Struggling a bit right now, my cold has a firm cold on me. No hugely obnoxious symptoms today, just this fog and ache that has settled over me. I'm actually kind of grateful in a weird way, it's making me slow down and get inwardly focused in just the way I was hoping to do before Sunday, but is so hard to carve out the time for.
So I'm finishing up a few more things at work and then heading home early, I won't be in again until after it's all over. I feel as if I'm about to embark on a very long journey and I don't quite know who I'll be on the other side. I suspect that's about right.
Bon voyage!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Taper Taper Taper Get Some Madness Here
I have not been enjoying taper. Doesn't sound like anyone else I know is either.
Food has gone all to hell. My schedule has gone all to hell. Yoga has gone all to hell. And everything hurts when I run slow. What happened to all that energy I was supposed to be feeling right now?
Thank God I figured out my "I wake up at 3:00am and can't get any more good sleep" problem. Since April I've been waking up hungry, but not quite hungry enough to realize it. A rabbit's bite of trail mix has solved this.
I can't figure out a pair of shorts I like. My usual ones aren't good for racing (takes too long to adjust them around the waist --- too big). But it's going to be warm on Sunday. I have a pair of capris that fit great around the waist and butt but not the knees, so I've cut them down and will hem them tonight, and try them on my run tomorrow to see if I can make them work for me.
My favorite shoes have died and I can't get replacements for them --- I bought this last pair off of E-bay as it is. I've gotten the model that is supposed to replace my faves, and they feel pretty good to run in, but they don't have the same cushioning, not really my choice for a long run. But there isn't time to experiment with other models at this point. So I'm looking at some serious aggravation of my Morton's Neuroma on Sunday and will just have to run through it. Better than trying to run on dead shoes, which for me always results in shin splints and tendinitis.
It's hard to run slow! I don't like it.
And carbo-loading makes me very nervous (have a history with overeating). I can handle it for the day before a long run, but for several days beforehand? Or when people are telling me in these last weeks, "Oh, you can have whatever you want"? No.
And the last "poor me" you'll hear before Sunday? I HAVE A FREAKIN' COLD. Thank you, Dude.
Food has gone all to hell. My schedule has gone all to hell. Yoga has gone all to hell. And everything hurts when I run slow. What happened to all that energy I was supposed to be feeling right now?
Thank God I figured out my "I wake up at 3:00am and can't get any more good sleep" problem. Since April I've been waking up hungry, but not quite hungry enough to realize it. A rabbit's bite of trail mix has solved this.
I can't figure out a pair of shorts I like. My usual ones aren't good for racing (takes too long to adjust them around the waist --- too big). But it's going to be warm on Sunday. I have a pair of capris that fit great around the waist and butt but not the knees, so I've cut them down and will hem them tonight, and try them on my run tomorrow to see if I can make them work for me.
My favorite shoes have died and I can't get replacements for them --- I bought this last pair off of E-bay as it is. I've gotten the model that is supposed to replace my faves, and they feel pretty good to run in, but they don't have the same cushioning, not really my choice for a long run. But there isn't time to experiment with other models at this point. So I'm looking at some serious aggravation of my Morton's Neuroma on Sunday and will just have to run through it. Better than trying to run on dead shoes, which for me always results in shin splints and tendinitis.
It's hard to run slow! I don't like it.
And carbo-loading makes me very nervous (have a history with overeating). I can handle it for the day before a long run, but for several days beforehand? Or when people are telling me in these last weeks, "Oh, you can have whatever you want"? No.
And the last "poor me" you'll hear before Sunday? I HAVE A FREAKIN' COLD. Thank you, Dude.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Notes on an Inward Week
Travel always makes me introspective, and I spent much of the week thinking about where I am in my life, where I want to be, and how I might get from here to there. I'm feeling good about where I've come to after that thinking, and ready to start putting some new things into motion, but between my busy head, the travel, and work, I wouldn't say this was a restful week. I think maybe the whole notion of taper weeks doesn't really apply to working moms. Some good runs, though.
Sunday: Ran 8 miles in Englewood Reserve. I love running here. I love the trees and the wildflowers and the lake, and how the path opens up as you go along the base of the dam and again at the top. I love that the hills make me work.
I did not love that my favorite shoes are now officially dead, and I had to get new ones, a new style even, since my favorites (Brooks Axiom 3) are no longer around. The new ones are not quite right, but at this point I don't have much choice. I'll save my experimenting for the winter.
Monday: Rest / travel day.
Tuesday: Ran 5 miles (yoga).
Wednesday: Swam 21 laps.
Thursday: Ran 6 miles @ 10:10 (yoga). Wasn't planning to run at this speed, it's just where my body felt I needed to be. Pretty awesome.
