It made it to 100 degrees yesterday, so I ran 15 miles on the treadmill. I know people who see how fat I am don't believe that I train for marathons and can run 15 miles on a treadmill, but I do and I can and I did.
Today I mentioned to someone that I ran 15 miles on the treadmill yesterday. She asked me how long it took and I just said a long time because I was too embarrassed to admit how slow I am. I can tell she didn't really believe me anyway.
I've seen video of my self recently and even I am starting to think that I am lying about being a runner!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Lady Distance Classic
Jut found time to write about this today, it's a race I did on August 4.
The Lady Distance Classic is a women’s only event that includes a 5k and 10k race, and a kids run (boys allowed there!). I have a streak going for this race, having done it every year since its inception, so I can’t quit now. This year was # 5.
The main sponsor and organizer of the race is our local Fleet Feet store. Start and finish is at the rec center in the Cincinnati suburb of Blue Ash, OH. The 5k course is an out-and-back that winds through an office/light-industrial area and features rolling hills and no shade. The 10k continues with an out-and-back along a paved bike trail beside the road (hilly) and then turns off into a park-like area and an upscale residential community (this part is flat). I always thought the 5k was deceptively hilly. This year I did the 10k for the first time and the hills in the second half are worse!
Talked my daughter into joining me again. I must really be persuasive, because this race started at 7:30 am on a Saturday morning! The day before, Sooze called me to ask if it was really wise to race during a heat emergency. I told her that at 7:30 am it should be okay.
Picked up the Sooze at 6:30 am and drove up the highway to Blue Ash. Noticed that as the race gets bigger each year I have to park farther and farther away. Race swag included a short-sleeved Brooks technical top (this year in teal color) and a big bottle of that John Frieda color-enhancing stuff that the Sooze uses, along with a bunch of coupons for things like a free entrée at PF Changs (good food sponsors for this race!).
In the rec center parking lot, we stood around and made fun of the women doing warm-up calisthenics to music, led by a couple of aerobics instructors on a stage. My warm-up consisted of jogging back to the car to put our stuff away. We lined up in what seemed like an appropriate spot and I tried to preview the first part of the course for the Sooze. We had decided not to run together because she wanted to be alone with her music. Sooze was doing the 5k, so I told her she might have to wait as much as another half-hour for me to finish. But there was plenty of stuff going on in the post-race festival---food vendors, fitness-related booths, Starbucks, a massage tent---so I didn’t think she’d be too bored. My goal time was about 56 minutes, or about 9 minute pace.
I broke the watchband on my Nike Triax several days before (Eddy helped!) and my new watch had not yet arrived in the mail, so I decided to wear my heart rate monitor. I have a very low-end Polar that I bought a few months ago, mostly to wear when I am on my spin bike. It doesn’t work very well as a stopwatch and doesn’t have a lap counter. I’ve thought about wearing it in a race before just to see what my heart rate is like these days when I am trying to run fast, but I always end up going with my Nike instead. But this time, I didn’t have a choice.
We were off, and I was surprised at how fast my heart rate got up so high, much higher than it ever gets when I am on my spin bike. Hmmm. Racing is exciting. Hit the first mile in about 8:30. So far, so good. Passed the 5k turnaround, and exchanged greetings with the Sooze coming up the hill. She looked strong and happy. Hit mile 2 in 16-ish, and figured that had to be short because I did not just run a 7:30 mile after an 8:30. Up the hill and my time (I committed it to memory) was 25:12, which if accurate was pretty amazing because in the years I have run the 5k I was probably slower than that and I still had 5k to go. The 5k runners turned left into the parking lot, and we 10k runners kept going.
I wasn’t feeling too bad, and thought things were looking good for sub-56, even if I slow down. The hilly bike trail surprises me because I always thought the 10k went off through a flat residential neighborhood. Hmmm. Anyway, hit mile 4 in about 34 minutes. Then we turned off into the park area, which was pretty and flat, and made a loop through an area of lovely homes with big shade trees. Note, this part of the race is much more scenic than the first 5k. Hit mile 5 in about 43 minutes. I was slowing down but I could still hit my goal.
I don’t remember too many details now about the women around me except I think there were a couple that I was trying to stay ahead of, and mostly I succeeded.
But running the last downhill, my right foot started to bother me a lot, and then we had the uphill. I’d been passing people steadily through the race, but on the last uphill I was passed by a number of women who looked like maybe they had trained on the course. I know the Fleet Feet has a couple of groups that go out for regular runs together and maybe these were some of those runners. I was feeling sluggy and getting hot.
At last, we made the turn into the parking lot and I picked it up a bit, to cross the finish line in 54:50. Forgot to look down at my watch, but that’s okay because it does record the maximum heart rate you hit during a session. Which on this day was 181. Which, as Tommy later pointed out, must be my “puke threshold.” Thanks Tommy! I think I did hit the guy who was collecting our tear-off tags.
I didn’t see the Sooze right away, or maybe she was trying to avoid me until I had recovered my dignity. Anyway, we reunited and headed into the festival, where I enjoyed some chocolate chip pound cake, a cup of coffee, and a bit of peach cobbler. The Sooze had a hot dog, and a Qdoba chicken wrap. There was really quite a bit to sample.
Sooze said she was happy because even though she was not much faster than our 5k back in June, she felt a lot better during this race. There was even talk of attending a hot room yoga class later in the afternoon. Not by me! We did not hang around for the awards, which go only to the top three in each age group. I was nine of 40 in my age group and 114 of 350 10k runners. With her time of 30:29, Sooze was 13 of 21 in her age group and 176 of 345 5k runners.
