Today I decided I'd better do the cruise interval workout I was supposed to do yesterday. I couldn't do it in the morning and then we had agility class, and then I had to eat lunch, so I didn't get to run until early evening.
I decided to do it on the treadmill because it was in the upper 80s by then. Have discovered that if all the dogs are in the basement (instead of just Ed) they actually settle down sooner and leave me pretty much alone. I did have a few interruptions during the warmup, and also had to stop in the middle of one interval to let Zen out and then let her back in again before the next interval started.
The workout was to be 6-8 x 4 minutes at a moderately hard pace, with 90 second recoveries, followed by 3 x 40 seconds with 1 minute recoveries. If you did it on the track, the intervals were supposed to be 1000 meters in the first set and 200 meters in the second set. The pace was supposed to be 8:34 - 8:20, based on my current speed.
I did the slow 20 minute warmup, and then started the intervals. I had hoped to start the first one at 8:34 pace (7 mph) and then pick it up with subsequent intervals. But 8:34 pace was hard enough, and I did them all at that pace. And of course I only did 6 of them. Those were four long minutes, each time, let me tell you.
For the recoveries, I walked for 30 seconds while I drank some water, then jogged for a minute.
I wasn't sure what speed I was supposed to do the second set at. Were they supposed to be at the same moderately hard pace or at something faster since they were so short. I compromised and did them at 8:13 pace (7.3 mph). Actually felt like I could have done them even a bit faster but just kept it there. For the recoveries, walked for 20 seconds and jogged for 40 seconds.
I was supposed to do a 10 minute cooldown, but I just jogged until the treadmill said it had been an hour, and then I did the five minute treadmill cooldown.
Tomorrow I am off to Boston to visit Susan and Ross. She has mapped out a 10 mile course for me, and I'm going to try to get it done on Sunday. The schedule has it on Saturday, but I think we'll be too busy then. Supposed to do another interval workout on Monday, but I guess that will have to shift somewhere or maybe that will be the one I have to skip. We'll see. I know I should do two hard workouts back to back because that is a real violation of the schedule.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Week 7, Day3
Today I was supposed to do cruise intervals. 4-6 x 1000 meters with 200 meter recoveries, followed by 3 x 200 or something like that.
But I felt like shit today, and could barely drag myself out for a run after our dog walk around the park.
Went out about 10:45 for an "easy" run (what is on the schedule for Friday) of 45-60 minutes. I did the EBE-Settle route. Felt miserable. Can't remember the last time I enjoyed a run less. Didn't start to feel okay until the last mile.
Time was 53:32 or 11:02 pace for what we now know to be (thanks to the damn GPS) as just 4.85 miles.
I might try to do the intervals on the treadmill tomorrow, or Friday before I leave for Boston. Maybe I should try tomorrow after we get back from agility class.
But I felt like shit today, and could barely drag myself out for a run after our dog walk around the park.
Went out about 10:45 for an "easy" run (what is on the schedule for Friday) of 45-60 minutes. I did the EBE-Settle route. Felt miserable. Can't remember the last time I enjoyed a run less. Didn't start to feel okay until the last mile.
Time was 53:32 or 11:02 pace for what we now know to be (thanks to the damn GPS) as just 4.85 miles.
I might try to do the intervals on the treadmill tomorrow, or Friday before I leave for Boston. Maybe I should try tomorrow after we get back from agility class.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Powder Keg Trail Race
I did this race on Saturday, August 25. It was my second time at this event. I ran it two years ago but had to miss it last year because of a dog show. You can read my report from last time here.
This particular race is a benefit for something called the Mason-Deerfield Arts Alliance, an organization which provides and supports arts programs in the community. See the pretty painting on the barn we run around during the race:
It's not in as bad shape as I remember from two years ago. At least it does not seem to have deteriorated any further. Would make a nice event space/conference center/bed & breakfast. Hope the community can find a way to get the property restored---while still hosting this fun race each year, of course!
Finished the warmup and got ready to go. We all gathered at the start line, and then the race director decided that we should wait until everybody was off the portapotty line. That was nice of him but I was getting impatient! People need to time themselves better so we do not need to wait for them!
Goal was around 34 or so. Ran 37:56 two years ago. Cyndi K. ran 34:05 last year. So 34-ish seemed possible. Two years ago I won the age group but did not stay to get my award. This year I planned to hang around a bit longer if I thought there was a shot. Of course, if Cyndi was there and she beat me, I would know I didn't need to stay.
But did not see too many other old ladies there. Did not see Cyndi K.
And so we were off, a few minutes late.
I wore a black run skirt and black top, and a blue hat from the Hyde Park Blast. I was not wearing the stupid GPS watch. I have decided that it is too much information for me to deal with during a race, and plus I am prone to interpreting the information in the wrong ways. When I race, I need to just race, not try to do data analysis.
We started the race by running a little lap of the field near the mansion, then we headed off into the woods. I was in a good spot, moving at a comfortable racing pace and not feeling like I needed to squeeze by anybody or like anybody was running up my heels. I got passed by a few younger women in the first mile or so after we headed into the woods but that didn't bother me.
The trail is fairly narrow, but for the most part there are not the sharp drop offs that appear in some of the other races, so it's not too scary. It's also not as hilly, overall, so you can move at a more consistent pace. There is one spot in the first mile where you run along a rock wall with the Little Miami down below on your right side. That part is a little scary. The young people around me were jumping and running over that part, and a guy right next to me almost fell down. Me, I stopped and climbed down gingerly.
Also, in approximately the first mile or so, there's a steep set of wooden stairs that you have to climb up. People around me were whining about this part, but really, it is nothing compared to some of the other races. I actually had to push my way around some of those young women who had passed me earlier! And, as was especially gratifying, nobody I passed on the stairs was able to overtake me later in the race.
There was an aid station somewhere in the second half of the race, when we briefly came up into a clearing before heading back into the woods. I grabbed a cup of water there but mostly just swished it around my mouth. Poured some on my arms---it was getting warm out---before remembering the giant bandage on my right arm where I have the big road rash from my fall. But fortunately the bandage stayed on.
Late in the race we came back out onto the grass by the elementary school, and we had to climb up a short but very steep hill to get back on the grounds of the mansion. I was just glad that we were going up it and not down. You can always crawl up. I managed to pass an old man right at the top of the hill, and he did not catch me after that. Here's a picture of the hill. It is steeper than it looks in the picture, trust me:
I was hoping that we were close to the end, and that maybe we just had to run across the field to get to the finish line. But no, we had to make another loop around the property and come around the back. Bummer. The only good thing about this was that it gave me a chance to catch up to and overtake one more woman ahead of me, and every position counts in the Dirtiest Dozen.
Got some water and walked around for a few minutes to catch my breath. Debated whether or not it was worth hanging around. Went to the car and got my phone and snapped these pics. Then it turned out that they were doing this neat new thing: you could go up to a table and give them your race number, and they would print out for you a little piece of paper with your results. So then I would know if I needed to hang around or not!
So, it turned out I had a reason to stay. Generally pleased with my results---ran my goal time, got the age group win---although I would have liked to finish farther up in the overall gender place. They adjusted the results later but I still only finished 21st of 86 women. Just too many younger women there who were faster than I am. Final results were 1 of 3 in the age group, 21 of 86 women, and 84 of 209 runners overall. There were also a bunch of walkers, 20-30 or so, and I beat all of them too, of course. Classifying yourself as a "walker" in one of these trail races is a bit odd, to me, since so much walking has to go on anyway unless you are some kind of mountain goat, or young and fearless and stupid.
I don't know why I can't get this picture to rotate but there it is.
I stayed around a little longer because I got to chatting with an old acquaintance from the running clubs I used to belong to, and then discovered that they were giving out door prizes. Not just the usual pair of Asics trail shoes that I can't wear. So I waited around to see and was rewarded with a $20 gift card to Claddagh Irish Pub, which is a chain restaurant, the closest one to me which is, of course, in Deerfield, near where the race takes place. Maybe Tommy and I can go to a movie up there sometime and pop into the pub to use the card. Or maybe I will use it when I am at a dog show in Columbus, or Indy. Anyway, it was a good day at the races. The entry fee was just $10, so I made that back plus gas money and more!
This particular race is a benefit for something called the Mason-Deerfield Arts Alliance, an organization which provides and supports arts programs in the community. See the pretty painting on the barn we run around during the race:
The race started at 9 am. I got there a little after 8 and parked in the lot by the elementary school. Packet pickup was a little less chaotic than I remembered from two years ago. They had goody bags that included a bunch of coupons and a small bottle of Gatorade. I didn't get the shirt this time.
Went back to the car and attached my chip and my race number, then headed out for a warmup. Still sore from my fall on Thursday morning, but felt okay once I got warmed up. Ran a little on the trails close to the Kings Mansion, which we cover in the early part of the race.
Here's some pictures of the mansion:
Finished the warmup and got ready to go. We all gathered at the start line, and then the race director decided that we should wait until everybody was off the portapotty line. That was nice of him but I was getting impatient! People need to time themselves better so we do not need to wait for them!