Friday: Feeling out-of-sorts when I woke up, needing some extra time with Buddy and some extra time to myself. Rest day!
Saturday: Rest / work day (yoga).
Sunday: Ran 8 miles in Englewood Reserve. I love running here. I love the trees and the wildflowers and the lake, and how the path opens up as you go along the base of the dam and again at the top. I love that the hills make me work.
I did not love that my favorite shoes are now officially dead, and I had to get new ones, a new style even, since my favorites (Brooks Axiom 3) are no longer around. The new ones are not quite right, but at this point I don't have much choice. I'll save my experimenting for the winter.
Monday: Rest / travel day.
Tuesday: Ran 5 miles (yoga).
Wednesday: Swam 21 laps.
Thursday: Ran 6 miles @ 10:10 (yoga). Wasn't planning to run at this speed, it's just where my body felt I needed to be. Pretty awesome.
Friday: Feeling out-of-sorts when I woke up, needing some extra time with Buddy and some extra time to myself. Rest day!
Saturday: Rest / work day (yoga).
Monday, September 27, 2010
Notes on a Scattered Week
Started off all healthy with 20 miles and yoga, moved into high stress (and too much junk food) during the week, then finished off with a trip to Dayton --- sunshine, music, art, and family!
Sunday: CARA 20-miler (yoga).
This was a great event overall, well organized and great practice for the marathon: gear check, pace groups, wave starts, aid stations, after-run party. I was pleased with how it went for me, but I didn't really like running with a pace group, and was happiest when I was running without them. At the end I decided to just go ahead on my own. Good thing for me to know about myself!
Monday: Swam 2/3 mile.
Tuesday: 5 miles (yoga).
Wednesday: 9 miles total, 5 mile repeats @ 9:05 (yoga).
Thursday: Yoga.
Friday: Swam 2/3 mile.
Saturday: Dayton Oktoberfest! Music and art and chasing a little boy around the park. Beer and pretzels and candied almonds. A beautiful run through woods the next day and a trip to Aullwood Audabon Center to look at quilts. What a treat!
Sunday: CARA 20-miler (yoga).
This was a great event overall, well organized and great practice for the marathon: gear check, pace groups, wave starts, aid stations, after-run party. I was pleased with how it went for me, but I didn't really like running with a pace group, and was happiest when I was running without them. At the end I decided to just go ahead on my own. Good thing for me to know about myself!
Monday: Swam 2/3 mile.
Tuesday: 5 miles (yoga).
Wednesday: 9 miles total, 5 mile repeats @ 9:05 (yoga).
Thursday: Yoga.
Friday: Swam 2/3 mile.
Saturday: Dayton Oktoberfest! Music and art and chasing a little boy around the park. Beer and pretzels and candied almonds. A beautiful run through woods the next day and a trip to Aullwood Audabon Center to look at quilts. What a treat!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Finally!
Just finished my last major workout before the marathon: 5 mile repeats, all between 9:00-9:05. Awesome!
I planned to run 9 miles total but I was listening to Marc Maron's podcast on my way home from the track and kept stopping to laugh. Finally I just gave up and walked the rest of the way home.
Let the taper begin! I believe there is some chocolate in my future.
I planned to run 9 miles total but I was listening to Marc Maron's podcast on my way home from the track and kept stopping to laugh. Finally I just gave up and walked the rest of the way home.
Let the taper begin! I believe there is some chocolate in my future.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Notes on an Intense Week
Highest mileage week --- ever --- and the highest week scheduled of my marathon training.
Sunday: 20 miles! And it went well. Had enough fuel in the tank before leaving, had enough with me for along the way. The weather was cooler, I got to go out in the morning instead of after a few hours of toddler-wrangling (it really makes a difference), I got some decent sleep the week before. A run to make me feel more confident about finishing the marathon with some style.
Monday: Rest day (yoga).
Tuesday: 5 miles easy (yoga).
Wednesday: Swam 0.75 mile.
Thursday: 9 miles total, 8x800@4:20 (yoga).
Friday: Swam 0.75 mile.
Saturday: Rest day.
Migraines all week (last week too), with a scary spacey/low-blood-sugar/panic-attack-like-thing on Saturday. So I've got some phone calls to make and appointments to set up. Plus a bit more eating to do! Now is not the time to try to lose weight --- I have to keep remembering that since I do have some more to come off (and just got my copy of Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald, which has me thinking about it). But not right now.
Sunday: 20 miles! And it went well. Had enough fuel in the tank before leaving, had enough with me for along the way. The weather was cooler, I got to go out in the morning instead of after a few hours of toddler-wrangling (it really makes a difference), I got some decent sleep the week before. A run to make me feel more confident about finishing the marathon with some style.