Our next race? I think maybe Race for the Cure on Sept. 9. Then I’m doing a half-marathon up in Oxford, OH (Sooze’s old stomping grounds) on Sept. 16 (have not yet persuaded her to join me), and then looking forward to the Milwaukee Lakefront marathon on Oct. 7. Susan is starting to train for Disney! I’ve created a monster!
The Lady Distance Classic is a women’s only event that includes a 5k and 10k race, and a kids run (boys allowed there!). I have a streak going for this race, having done it every year since its inception, so I can’t quit now. This year was # 5.
The main sponsor and organizer of the race is our local Fleet Feet store. Start and finish is at the rec center in the Cincinnati suburb of Blue Ash, OH. The 5k course is an out-and-back that winds through an office/light-industrial area and features rolling hills and no shade. The 10k continues with an out-and-back along a paved bike trail beside the road (hilly) and then turns off into a park-like area and an upscale residential community (this part is flat). I always thought the 5k was deceptively hilly. This year I did the 10k for the first time and the hills in the second half are worse!
Talked my daughter into joining me again. I must really be persuasive, because this race started at 7:30 am on a Saturday morning! The day before, Sooze called me to ask if it was really wise to race during a heat emergency. I told her that at 7:30 am it should be okay.
Picked up the Sooze at 6:30 am and drove up the highway to Blue Ash. Noticed that as the race gets bigger each year I have to park farther and farther away. Race swag included a short-sleeved Brooks technical top (this year in teal color) and a big bottle of that John Frieda color-enhancing stuff that the Sooze uses, along with a bunch of coupons for things like a free entrée at PF Changs (good food sponsors for this race!).
In the rec center parking lot, we stood around and made fun of the women doing warm-up calisthenics to music, led by a couple of aerobics instructors on a stage. My warm-up consisted of jogging back to the car to put our stuff away. We lined up in what seemed like an appropriate spot and I tried to preview the first part of the course for the Sooze. We had decided not to run together because she wanted to be alone with her music. Sooze was doing the 5k, so I told her she might have to wait as much as another half-hour for me to finish. But there was plenty of stuff going on in the post-race festival---food vendors, fitness-related booths, Starbucks, a massage tent---so I didn’t think she’d be too bored. My goal time was about 56 minutes, or about 9 minute pace.
I broke the watchband on my Nike Triax several days before (Eddy helped!) and my new watch had not yet arrived in the mail, so I decided to wear my heart rate monitor. I have a very low-end Polar that I bought a few months ago, mostly to wear when I am on my spin bike. It doesn’t work very well as a stopwatch and doesn’t have a lap counter. I’ve thought about wearing it in a race before just to see what my heart rate is like these days when I am trying to run fast, but I always end up going with my Nike instead. But this time, I didn’t have a choice.
We were off, and I was surprised at how fast my heart rate got up so high, much higher than it ever gets when I am on my spin bike. Hmmm. Racing is exciting. Hit the first mile in about 8:30. So far, so good. Passed the 5k turnaround, and exchanged greetings with the Sooze coming up the hill. She looked strong and happy. Hit mile 2 in 16-ish, and figured that had to be short because I did not just run a 7:30 mile after an 8:30. Up the hill and my time (I committed it to memory) was 25:12, which if accurate was pretty amazing because in the years I have run the 5k I was probably slower than that and I still had 5k to go. The 5k runners turned left into the parking lot, and we 10k runners kept going.
I wasn’t feeling too bad, and thought things were looking good for sub-56, even if I slow down. The hilly bike trail surprises me because I always thought the 10k went off through a flat residential neighborhood. Hmmm. Anyway, hit mile 4 in about 34 minutes. Then we turned off into the park area, which was pretty and flat, and made a loop through an area of lovely homes with big shade trees. Note, this part of the race is much more scenic than the first 5k. Hit mile 5 in about 43 minutes. I was slowing down but I could still hit my goal.
I don’t remember too many details now about the women around me except I think there were a couple that I was trying to stay ahead of, and mostly I succeeded.
But running the last downhill, my right foot started to bother me a lot, and then we had the uphill. I’d been passing people steadily through the race, but on the last uphill I was passed by a number of women who looked like maybe they had trained on the course. I know the Fleet Feet has a couple of groups that go out for regular runs together and maybe these were some of those runners. I was feeling sluggy and getting hot.
At last, we made the turn into the parking lot and I picked it up a bit, to cross the finish line in 54:50. Forgot to look down at my watch, but that’s okay because it does record the maximum heart rate you hit during a session. Which on this day was 181. Which, as Tommy later pointed out, must be my “puke threshold.” Thanks Tommy! I think I did hit the guy who was collecting our tear-off tags.
I didn’t see the Sooze right away, or maybe she was trying to avoid me until I had recovered my dignity. Anyway, we reunited and headed into the festival, where I enjoyed some chocolate chip pound cake, a cup of coffee, and a bit of peach cobbler. The Sooze had a hot dog, and a Qdoba chicken wrap. There was really quite a bit to sample.
Sooze said she was happy because even though she was not much faster than our 5k back in June, she felt a lot better during this race. There was even talk of attending a hot room yoga class later in the afternoon. Not by me! We did not hang around for the awards, which go only to the top three in each age group. I was nine of 40 in my age group and 114 of 350 10k runners. With her time of 30:29, Sooze was 13 of 21 in her age group and 176 of 345 5k runners.
Our next race? I think maybe Race for the Cure on Sept. 9. Then I’m doing a half-marathon up in Oxford, OH (Sooze’s old stomping grounds) on Sept. 16 (have not yet persuaded her to join me), and then looking forward to the Milwaukee Lakefront marathon on Oct. 7. Susan is starting to train for Disney! I’ve created a monster!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Life on the Treadmill
Did 14.2 miles today on the treadmill. Don't feel much worse than I do when I only do three miles. It's just a matter of making up my mind to do it and grinding it out. Does pretty much kill the day though.
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