Goal was around 34 or so. Ran 37:56 two years ago. Cyndi K. ran 34:05 last year. So 34-ish seemed possible. Two years ago I won the age group but did not stay to get my award. This year I planned to hang around a bit longer if I thought there was a shot. Of course, if Cyndi was there and she beat me, I would know I didn't need to stay.
But did not see too many other old ladies there. Did not see Cyndi K.
And so we were off, a few minutes late.
I wore a black run skirt and black top, and a blue hat from the Hyde Park Blast. I was not wearing the stupid GPS watch. I have decided that it is too much information for me to deal with during a race, and plus I am prone to interpreting the information in the wrong ways. When I race, I need to just race, not try to do data analysis.
We started the race by running a little lap of the field near the mansion, then we headed off into the woods. I was in a good spot, moving at a comfortable racing pace and not feeling like I needed to squeeze by anybody or like anybody was running up my heels. I got passed by a few younger women in the first mile or so after we headed into the woods but that didn't bother me.
The trail is fairly narrow, but for the most part there are not the sharp drop offs that appear in some of the other races, so it's not too scary. It's also not as hilly, overall, so you can move at a more consistent pace. There is one spot in the first mile where you run along a rock wall with the Little Miami down below on your right side. That part is a little scary. The young people around me were jumping and running over that part, and a guy right next to me almost fell down. Me, I stopped and climbed down gingerly.
Also, in approximately the first mile or so, there's a steep set of wooden stairs that you have to climb up. People around me were whining about this part, but really, it is nothing compared to some of the other races. I actually had to push my way around some of those young women who had passed me earlier! And, as was especially gratifying, nobody I passed on the stairs was able to overtake me later in the race.
There was an aid station somewhere in the second half of the race, when we briefly came up into a clearing before heading back into the woods. I grabbed a cup of water there but mostly just swished it around my mouth. Poured some on my arms---it was getting warm out---before remembering the giant bandage on my right arm where I have the big road rash from my fall. But fortunately the bandage stayed on.
Late in the race we came back out onto the grass by the elementary school, and we had to climb up a short but very steep hill to get back on the grounds of the mansion. I was just glad that we were going up it and not down. You can always crawl up. I managed to pass an old man right at the top of the hill, and he did not catch me after that. Here's a picture of the hill. It is steeper than it looks in the picture, trust me:
I was hoping that we were close to the end, and that maybe we just had to run across the field to get to the finish line. But no, we had to make another loop around the property and come around the back. Bummer. The only good thing about this was that it gave me a chance to catch up to and overtake one more woman ahead of me, and every position counts in the Dirtiest Dozen.
Got some water and walked around for a few minutes to catch my breath. Debated whether or not it was worth hanging around. Went to the car and got my phone and snapped these pics. Then it turned out that they were doing this neat new thing: you could go up to a table and give them your race number, and they would print out for you a little piece of paper with your results. So then I would know if I needed to hang around or not!
So, it turned out I had a reason to stay. Generally pleased with my results---ran my goal time, got the age group win---although I would have liked to finish farther up in the overall gender place. They adjusted the results later but I still only finished 21st of 86 women. Just too many younger women there who were faster than I am. Final results were 1 of 3 in the age group, 21 of 86 women, and 84 of 209 runners overall. There were also a bunch of walkers, 20-30 or so, and I beat all of them too, of course. Classifying yourself as a "walker" in one of these trail races is a bit odd, to me, since so much walking has to go on anyway unless you are some kind of mountain goat, or young and fearless and stupid.
I stayed around a little longer because I got to chatting with an old acquaintance from the running clubs I used to belong to, and then discovered that they were giving out door prizes. Not just the usual pair of Asics trail shoes that I can't wear. So I waited around to see and was rewarded with a $20 gift card to Claddagh Irish Pub, which is a chain restaurant, the closest one to me which is, of course, in Deerfield, near where the race takes place. Maybe Tommy and I can go to a movie up there sometime and pop into the pub to use the card. Or maybe I will use it when I am at a dog show in Columbus, or Indy. Anyway, it was a good day at the races. The entry fee was just $10, so I made that back plus gas money and more!
Week 7, Day 2
The schedule says 30-45 minute easy run or OFF. I got up early and went for the run. Except it was more like a "recovery" run because yesterday was more like a "tempo" run than the "easy" run it was supposed to be. I was scared that I would fall down again like last Thursday but I got through it unscathed.
I was up at 6 am but had to make coffee for Tommy before heading out, plus let the dogs out to pee and give Zen her pill. So it was 6:30 almost before I started.
Am still having a lot of pain on my right side under my armpit, and in the back outside my shoulder blade. Hurts when I sneeze, cough or blow my nose. Sort of like the way it feels when you have bronchitis and pull the tendons that attach your lungs to your chest wall. Maybe I pulled something when I fell. I keep expecting to feel better but instead each day since the fall I am feeling worse. I guess I should call the chiro. But I haven't. Yet.
So, the pace was very slow. I tried not to look at the damn GPS watch. First mile was very slow, then got a little faster. Saw some of the morning regulars. Lots of people wearing orange today, for some reason, myself included. I know orange is supposed to be the new black right now but this was a little odd. Was wondering if it was some special Bengal-support holiday or something. I just put the orange shirt on because that is what came up in the stack.
Finished the 3.12 Shady Lane route in 37:27, or 12 minute pace according to the GPS! Damn GPS. Used to think of this as almost 3.5 miles, which would have been more like sub-11 pace, or just right for a recovery run.
Was I staring at the sidewalk the whole time, worrying that it would jump up and bite me? Yes.
So, yeah, I'm not as speedy as I am supposed to be. But if we forget what the GPS is telling us, we realize that I am not really any slower than I ever was.
I was up at 6 am but had to make coffee for Tommy before heading out, plus let the dogs out to pee and give Zen her pill. So it was 6:30 almost before I started.
Am still having a lot of pain on my right side under my armpit, and in the back outside my shoulder blade. Hurts when I sneeze, cough or blow my nose. Sort of like the way it feels when you have bronchitis and pull the tendons that attach your lungs to your chest wall. Maybe I pulled something when I fell. I keep expecting to feel better but instead each day since the fall I am feeling worse. I guess I should call the chiro. But I haven't. Yet.
So, the pace was very slow. I tried not to look at the damn GPS watch. First mile was very slow, then got a little faster. Saw some of the morning regulars. Lots of people wearing orange today, for some reason, myself included. I know orange is supposed to be the new black right now but this was a little odd. Was wondering if it was some special Bengal-support holiday or something. I just put the orange shirt on because that is what came up in the stack.
Finished the 3.12 Shady Lane route in 37:27, or 12 minute pace according to the GPS! Damn GPS. Used to think of this as almost 3.5 miles, which would have been more like sub-11 pace, or just right for a recovery run.
Was I staring at the sidewalk the whole time, worrying that it would jump up and bite me? Yes.
So, yeah, I'm not as speedy as I am supposed to be. But if we forget what the GPS is telling us, we realize that I am not really any slower than I ever was.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Week 7, Day 1
I need to write about the race I did Saturday but first here's just today's report. The schedule called for a 45-60 minute easy run---instead of the speed workout I usually have to do on Mondays.
Easy pace is now supposed to be 9:30 - 10:26. I did not get out for this run until after 11 am. I spent the morning running Eddy back and forth to the vet to get a lump removed from his face. The dogs did not get a proper walk, but I did get out for my run! Unfortunately, it was warm and quite muggy by the time I started.
I did my Madison route, which I used to consider over 5 miles (5.21 or so, in fact) but which, per the damn new GPS, is just 4.76. Really? Is it possible that the GPS is wrong?
I know I said I was going to stop paying so much attention to it but I found myself looking at it anyway. And stressing out because I knew I was not hitting the pace. After the first mile, I found myself consciously picking it up to try to get myself down below 10:30 average pace.
Did not quite work. Final time was 50:36 or 10:40 average pace. And I was breathing hard. It was really more like a tempo run than an easy run.
I am trying to console myself with the fact that 50:36 is a lot quicker than I usually cover that route.
I don't know what the right answer is. Or really, I do. I should take it easy. Easy should feel easy. I should not worry that my pace is too slow on an easy day.
My back/shoulder is still really hurting, presumably from the fall. Not sure if I need to do something about it like go to the chiropractor.
Easy pace is now supposed to be 9:30 - 10:26. I did not get out for this run until after 11 am. I spent the morning running Eddy back and forth to the vet to get a lump removed from his face. The dogs did not get a proper walk, but I did get out for my run! Unfortunately, it was warm and quite muggy by the time I started.
I did my Madison route, which I used to consider over 5 miles (5.21 or so, in fact) but which, per the damn new GPS, is just 4.76. Really? Is it possible that the GPS is wrong?
I know I said I was going to stop paying so much attention to it but I found myself looking at it anyway. And stressing out because I knew I was not hitting the pace. After the first mile, I found myself consciously picking it up to try to get myself down below 10:30 average pace.
Did not quite work. Final time was 50:36 or 10:40 average pace. And I was breathing hard. It was really more like a tempo run than an easy run.