Monday: Rest day (yoga).
Tuesday: 5 miles easy (yoga).
Wednesday: Swam 0.75 mile.
Thursday: 9 miles total, 8x800@4:20 (yoga).
Friday: Swam 0.75 mile.
Saturday: Rest day.
Migraines all week (last week too), with a scary spacey/low-blood-sugar/panic-attack-like-thing on Saturday. So I've got some phone calls to make and appointments to set up. Plus a bit more eating to do! Now is not the time to try to lose weight --- I have to keep remembering that since I do have some more to come off (and just got my copy of Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald, which has me thinking about it). But not right now.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Yasso 800s (Or, Just How Fast Can I Run This Thing Anyway?)
I tried the Yasso 800s this morning for the first time, just to see if my marathon goal is sound. (I had been running mile repeats as my track workout all season, rather than 800s.) I only did eight of them today, rather than the recommended ten, since I'd been set to do 4 mile repeats today, and I still have a couple of weeks left to fit in another attempt if I want.
Okay, here comes a bit of number crunching of no interest except other runners (maybe).
Then I started doing some more online research, mostly in an attempt to find an easier way to explain these to a non-running audience. I didn't find that (so I refer you to the original article about them in Runner's World), but I found a lot of dissent about the use of Yasso 800s, either as a predictor, or as a training tool. You can Google this yourself if you're interested.
I had thought a 4:20 marathon was too good to be true for me at this point, so I wasn't truly discouraged by what I read. Mostly what I take from my reading is that the Yasso 800s can be a decent predictor of performance (and not so much a training tool), and only if the necessary support is there (in the form of long runs, tempo runs, etc.). And that it's best to add on 5-15 minutes to that prediction time anyway. Which brings me right back to a goal time of 4:35. Maybe, possibly, cross-my-fingers, 4:25 if everything lines up beautifully that day.
I guess I'm spending so much time thinking about this because over the summer I've been frequently disheartened by my long runs. For a while it seemed like I just. could. not. do them at the paces I thought I should be able to. Everything else was lining up according to past experience and pace calculators, why weren't the long runs? (Leaving aside the issue of a hellish Chicago summer, of course.)
I had basically resigned my self to "just" finishing, as if that weren't accomplishment enough for my first time out. Although it will help with how I go about the marathon that day if I have a good and realistic sense of what I am capable of.
But finally, things seem to be a bit more on pace, ha-ha. The weather has cooled which makes a world of difference, and I feel like I'm getting a better handle on my pre-long-run nutrition needs as well, thanks to The Dude (still struggling with what to take in during my runs, alas).
I'm getting excited... I'm getting hopeful... what I don't want is to get crazy.
To any runners reading this, what has been your experience in predicting race times?
Okay, here comes a bit of number crunching of no interest except other runners (maybe).
- My goal for the marathon is 4:35 (hours), based on the McMillan calculator and my actual past workouts.
- My goal for the Yasso 800s this morning was 4:30 (minutes), based on my previous results with mile repeats.
- My actual performance was 4:20, and I felt I could certainly have done another 2 repeats at that speed.
Then I started doing some more online research, mostly in an attempt to find an easier way to explain these to a non-running audience. I didn't find that (so I refer you to the original article about them in Runner's World), but I found a lot of dissent about the use of Yasso 800s, either as a predictor, or as a training tool. You can Google this yourself if you're interested.
I had thought a 4:20 marathon was too good to be true for me at this point, so I wasn't truly discouraged by what I read. Mostly what I take from my reading is that the Yasso 800s can be a decent predictor of performance (and not so much a training tool), and only if the necessary support is there (in the form of long runs, tempo runs, etc.). And that it's best to add on 5-15 minutes to that prediction time anyway. Which brings me right back to a goal time of 4:35. Maybe, possibly, cross-my-fingers, 4:25 if everything lines up beautifully that day.
I guess I'm spending so much time thinking about this because over the summer I've been frequently disheartened by my long runs. For a while it seemed like I just. could. not. do them at the paces I thought I should be able to. Everything else was lining up according to past experience and pace calculators, why weren't the long runs? (Leaving aside the issue of a hellish Chicago summer, of course.)
I had basically resigned my self to "just" finishing, as if that weren't accomplishment enough for my first time out. Although it will help with how I go about the marathon that day if I have a good and realistic sense of what I am capable of.
But finally, things seem to be a bit more on pace, ha-ha. The weather has cooled which makes a world of difference, and I feel like I'm getting a better handle on my pre-long-run nutrition needs as well, thanks to The Dude (still struggling with what to take in during my runs, alas).
I'm getting excited... I'm getting hopeful... what I don't want is to get crazy.
To any runners reading this, what has been your experience in predicting race times?
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