nice to do a long brisk walk instead of a run. My legs opened up nicely and hopefully it will help my right ham loosen up.

In other news, I received my HM tech tee tis week. I ordered a M (per the size chart) and you culd have fit two of me inside of it. I'm exchanging it for a small, but am excited to be able to start wearing it during workouts.

Maintenence Run

We had a an unexpected late afternoon thunderstorm that dropped the temp from 106 (41.1C) to 95 (35C). Perfect opportunity to run outside from my home and not have to battle undergrads for a treadmill during the 6 pm rush at the gym.

I ran 4 miles with two brief pauses to avoid overheating, and then a slow cool down of nearly a .5 mile. I find that running outside I can run faster than on a TM, but I over heat much more quickly in the temps and I really need to take breaks or my body shuts down (cramping, dizzy, etc). Man, I can't wait for fall temps!

My quads are still sore from the long run. Running outside compared to inside feels so markedly different that I wonder if either my GPS or the treadmill paces are off. I've been using joglog, but the next time i run outside I'll try a different tracking program and see how the two compare. Maybe I'll try one run when I run both programs simultaneously and compare the results!

Post-run, I made this tasty red lentil and spinach curry with Trader Joe's mixed grain israeli couscous. It's a testament to the recipe that I completely screwed parts of it up b/c I was in a very distracting phone call at the time, and it still came out really well. I love lentils as a plan-based protein and this was a good and easy way to combine high-fiber and high-protein. Man, don't I love getting older? In college a good meal was a great steak (still is, on occasion). These days I get excited over fiber and leafy greens.