I am trying to console myself with the fact that 50:36 is a lot quicker than I usually cover that route.
I don't know what the right answer is. Or really, I do. I should take it easy. Easy should feel easy. I should not worry that my pace is too slow on an easy day.
My back/shoulder is still really hurting, presumably from the fall. Not sure if I need to do something about it like go to the chiropractor.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Week 6, Day 5
Today the schedule called for another easy run. I'm still a little sore from yesterday's mishap, but since I am planning to race tomorrow I figured I'd better get out there and see how I felt.
I decided to go for a real slow one on my trail route, since tomorrow is a trail race. Wore the GPS watch, and finally figured out how to get it to sync with the shoe pod as well. The idea is that if you lose the GPS signal, the shoe pod fills in the gaps.
The dogs and I slept in until 7 am this morning. I decided to separate their walks because my arms are a little too sore to handle all three of them together. Plus by the time we got out it was lizard time. I walked Eddy & Maggie around the Observatory route, then took Zen around the park.
So it was around 10:45 or later by the time I hit the trails. It was nice and cool in there. The trails were very dry and dusty, which isn't the best for traction, but I managed. It was a good test to see if I am really injured, and also if my bandage will stay on my arm. Seems like I didn't do any real biomechanical damage to myself yesterday. My right hip is a little sore where I bruised it, but it doesn't affect the running. And the bandage stayed on my arm. So it's good.
The bad news, and not entirely unexpected, is that my trail run which I had been logging as 3.6 or so (based on the shoe pod) is not quite three miles according to the GPS. I figured it was about three, really, so this is not a big surprise. I have to find a way to make it just a tiny bit longer so it can be over three miles.
So, per the GPS, it was 2.94 miles in 47:12 or 16:02 pace. A little slower than usual on the trails but that was deliberate.
Tomorrow is the Powder Keg trail run up in Kings Mills. Two years ago I ran it in 37 something and won the age group. Last year Cyndi K. ran it in 33 something (I wasn't there) and she won the age group. So, my goal this year is try to get under 33 and beat Cyndi K. is she is there. I did not stick around for the awards last time but I will this time if I beat Cyndi or if I am otherwise suspecting that I might have won, since they did not mail the awards after.
I decided to go for a real slow one on my trail route, since tomorrow is a trail race. Wore the GPS watch, and finally figured out how to get it to sync with the shoe pod as well. The idea is that if you lose the GPS signal, the shoe pod fills in the gaps.
The dogs and I slept in until 7 am this morning. I decided to separate their walks because my arms are a little too sore to handle all three of them together. Plus by the time we got out it was lizard time. I walked Eddy & Maggie around the Observatory route, then took Zen around the park.
So it was around 10:45 or later by the time I hit the trails. It was nice and cool in there. The trails were very dry and dusty, which isn't the best for traction, but I managed. It was a good test to see if I am really injured, and also if my bandage will stay on my arm. Seems like I didn't do any real biomechanical damage to myself yesterday. My right hip is a little sore where I bruised it, but it doesn't affect the running. And the bandage stayed on my arm. So it's good.
The bad news, and not entirely unexpected, is that my trail run which I had been logging as 3.6 or so (based on the shoe pod) is not quite three miles according to the GPS. I figured it was about three, really, so this is not a big surprise. I have to find a way to make it just a tiny bit longer so it can be over three miles.
So, per the GPS, it was 2.94 miles in 47:12 or 16:02 pace. A little slower than usual on the trails but that was deliberate.
Tomorrow is the Powder Keg trail run up in Kings Mills. Two years ago I ran it in 37 something and won the age group. Last year Cyndi K. ran it in 33 something (I wasn't there) and she won the age group. So, my goal this year is try to get under 33 and beat Cyndi K. is she is there. I did not stick around for the awards last time but I will this time if I beat Cyndi or if I am otherwise suspecting that I might have won, since they did not mail the awards after.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Week 6, Day 4
A slight mishap.Went out for a "recovery" jog this morning and had a fall just before the one-mile mark.
I was planning just a little easy jog on my "Shady Lane" route. I went out around 6:30, after visiting the bathroom and making coffee for Tom, who was heading out early to drive up to Michigan on business.
I had the watch set to show distance on the main display, and to alternate between pace and elapsed time on the small display. Felt immediately dissatisfied with this setup. I guess I have become programmed over years of running with a simple chronograph to mostly pay attention to elapsed time, especially when I know where I am running. And over the past couple years, I've gotten used to the combination of my chronograph and my Nike Sportband, which I use mostly to tell me approximate distance covered.
On these early morning runs when I am not fully awake, I have had some concerns about falling. It's a little dark and I can't see the cracks in the sidewalk as well, and I'm not moving my body as well.
I had just crossed Delta Ave. and was starting to think about a walking break when I caught my right toe on a crack in the sidewalk, and next thing you know I was flying through the air and then I was sliding on the concrete. Fuck.
I lay there spreadeagle for a couple of seconds, still cursing. I slowly sat up and assessed the damage. I turned off my watch. Slight scrapes and bruises on the heels of both hands. Slight scrape and minor bruise on the outside of right knee. Probably bruise on right hip. Nasty road rash on inside of lower right arm, just below elbow.
Could have been much, much worse. Seems to be no permanent or serious damage. Anyway, I didn't want to risk it, so I turned around and walked home via the shortest route---turned the silly watch back on. Result for today is 1.71 miles in 26:37 or 15:02 pace. Hahahaha. Why did I bother? I don't know.
I think in addition to not being fully awake yet, I was distracted by the damn watch. I was probably looking down at it and wondering when it was going to say I'd gone a mile when I stubbed my toe. I had already decided that maybe it will be a bad idea to race with this thing on, and this just adds to my feelings about that.
I think that in a race it will be too much information for me to process logically and positively. It is enough for me in a race to get my total time elapsed and my mile splits. I would be better off not seeing my average pace every few seconds along the way. I am too likely to interpret it in a negative way and give up, or push too hard to try to speed up when it is not the right time for that. When I am racing, I should just race. The watch can be a good training tool, if I can learn not to keep staring at it every 5 seconds. But I think it can stay home on race day!
I was planning just a little easy jog on my "Shady Lane" route. I went out around 6:30, after visiting the bathroom and making coffee for Tom, who was heading out early to drive up to Michigan on business.
I had the watch set to show distance on the main display, and to alternate between pace and elapsed time on the small display. Felt immediately dissatisfied with this setup. I guess I have become programmed over years of running with a simple chronograph to mostly pay attention to elapsed time, especially when I know where I am running. And over the past couple years, I've gotten used to the combination of my chronograph and my Nike Sportband, which I use mostly to tell me approximate distance covered.
On these early morning runs when I am not fully awake, I have had some concerns about falling. It's a little dark and I can't see the cracks in the sidewalk as well, and I'm not moving my body as well.
I had just crossed Delta Ave. and was starting to think about a walking break when I caught my right toe on a crack in the sidewalk, and next thing you know I was flying through the air and then I was sliding on the concrete. Fuck.
I lay there spreadeagle for a couple of seconds, still cursing. I slowly sat up and assessed the damage. I turned off my watch. Slight scrapes and bruises on the heels of both hands. Slight scrape and minor bruise on the outside of right knee. Probably bruise on right hip. Nasty road rash on inside of lower right arm, just below elbow.
Could have been much, much worse. Seems to be no permanent or serious damage. Anyway, I didn't want to risk it, so I turned around and walked home via the shortest route---turned the silly watch back on. Result for today is 1.71 miles in 26:37 or 15:02 pace. Hahahaha. Why did I bother? I don't know.
I think in addition to not being fully awake yet, I was distracted by the damn watch. I was probably looking down at it and wondering when it was going to say I'd gone a mile when I stubbed my toe. I had already decided that maybe it will be a bad idea to race with this thing on, and this just adds to my feelings about that.
I think that in a race it will be too much information for me to process logically and positively. It is enough for me in a race to get my total time elapsed and my mile splits. I would be better off not seeing my average pace every few seconds along the way. I am too likely to interpret it in a negative way and give up, or push too hard to try to speed up when it is not the right time for that. When I am racing, I should just race. The watch can be a good training tool, if I can learn not to keep staring at it every 5 seconds. But I think it can stay home on race day!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Week 6, Day 3
On the schedule, today is supposed to be an easy day. But I decided to go back and do the fartlek workout that was originally scheduled for Monday, the one that I skipped because I did the race on Sunday.
This is supposed to be a sort of easy, recovery week leading up to my trail race on Saturday. But I suspect that the McMillan people do not realize that the trail race is not the same kind of effort that I would put into a fast road 5k, so I don't really need to rest up for it. It will be slower than a 5k, harder in some ways but easier in many others. Don't quite need all the rest.
And plus, it gives me a chance to play around with the GPS watch some more.
The workout is supposed to be a 10-20 minute warmup, then 8-10 times 2 minutes at 5k to 8k effort with 1 minute recoveries, and a ten minute cooldown. 5k to 8k pace right now is theoretically 8:20-8:35.
Had a long dog walk around the park this morning, so did not get out for the run until after 10 am. It's another absolutely gorgeous day. Decided to follow the Broadview Loop/Settle route that has worked out well for these fartlek repeats in previous weeks. When I get some longer intervals, I'll maybe do them around the park or head over to Lunken, because I'll need extended sections where I won't get stopped for traffic. But for this workout, this route is sufficient.
The 20 minute warmup put me back out on Erie approaching the Murray Ave. bike trail. I had pre-set the watch to show lap time on the main display, and scroll through pace, distance, elapsed time and lap time (unnecessary) on the smaller display. Lap time on the main display worked well, but not so sure about the other scrolling thing. Was irritating to have to look down and then wait or keep looking back until it got to the info i wanted to see, which was mainly pace. So next time maybe just have pace on the small display.
One thing I figured out during this workout, and it took me until half way through the set of intervals to figure it out, is that it is counterproductive to keep looking down at my pace during the intervals to see if i am hitting it or not. It's better to just try to run on perceived effort, the way I normally would, and then find out if I hit the pace or not when I finish the interval.
So, I did 8 intervals, with the one minute recoveries consisting of 30 seconds walking and 30 seconds slow jogging. Four of the intervals were at the appropriate pace. One was too fast, and three were too slow:
1) 8:21
2) 8:42 (not sure what was up with this one)
3) 8:30
4) 8:20
5) 8:24
6) 8:04 (too fast)
7) 9:04 (uphill on Erie)
8) 8:58 (uphill on Erie)
I'm not too concerned about the last two intervals, because those were coming up Erie, and it's supposed to be perceived effort and not actual pace, anyway. But I really couldn't figure out what happened in the second interval. That was when I was still checking my watch/pace every 15 seconds, and I really couldn't figure out why all of a sudden it was reading so slow when I wasn't really going uphill much and I had been struggling, frankly, to hold back during the first interval. I was thinking there was something wrong with the GPS. Maybe I really was going that slow but it sure didn't feel like it. A mystery.
After the last interval ended (at corner of Saybrook/Bellecrest) I just jogged the rest of the way around the neighborhood, with a one minute walk break at the 5 mile point. Final total was 55:01 for 5.3 miles, 10:14 average pace.
I took an ice bath when I got home (felt wonderful!) and had a glass of chocolate milk. Read an interesting article on mental training in Marathon & Beyond while in the ice bath. Talked about the importance of positive self-talk, but also how there is a correct amount of positive self-talk for each individual. For some people, and I think I am one of those people, too much positive self-talk is actually detrimental. And some rare individuals even apparently perform better with negative self-talk. I won't go that far but I think it is important to find a balance. And the self-talk needs to be process-oriented, not focused on the outcome.
Maybe the most important thing, as Tommy always says, is not to think at all. Just do the thing.
Now I'm sitting out on the patio with the dogs, listening to The Marathon Show podcast. Have become somewhat addicted to The Marathon Show. I guess it is no surprise that somebody who looks forward to taking a postrun ice bath is addicted to The Marathon Show.
Sleep? It was around 11 pm when I went to bed, and I woke up a little before 6. Not quite 7 hours. I should have gone to bed a little earlier, but I dozed off on the couch watching the Ironman on NBCSports. I'm feeling a little drowsy today, but not too bad.
This is supposed to be a sort of easy, recovery week leading up to my trail race on Saturday. But I suspect that the McMillan people do not realize that the trail race is not the same kind of effort that I would put into a fast road 5k, so I don't really need to rest up for it. It will be slower than a 5k, harder in some ways but easier in many others. Don't quite need all the rest.
And plus, it gives me a chance to play around with the GPS watch some more.
The workout is supposed to be a 10-20 minute warmup, then 8-10 times 2 minutes at 5k to 8k effort with 1 minute recoveries, and a ten minute cooldown. 5k to 8k pace right now is theoretically 8:20-8:35.
Had a long dog walk around the park this morning, so did not get out for the run until after 10 am. It's another absolutely gorgeous day. Decided to follow the Broadview Loop/Settle route that has worked out well for these fartlek repeats in previous weeks. When I get some longer intervals, I'll maybe do them around the park or head over to Lunken, because I'll need extended sections where I won't get stopped for traffic. But for this workout, this route is sufficient.
The 20 minute warmup put me back out on Erie approaching the Murray Ave. bike trail. I had pre-set the watch to show lap time on the main display, and scroll through pace, distance, elapsed time and lap time (unnecessary) on the smaller display. Lap time on the main display worked well, but not so sure about the other scrolling thing. Was irritating to have to look down and then wait or keep looking back until it got to the info i wanted to see, which was mainly pace. So next time maybe just have pace on the small display.
One thing I figured out during this workout, and it took me until half way through the set of intervals to figure it out, is that it is counterproductive to keep looking down at my pace during the intervals to see if i am hitting it or not. It's better to just try to run on perceived effort, the way I normally would, and then find out if I hit the pace or not when I finish the interval.
So, I did 8 intervals, with the one minute recoveries consisting of 30 seconds walking and 30 seconds slow jogging. Four of the intervals were at the appropriate pace. One was too fast, and three were too slow:
1) 8:21
2) 8:42 (not sure what was up with this one)
3) 8:30
4) 8:20
5) 8:24
6) 8:04 (too fast)
7) 9:04 (uphill on Erie)
8) 8:58 (uphill on Erie)
I'm not too concerned about the last two intervals, because those were coming up Erie, and it's supposed to be perceived effort and not actual pace, anyway. But I really couldn't figure out what happened in the second interval. That was when I was still checking my watch/pace every 15 seconds, and I really couldn't figure out why all of a sudden it was reading so slow when I wasn't really going uphill much and I had been struggling, frankly, to hold back during the first interval. I was thinking there was something wrong with the GPS. Maybe I really was going that slow but it sure didn't feel like it. A mystery.
After the last interval ended (at corner of Saybrook/Bellecrest) I just jogged the rest of the way around the neighborhood, with a one minute walk break at the 5 mile point. Final total was 55:01 for 5.3 miles, 10:14 average pace.
I took an ice bath when I got home (felt wonderful!) and had a glass of chocolate milk. Read an interesting article on mental training in Marathon & Beyond while in the ice bath. Talked about the importance of positive self-talk, but also how there is a correct amount of positive self-talk for each individual. For some people, and I think I am one of those people, too much positive self-talk is actually detrimental. And some rare individuals even apparently perform better with negative self-talk. I won't go that far but I think it is important to find a balance. And the self-talk needs to be process-oriented, not focused on the outcome.
Maybe the most important thing, as Tommy always says, is not to think at all. Just do the thing.
Now I'm sitting out on the patio with the dogs, listening to The Marathon Show podcast. Have become somewhat addicted to The Marathon Show. I guess it is no surprise that somebody who looks forward to taking a postrun ice bath is addicted to The Marathon Show.
Sleep? It was around 11 pm when I went to bed, and I woke up a little before 6. Not quite 7 hours. I should have gone to bed a little earlier, but I dozed off on the couch watching the Ironman on NBCSports. I'm feeling a little drowsy today, but not too bad.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Week 6, Day 2
Today would normally be a recovery day, but since I did that yesterday, today I did an "easy" day. The distinction is slight---"recovery" means I did something hard the day before (like a race or a speed workout or a long run) so I am just jogging, whereas "easy" means I am taking it easy and enjoying the run and not pushing, but I still should be going faster than on a "recovery" day. I guess
One little problem I am having now that I need to increase my paces (based on my race performance and, let's face it, what is beginning to seem like an overly ambitious goal) is that I am now using that GPS to tell me how far I've gone. And of course, it turns out that none of my runs is as long as I have previously considered them to be. I knew that, but I didn't realize how far off pace I would be for even these slower workouts.
So, yesterday I was just a tiny bit slower than I am supposed to be for a jog, and today I was a tiny bit slower than I should be for my "easy" pace. Today's pace would have been fine for a recovery jog, though.
Well, maybe it would have helped me to have some coffee first.
Got up just a tiny bit earlier and went out the door at 6:07. Did my "Mooney" loop, which is up Erie, turn at Mooney, back on Observatory to Erie. Since I was out a little earlier this morning, I missed seeing my "regulars." Saw a lot more people than usual, however. Is the cooler weather bringing more people out or does 15 minutes one way or the other really make a difference in how many people you see running on a weekday?
Did see Alison Delgado again. This time she was coming down Observatory when I was on my way back home. She just floats along, not like the rest of us plodders. Wonder what her form looked like before the accident. She stands up very straight.
Anyway, the GPS watch said it was just 4.1 miles (versus the 4.4 I have been considering it to be) and my time was 43:39, or 10:38 pace. Easy pace range is supposed to be 9:30 to 10:26, so I am a bit outside of that. But if I had considered it to be 4.4 miles, then it would have been 9:55 pace, right in there.
I don't think pushing myself harder on these recovery runs and easy runs is the way to go. I can only do what I can do. These are supposed to be easy efforts. So I am going to try not to stress about it too much. I know from past experience that my easy pace is generally a lot slower than other people who race at the same speed I do. So I am going to focus on trying to hit the right paces during the speed sessions, and get the mileage in on the long runs (maybe with a little more emphasis on a slightly faster speed than I'm used to), and I hope that will get the job done.
Oh, and I have to lose some weight.
One little problem I am having now that I need to increase my paces (based on my race performance and, let's face it, what is beginning to seem like an overly ambitious goal) is that I am now using that GPS to tell me how far I've gone. And of course, it turns out that none of my runs is as long as I have previously considered them to be. I knew that, but I didn't realize how far off pace I would be for even these slower workouts.
So, yesterday I was just a tiny bit slower than I am supposed to be for a jog, and today I was a tiny bit slower than I should be for my "easy" pace. Today's pace would have been fine for a recovery jog, though.
Well, maybe it would have helped me to have some coffee first.
Got up just a tiny bit earlier and went out the door at 6:07. Did my "Mooney" loop, which is up Erie, turn at Mooney, back on Observatory to Erie. Since I was out a little earlier this morning, I missed seeing my "regulars." Saw a lot more people than usual, however. Is the cooler weather bringing more people out or does 15 minutes one way or the other really make a difference in how many people you see running on a weekday?
Did see Alison Delgado again. This time she was coming down Observatory when I was on my way back home. She just floats along, not like the rest of us plodders. Wonder what her form looked like before the accident. She stands up very straight.
Anyway, the GPS watch said it was just 4.1 miles (versus the 4.4 I have been considering it to be) and my time was 43:39, or 10:38 pace. Easy pace range is supposed to be 9:30 to 10:26, so I am a bit outside of that. But if I had considered it to be 4.4 miles, then it would have been 9:55 pace, right in there.
I don't think pushing myself harder on these recovery runs and easy runs is the way to go. I can only do what I can do. These are supposed to be easy efforts. So I am going to try not to stress about it too much. I know from past experience that my easy pace is generally a lot slower than other people who race at the same speed I do. So I am going to focus on trying to hit the right paces during the speed sessions, and get the mileage in on the long runs (maybe with a little more emphasis on a slightly faster speed than I'm used to), and I hope that will get the job done.
Oh, and I have to lose some weight.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Week 6, Day 1
Because I ran that 10k race yesterday, I did a recovery jog today instead of the fartlek run that was on the schedule.
Another beautiful day here! Took the dogs for a walk first. Maggie wanted to go around the Observatory. We did not see any lizards until we were closer to home, fortunately.
Got out for the run at 10 am. Wore my new Nike GPS Sportwatch. Ran around the park. Not surprised to discover that the GPS watch measures my routes shorter than the Nike Sportband/shoepod does. Came out to 3.01, whereas it is usually 3.14 or so with the Sportband. I blame this on the GPS not accurately measuring the distance I travel going up the stairs on the way to Observatory Ave.
Distance was 3.01 miles and time was 34:30 or 11:27 pace. That is a little slower than my newly revised recovery run pace (based on my race time from yesterday). I'm supposed to do them now between 10:34 and 11:20. But it was in the park, and the park is always hard. 34:30 is not a bad time for a loop of the park.
I was glad I didn't wear the watch for the race yesterday, because I am still figuring out how to use it and it would have been a distraction. I just sat down and read the manual off the web site, and I think I pretty much have it down now, but it will be awhile before I don't have to think about which button to push when.
Got about 7 hours of sleep last night. That seems to be the magic number. Plus, I need to wake up without the alarm clock. Today I woke up at 6:30 and I could have stayed in bed a little longer but if I fell back asleep and then the alarm went off, I have learned that I would feel worse.
Forgot to comment on sleep yesterday. Although I did not get much sleep Saturday night, I did wake up before the alarm clock. I had it set for 5 am and I woke up naturally at 4:45, so I got up. Even though it was just 5 1/4 hours of sleep, I felt okay because I did not wake up in the middle of a dream. Important thing to remember when racing---try to wake up naturally, without the alarm. Or set the alarm for a time slightly after the point when you think you will wake up naturally, just in case. Or program your mind to wake yourself up 15 minutes before the alarm goes off.
Another beautiful day here! Took the dogs for a walk first. Maggie wanted to go around the Observatory. We did not see any lizards until we were closer to home, fortunately.
Got out for the run at 10 am. Wore my new Nike GPS Sportwatch. Ran around the park. Not surprised to discover that the GPS watch measures my routes shorter than the Nike Sportband/shoepod does. Came out to 3.01, whereas it is usually 3.14 or so with the Sportband. I blame this on the GPS not accurately measuring the distance I travel going up the stairs on the way to Observatory Ave.
Distance was 3.01 miles and time was 34:30 or 11:27 pace. That is a little slower than my newly revised recovery run pace (based on my race time from yesterday). I'm supposed to do them now between 10:34 and 11:20. But it was in the park, and the park is always hard. 34:30 is not a bad time for a loop of the park.
I was glad I didn't wear the watch for the race yesterday, because I am still figuring out how to use it and it would have been a distraction. I just sat down and read the manual off the web site, and I think I pretty much have it down now, but it will be awhile before I don't have to think about which button to push when.
Got about 7 hours of sleep last night. That seems to be the magic number. Plus, I need to wake up without the alarm clock. Today I woke up at 6:30 and I could have stayed in bed a little longer but if I fell back asleep and then the alarm went off, I have learned that I would feel worse.
Forgot to comment on sleep yesterday. Although I did not get much sleep Saturday night, I did wake up before the alarm clock. I had it set for 5 am and I woke up naturally at 4:45, so I got up. Even though it was just 5 1/4 hours of sleep, I felt okay because I did not wake up in the middle of a dream. Important thing to remember when racing---try to wake up naturally, without the alarm. Or set the alarm for a time slightly after the point when you think you will wake up naturally, just in case. Or program your mind to wake yourself up 15 minutes before the alarm goes off.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Little Miami 10k
It's day 7 of week 5 in the training program. I asked the good people at McMillan Running if I could substitute a 10k race this morning for the fartlek workout on the schedule for tomorrow, and they said it was okay.
This race is in its third year but I had never heard of it before. There's a 10k and a half-marathon. I believe the half-marathon is actually the larger event. The start and finish is at Phegley Park in Morrow, on the Little Miami bike trail. The race is run entirely on the bike trail. This is one time where the promised flat course actually was completely flat.
Since I'm training for a flat, fall marathon, I thought this would be a good test of my progress.;
Some little hitches in my plan: 1) got home a little late from dinner last night; 2) drank a good bit of red wine with dinner; 3) Morrow is farther away than I thought, which I did not find out until I decided to check on this yesterday afternoon, and the race starts at 7:30 am.
But there were some good things, too: 1) fabulous weather, considering it is the middle of August!; did not get a hangover from the wine (what was that stuff, organic? did it actually have alcohol in it?) ; 3) did not get lost on the way to Phegley Park, although neither my GPS nor Google Maps knew how to find it---it is just a little park along the bike trail where you can park your car, with some picnic tables, playground equipment and restrooms; 4) arrived at the park just in time to get one of the last parking spots---this race cannot get much bigger than it is or they are going to have to do something about the parking situation; 5) technical shirt and one of those little nylon shoe bags (or at least that is what I use them for)---got the last one of the bags.
It's about a 40 minute drive to the race. I got there around 7 am, found that parking spot about a tenth of a mile from the packet pickup, got my stuff, put the chip on my shoe, dropped the stuff in my car, waited on line for the portapotty, and did not have quite enough time to do the 1 mile warmup that I had hoped for. Got a little bit over a half-mile in before it was time to head down to the start.
We ran south (I think) on the trail. It's not the most interesting race in the world. Most of the bike trail, and this section is no exception, is just a narrow stretch of flat pavement with woods on either side. Maybe there is a little more variety along the way in the half-marathon, but I doubt it.
My goal time, which I based on a range between where I really want to be and where I was in the Hyde Park Blast in late June, was between 53:11 (8:34 pace) and 54:34 (8:47 pace). I also wanted to win one of the coffee mugs they were giving for age group placements. Although they were using ten year age groups (which we hate!) at least they were going three deep in the groups, and based on the previous years' results I thought I had a good shot.
I did not wear my new GPS watch for this race. I wore it on our dog walk yesterday morning and I think I know how it works, but I didn't want to be messing with anything new this morning. Would have been interesting to see what it said about the mile markers, though, because based on my splits they were way off. I don't understand why it is so hard to get them in the right place on a totally flat course, but somebody apparently got a bit confused when they were putting them out.
Took 10-15 seconds to cross the start line, and I was happy to have the chip. It was a little congested but not too bad. Seemed like I had started in the right place. I steadily passed people, not knowing if they were in the 10k or the half. Might be nice for the people doing the half if they gave the 10k runners tags to wear on their backs.
At mile 1, my watch said 8:55 from the start line. This was, obviously, slower than I expected to be. I did not allow it to make me disheartened. Well, actually I had forgotten what my goal pace was supposed to be, all I really remembered was that I wanted to finish somewhere between 53-54 minutes, and I couldn't do the math in my head to know for sure how far off I was. I had expected to be faster, though. I felt fine and the pace felt right, so I thought maybe that mile marker was wrong.
I did not take a walking break. Just in case.
At mile 2, my watch said 9:07. I knew for sure that was wrong. C'mon, I didn't take a walking break and you're telling me I ran a 9:07? I was looking for a significant speed up in mile 3.
And sure enough, despite grabbing a cup of water at the aid station and taking a walking break, mile 3 was 8:13. On a totally flat course where I was not really changing pace except for that walk break!
A little before this point I started counting the women coming back on the other side. Another goal was to maybe be in the top ten women. I kinda lost track of it after 7 or 8 or so.
The 10k turnaround was just marked by some little orange cones in the middle of the path. They didn't have anybody standing there policing it, or a timing mat, or anything. I reflected on how this would not be a terribly difficult race to cheat at. All you would have to do is just drop off into the woods on the left side when you were running on the way out, as if you needed a sudden pit stop, and then some time later come out and just run back to the start, thus cutting some distance off the course. I did not see anybody ducking into the woods while I was out there, but I think that would be the way to do it if you were so inclined.
Not me. I had a nightmare the other night that Bob Roncker told me he was disqualifying me from the last two trail races because he thought I had cheated and cut the course, and I was trying to convince him that I would never knowingly do such a thing---because let's face it, I have gotten lost on trail races, although never resulting in a short cut!---but he did not believe me. It was awful.
Anyway, back to reality. Not too long after the turnaround, somebody who was going by on the way out told me that I was the 12th woman. Okay, that gave me some incentive to pick it up a little bit and see if I could make it into the top ten. I could see one woman a little ways ahead.
I missed the mile 4 marker but it was near the aid station, where I grabbed a cup of water and a cup of Gatorade, and probably drank more of the Gatorade than I should have but it was diluted so I thought it would be okay. I took a little walk break while I was drinking.
Miles 4 and 5 were 16:48. I wondered again about those mile markers. I was trying to pick it up a little but that still seemed a bit off. Passed the woman who was ahead of me. She said it was her first race back after an injury, and I told her good job. But this did not stop me from passing her!
There was one more woman ahead of me whom I could see, and I didn't know if I could catch her or not. She was coming back to me but I thought I might run out of real estate before I caught her.
I thought about the coffee mugs they were giving out as age group awards, and how unlikely it was that there were three women in my age group ahead of me if I was finishing in 11th place. And then I thought about how I shouldn't give up on trying to pass that woman.
Mile 6 was an 8:52. I think that one was long, whereas miles 4-5 were probably short.
I was getting closer to the woman in front, and I could see the finish line. I started to push harder. She was slowing down. I passed her. I didn't know if she was going to try to pass me right back. I heard somebody say, "finish it up." And so I finished, thinking that I was in tenth place if the person who told me I was in 12th earlier was correct. My last .2 was 1:54, and I think that was a bit long also. The course was probably measured accurately, but the mile markers were all positioned just a little bit off.
I tried not to throw up on the voluneer who removed my timing chip. I got a bottle of Gatorade and walked around the park until I caught my breath. I walked back to the car, and decided it would be nice to change my clothes while I waited for the awards, which I hoped would not be too long of a wait.
You could check your results online at a couple of laptops they had set up at a table in the park. I learned that I was 2nd in my age group (yay) but only 11th woman overall (boo).
Got changed in the restroom, and then grabbed a couple of chocolate chip cookies, a half a bagel and some water. Put my gear bag in the car and headed back over to the picnic area.
And when I got there, they were just about to start the 10k awards, and they were giving out the women first. So I got my coffee mug, and I hung around a couple of minutes while they gave out more awards (just to be polite), and then I walked back to the car and headed for home.
Not sure yet how many people were in the race or in my age group, but when I checked the results at the picnic table, there were at least 8 women in my age group. The woman who got third finished about 4-5 minutes behind me, and the woman who won the age group ran a 47 or something.
So, my chip time was 53:48, or 8:39 pace, which is right in the range I had set for my goal today. Of course, I would like to be a little bit faster, but it is what it is. I could say well maybe if I had gotten more sleep last night or not drank all that wine or was not so congested the last few days or hadn't had that debilitating headache from roughly 6 pm Friday night until yesterday at noon, maybe I would have gone faster. But I felt pretty good today and I think this race was probably honestly a good test of my actual fitness at the moment.
This result still is not fast enough to predict a BQ in Indianapolis in November. But it is a little faster than I have been running since last spring, and enables me to adjust my training paces, which should make me faster still, I hope. I am making progress. Just not as fast as I'd like, but it never is!
.
This race is in its third year but I had never heard of it before. There's a 10k and a half-marathon. I believe the half-marathon is actually the larger event. The start and finish is at Phegley Park in Morrow, on the Little Miami bike trail. The race is run entirely on the bike trail. This is one time where the promised flat course actually was completely flat.
Since I'm training for a flat, fall marathon, I thought this would be a good test of my progress.;
Some little hitches in my plan: 1) got home a little late from dinner last night; 2) drank a good bit of red wine with dinner; 3) Morrow is farther away than I thought, which I did not find out until I decided to check on this yesterday afternoon, and the race starts at 7:30 am.
But there were some good things, too: 1) fabulous weather, considering it is the middle of August!; did not get a hangover from the wine (what was that stuff, organic? did it actually have alcohol in it?) ; 3) did not get lost on the way to Phegley Park, although neither my GPS nor Google Maps knew how to find it---it is just a little park along the bike trail where you can park your car, with some picnic tables, playground equipment and restrooms; 4) arrived at the park just in time to get one of the last parking spots---this race cannot get much bigger than it is or they are going to have to do something about the parking situation; 5) technical shirt and one of those little nylon shoe bags (or at least that is what I use them for)---got the last one of the bags.
It's about a 40 minute drive to the race. I got there around 7 am, found that parking spot about a tenth of a mile from the packet pickup, got my stuff, put the chip on my shoe, dropped the stuff in my car, waited on line for the portapotty, and did not have quite enough time to do the 1 mile warmup that I had hoped for. Got a little bit over a half-mile in before it was time to head down to the start.
We ran south (I think) on the trail. It's not the most interesting race in the world. Most of the bike trail, and this section is no exception, is just a narrow stretch of flat pavement with woods on either side. Maybe there is a little more variety along the way in the half-marathon, but I doubt it.
My goal time, which I based on a range between where I really want to be and where I was in the Hyde Park Blast in late June, was between 53:11 (8:34 pace) and 54:34 (8:47 pace). I also wanted to win one of the coffee mugs they were giving for age group placements. Although they were using ten year age groups (which we hate!) at least they were going three deep in the groups, and based on the previous years' results I thought I had a good shot.
I did not wear my new GPS watch for this race. I wore it on our dog walk yesterday morning and I think I know how it works, but I didn't want to be messing with anything new this morning. Would have been interesting to see what it said about the mile markers, though, because based on my splits they were way off. I don't understand why it is so hard to get them in the right place on a totally flat course, but somebody apparently got a bit confused when they were putting them out.
Took 10-15 seconds to cross the start line, and I was happy to have the chip. It was a little congested but not too bad. Seemed like I had started in the right place. I steadily passed people, not knowing if they were in the 10k or the half. Might be nice for the people doing the half if they gave the 10k runners tags to wear on their backs.
At mile 1, my watch said 8:55 from the start line. This was, obviously, slower than I expected to be. I did not allow it to make me disheartened. Well, actually I had forgotten what my goal pace was supposed to be, all I really remembered was that I wanted to finish somewhere between 53-54 minutes, and I couldn't do the math in my head to know for sure how far off I was. I had expected to be faster, though. I felt fine and the pace felt right, so I thought maybe that mile marker was wrong.
I did not take a walking break. Just in case.
At mile 2, my watch said 9:07. I knew for sure that was wrong. C'mon, I didn't take a walking break and you're telling me I ran a 9:07? I was looking for a significant speed up in mile 3.
And sure enough, despite grabbing a cup of water at the aid station and taking a walking break, mile 3 was 8:13. On a totally flat course where I was not really changing pace except for that walk break!
A little before this point I started counting the women coming back on the other side. Another goal was to maybe be in the top ten women. I kinda lost track of it after 7 or 8 or so.
The 10k turnaround was just marked by some little orange cones in the middle of the path. They didn't have anybody standing there policing it, or a timing mat, or anything. I reflected on how this would not be a terribly difficult race to cheat at. All you would have to do is just drop off into the woods on the left side when you were running on the way out, as if you needed a sudden pit stop, and then some time later come out and just run back to the start, thus cutting some distance off the course. I did not see anybody ducking into the woods while I was out there, but I think that would be the way to do it if you were so inclined.
Not me. I had a nightmare the other night that Bob Roncker told me he was disqualifying me from the last two trail races because he thought I had cheated and cut the course, and I was trying to convince him that I would never knowingly do such a thing---because let's face it, I have gotten lost on trail races, although never resulting in a short cut!---but he did not believe me. It was awful.
Anyway, back to reality. Not too long after the turnaround, somebody who was going by on the way out told me that I was the 12th woman. Okay, that gave me some incentive to pick it up a little bit and see if I could make it into the top ten. I could see one woman a little ways ahead.
I missed the mile 4 marker but it was near the aid station, where I grabbed a cup of water and a cup of Gatorade, and probably drank more of the Gatorade than I should have but it was diluted so I thought it would be okay. I took a little walk break while I was drinking.
Miles 4 and 5 were 16:48. I wondered again about those mile markers. I was trying to pick it up a little but that still seemed a bit off. Passed the woman who was ahead of me. She said it was her first race back after an injury, and I told her good job. But this did not stop me from passing her!
There was one more woman ahead of me whom I could see, and I didn't know if I could catch her or not. She was coming back to me but I thought I might run out of real estate before I caught her.
I thought about the coffee mugs they were giving out as age group awards, and how unlikely it was that there were three women in my age group ahead of me if I was finishing in 11th place. And then I thought about how I shouldn't give up on trying to pass that woman.
Mile 6 was an 8:52. I think that one was long, whereas miles 4-5 were probably short.
I was getting closer to the woman in front, and I could see the finish line. I started to push harder. She was slowing down. I passed her. I didn't know if she was going to try to pass me right back. I heard somebody say, "finish it up." And so I finished, thinking that I was in tenth place if the person who told me I was in 12th earlier was correct. My last .2 was 1:54, and I think that was a bit long also. The course was probably measured accurately, but the mile markers were all positioned just a little bit off.
I tried not to throw up on the voluneer who removed my timing chip. I got a bottle of Gatorade and walked around the park until I caught my breath. I walked back to the car, and decided it would be nice to change my clothes while I waited for the awards, which I hoped would not be too long of a wait.
You could check your results online at a couple of laptops they had set up at a table in the park. I learned that I was 2nd in my age group (yay) but only 11th woman overall (boo).
Got changed in the restroom, and then grabbed a couple of chocolate chip cookies, a half a bagel and some water. Put my gear bag in the car and headed back over to the picnic area.
And when I got there, they were just about to start the 10k awards, and they were giving out the women first. So I got my coffee mug, and I hung around a couple of minutes while they gave out more awards (just to be polite), and then I walked back to the car and headed for home.
Not sure yet how many people were in the race or in my age group, but when I checked the results at the picnic table, there were at least 8 women in my age group. The woman who got third finished about 4-5 minutes behind me, and the woman who won the age group ran a 47 or something.
So, my chip time was 53:48, or 8:39 pace, which is right in the range I had set for my goal today. Of course, I would like to be a little bit faster, but it is what it is. I could say well maybe if I had gotten more sleep last night or not drank all that wine or was not so congested the last few days or hadn't had that debilitating headache from roughly 6 pm Friday night until yesterday at noon, maybe I would have gone faster. But I felt pretty good today and I think this race was probably honestly a good test of my actual fitness at the moment.
This result still is not fast enough to predict a BQ in Indianapolis in November. But it is a little faster than I have been running since last spring, and enables me to adjust my training paces, which should make me faster still, I hope. I am making progress. Just not as fast as I'd like, but it never is!
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Week 5, Day 5
Yesterday was an off day, and I needed it more than I did last week, after the 14 on Wednesday. Today was easy run day, 45-60 minutes.
It was a cool day and rainy this morning, so we did not go out for the dog walk until 10. Left for the run at 11:20 Did the Madison route, and finished the 5.21 in 53:13 or about 10:20 pace.
Felt pretty easy but did have a little something weird going on with my left foot. Felt better after the first mile or so, and was fine after that, but bothered me some later today when I was walking around the supermarket in my sandals. Feels okay now. Who knows?
My new Nike GPS watch arrived today. Not as excited about it as you might think.
It was a cool day and rainy this morning, so we did not go out for the dog walk until 10. Left for the run at 11:20 Did the Madison route, and finished the 5.21 in 53:13 or about 10:20 pace.
Felt pretty easy but did have a little something weird going on with my left foot. Felt better after the first mile or so, and was fine after that, but bothered me some later today when I was walking around the supermarket in my sandals. Feels okay now. Who knows?
My new Nike GPS watch arrived today. Not as excited about it as you might think.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Week 5, Day 3
It's long run day. Supposed to do 14-16 miles at long run pace of 9:41 to 10:57.
It's actually a pretty nice day again, and I could have done this outside, even after walking the dogs this morning. But it's very sunny and I was worried it would get too hot. I had thought about going over to Lunken for three laps of the bike trail, which would come out a little over 15 miles, but there's no shade over there.
So I decided to do it on the dreadmill. It wasn't fun, but I got it done. Warmed up to 3.5 mph, then continued at 5.8 mph (10:20 pace) with my usual wimpy 1 minute walk breaks every half-mile at 3.5. So...most of the running was at 10:20 pace, and that is faster than I usually go on the treadmill. I'm trying to do it at a slightly faster pace each time I get on there.
When I hit 14 miles, I did the 5 minute treadmill cooldown. So, in the end, I covered 14.31 miles in 2:44. Yes, that averages out slower than the pace I'm supposed to do the long runs at, and I might have gone faster outside, but still, most of the running was well within the range prescribed.
Kept myself amused during the run by watching Million Dollar Listing. Thought about naming my next dogs Madison and Josh. Thought that reality show stars would be a good litter theme.
Did not have any particular aches or pains, but iced the knee afterwards anyway. Am feeling really tired right now and would love a nap, but otherwise all is good.
Sleepwise, last night I got about 7 hours, but I lay in bed an extra 45 minutes this morning petting Maggie because we had the time. Felt pretty rested. It really makes a difference when you can wake up naturally versus by the alarm clock.
It's actually a pretty nice day again, and I could have done this outside, even after walking the dogs this morning. But it's very sunny and I was worried it would get too hot. I had thought about going over to Lunken for three laps of the bike trail, which would come out a little over 15 miles, but there's no shade over there.
So I decided to do it on the dreadmill. It wasn't fun, but I got it done. Warmed up to 3.5 mph, then continued at 5.8 mph (10:20 pace) with my usual wimpy 1 minute walk breaks every half-mile at 3.5. So...most of the running was at 10:20 pace, and that is faster than I usually go on the treadmill. I'm trying to do it at a slightly faster pace each time I get on there.
When I hit 14 miles, I did the 5 minute treadmill cooldown. So, in the end, I covered 14.31 miles in 2:44. Yes, that averages out slower than the pace I'm supposed to do the long runs at, and I might have gone faster outside, but still, most of the running was well within the range prescribed.
Kept myself amused during the run by watching Million Dollar Listing. Thought about naming my next dogs Madison and Josh. Thought that reality show stars would be a good litter theme.
Did not have any particular aches or pains, but iced the knee afterwards anyway. Am feeling really tired right now and would love a nap, but otherwise all is good.
Sleepwise, last night I got about 7 hours, but I lay in bed an extra 45 minutes this morning petting Maggie because we had the time. Felt pretty rested. It really makes a difference when you can wake up naturally versus by the alarm clock.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Week 5, Day 2
Up and out the door at 6:30 am this morning for the "recovery run." Would have liked to get out earlier but Tommy needed me to make coffee first. It is very hard to make the coffee and then not drink it myself until later. A lot easier to just head right out the door, especially now that my body is used to that routine.
It is so used to that routine that I wasn't even able to go to the bathroom until I got back home. My body says, this is what we do on Tuesdays, we throw on our running clothes, lace up our kicks and get out the door.
Saw some of what I now think of as the Tuesday morning regulars: the middle aged couple of walkers heading down Erie when I am climbing up, and the fast guy on Observatory. I know where he lives now, because I saw him stop in front of one of the big houses on the left and pick up his newspaper before heading in.
Getting a little weird seeing the same people all the time. Did not realize how much I have been varying my routine the last few years. Not used to seeing the same folks over and over again.
Anyway, finished the 3.45 in 37 minutes, 10:43 pace. Didn't feel as easy as it did last week.
Sleep-wise, was in bed around 10:30 and up at 6 with the alarm clock, and maybe that is the problem. Should have been 7 1/2 hours, but I had a little trouble settling down last night and also woke up during the night with congestion. Tommy likes the open windows and the house fan running but there's something outside that I am allergic to right now. And then I woke up this morning in the middle of a dream, which always tends to get me out of sorts for the rest of the day. Maybe 7 hours good, 7 1/2 not?
It is so used to that routine that I wasn't even able to go to the bathroom until I got back home. My body says, this is what we do on Tuesdays, we throw on our running clothes, lace up our kicks and get out the door.
Saw some of what I now think of as the Tuesday morning regulars: the middle aged couple of walkers heading down Erie when I am climbing up, and the fast guy on Observatory. I know where he lives now, because I saw him stop in front of one of the big houses on the left and pick up his newspaper before heading in.
Getting a little weird seeing the same people all the time. Did not realize how much I have been varying my routine the last few years. Not used to seeing the same folks over and over again.
Anyway, finished the 3.45 in 37 minutes, 10:43 pace. Didn't feel as easy as it did last week.
Sleep-wise, was in bed around 10:30 and up at 6 with the alarm clock, and maybe that is the problem. Should have been 7 1/2 hours, but I had a little trouble settling down last night and also woke up during the night with congestion. Tommy likes the open windows and the house fan running but there's something outside that I am allergic to right now. And then I woke up this morning in the middle of a dream, which always tends to get me out of sorts for the rest of the day. Maybe 7 hours good, 7 1/2 not?
Monday, August 13, 2012
Week 5, Day 1
Today's schedule called for another "Fartlek Workout"--- 10 to 20 minute warm up, followed by 3 to 4 times 5 minutes at "half-marathon effort" (whatever that is supposed to mean) with 1 minute recovery jogs, followed by a 10 to 20 cool down.
It was another beautiful day, so I could run outside after I got back from walking the dogs around the park. I followed the same route as last Monday, where I run down Erie Ave., make a little loop of Broadview, go back out to Erie and turn right on Murray Ave, do a little out and back on the bike path, and then run back up the hill to home.
It worked out so I could do all the intervals on the bike path. I only did three. If you tell me 3-4, most of the time I'm going to pick 3, because I am just a lazybones.
Pace-wise, I just tried to imagine that I was at State to State and trying to run a decent half-marathon. According to the McMillan Pace Calculator, my current half-marathon pace is supposed to be 9:17, but last year I ran S2S faster than that. So...
How do you do this? Well, I start the interval and just say, okay, imagine you have 13.1 miles ahead of rolling hills. How fast can you go? And that seemed to work. The Murray Ave. bike trail also has a similar hill profile to the half-marathon I was imagining in my head.
Time was 51:37 for 5.14 miles. Achilles felt fine. Iced the knee afterwards even though it felt okay during the run, because it felt a little tight when I stopped.
Sleep-wise, I went to bed around 11 pm and got up a little before 6, so that was 7 hours. Felt like enough. Seems like seven is what I need.
It was another beautiful day, so I could run outside after I got back from walking the dogs around the park. I followed the same route as last Monday, where I run down Erie Ave., make a little loop of Broadview, go back out to Erie and turn right on Murray Ave, do a little out and back on the bike path, and then run back up the hill to home.
It worked out so I could do all the intervals on the bike path. I only did three. If you tell me 3-4, most of the time I'm going to pick 3, because I am just a lazybones.
Pace-wise, I just tried to imagine that I was at State to State and trying to run a decent half-marathon. According to the McMillan Pace Calculator, my current half-marathon pace is supposed to be 9:17, but last year I ran S2S faster than that. So...
How do you do this? Well, I start the interval and just say, okay, imagine you have 13.1 miles ahead of rolling hills. How fast can you go? And that seemed to work. The Murray Ave. bike trail also has a similar hill profile to the half-marathon I was imagining in my head.
Time was 51:37 for 5.14 miles. Achilles felt fine. Iced the knee afterwards even though it felt okay during the run, because it felt a little tight when I stopped.
Sleep-wise, I went to bed around 11 pm and got up a little before 6, so that was 7 hours. Felt like enough. Seems like seven is what I need.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Week 4, Day 7
Another easy run was on the schedule for today, just 30-45 minutes. I decided to go for a trail run, which might end up longer than 45 minutes, but I would be using some different muscles and not going very fast. I also thought that it might help alleviate the threatening achilles tendonitis.
I went out around 10:45 am, after a long dog walk around the neighborhood. It was another beautiful day. The trails are in great shape and the woods are lush despite the lack of rain. I thought again about how lucky I am to have these trails right next to my house. I thought about Libby and all the hours we spent together hiking in there. I thought about how trail running is good for you because you use more different muscles than you do when you're road running, without the repetitive pounding; but at the same time it is dangerous, because you are never more than a step away from disaster and injury.
I covered 3.7 miles in 44:51, which is 12:07 pace, but this is trail running, y'know, so it is supposed to be ridiculously slow. Some people say it's 1 1/2 times slower. So that would mean I actually would have gone 1.5 times farther out on the road. That would be 1.85 miles farther, or 5.55 miles. 8:05 pace? Not exactly an easy day. So...I think that is kind of an exaggeration about how much harder trail running really is. Anyway, I wasn't pushing that hard.
Iced the knee afterwards, but not the achilles because it felt okay.
The online coach at McMillan said that I can do the 10k next weekend and just do an easy run next Monday instead of the speed session. So I went ahead and signed up.
I read an article in Marathon & Beyond yesterday about the importance of sleep to our health and performance as runners. I decided I'm going to do as the article suggests and start keeping track of how much sleep I get each night and how I feel each day after various amounts of sleep. I'm going to start paying more attention to how much I need and whether or not I am getting what I need.
So, last night I went to bed at 11:30 pm and woke up around 6:45 am, for a total of 7 hours and 15 minutes. Didn't have any trouble falling asleep last night. Felt pretty rested today.
I went out around 10:45 am, after a long dog walk around the neighborhood. It was another beautiful day. The trails are in great shape and the woods are lush despite the lack of rain. I thought again about how lucky I am to have these trails right next to my house. I thought about Libby and all the hours we spent together hiking in there. I thought about how trail running is good for you because you use more different muscles than you do when you're road running, without the repetitive pounding; but at the same time it is dangerous, because you are never more than a step away from disaster and injury.
I covered 3.7 miles in 44:51, which is 12:07 pace, but this is trail running, y'know, so it is supposed to be ridiculously slow. Some people say it's 1 1/2 times slower. So that would mean I actually would have gone 1.5 times farther out on the road. That would be 1.85 miles farther, or 5.55 miles. 8:05 pace? Not exactly an easy day. So...I think that is kind of an exaggeration about how much harder trail running really is. Anyway, I wasn't pushing that hard.
Iced the knee afterwards, but not the achilles because it felt okay.
The online coach at McMillan said that I can do the 10k next weekend and just do an easy run next Monday instead of the speed session. So I went ahead and signed up.
I read an article in Marathon & Beyond yesterday about the importance of sleep to our health and performance as runners. I decided I'm going to do as the article suggests and start keeping track of how much sleep I get each night and how I feel each day after various amounts of sleep. I'm going to start paying more attention to how much I need and whether or not I am getting what I need.
So, last night I went to bed at 11:30 pm and woke up around 6:45 am, for a total of 7 hours and 15 minutes. Didn't have any trouble falling asleep last night. Felt pretty rested today.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Week 4, Day 6
Another easy run was on the schedule for today. This one was to be 40-50 minutes. I did my little 4-mile route down Erie to the Murray bike trail, turning around at Settle and back up Erie.
It was another gorgeous day. I first walked the dogs around the park, then headed out for the run at 10:45. Felt a little better and "easier" than yesterday---well, this is an easier route, which is a funny thing to say about a route where the last mile is uphill.
Time was 44:39 for 4.46 miles, or 10:01 pace. I iced my left knee and achilles afterwards. I don't know quite what is up with the achilles, but it's making me nervous. Am I going to need to change shoes after a couple of happy years with Nike Pegasus? Is it something to do with my Keen walking shoes or my Teva sandals?
Tomorrow is yet another easy run, even shorter. It is weird to be doing these short weekend runs on a weekend with perfect weather and when I would easily have had time to run long. If I wasn't trying to follow this schedule, I would either have done a long run today or the Newtown 5k race (where I would for sure have won my age group based on the results). This is driving me a little nutty. I think I am going to sign up for that 10k in Morrow next weekend after all, even if Susan doesn't want to go.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Week 4, Day 5
Today it was supposed to be an "easy run" for 45-60 minutes at 9:39 to 10:33 pace. I ran 5.06 miles in 52:49 or 10:26 pace, but it did not feel as easy as I had expected considering I took yesterday off and felt so great yesterday.
In retrospect, I'm a little congested and didn't sleep well last night. I said hello to the neighbors last evening and Jackie commented that it sounded like I had a cold, and I really think it is just allergies but Jackie is a doctor so this got in my head and is still bothering me. Am I getting a cold? Oh no!
So, there's that.
It's a relatively cool day, mostly overcast (although of course the sun came out for my run) and still only 71 degrees right now at 12:30 pm. It was about 11:15 when I went out, kind of late, but it was so cool.
I ran around the park and the Kilgour race route, then finished up by running down Herschel View and out to Pape-Erie and around the corner to the trail.
It's not that it was sooooo bad. There were a lot of moments of pleasure. Just not as "fun" and "easy" as last week.
I iced both my left knee and my left achilles afterwards. They didn't bother me during the run, but the knee felt tight when I got home and when I sat down to ice the knee, I realized the achilles felt a bit tender, so I got out another ice bag. Had a glass of chocolate milk.
Another little niggling problem is that my weight is steadily keeping up. I need to get a handle on that and get it back down where it needs to be. I'm sure my knees would appreciate it, and the extra weight is not going to help my performance.
Tomorrow is another easy run day for 40-50 minutes. I wanted to get 5 miles in today. I'll probably shoot for around four tomorrow, and three on Sunday if I run then.
In retrospect, I'm a little congested and didn't sleep well last night. I said hello to the neighbors last evening and Jackie commented that it sounded like I had a cold, and I really think it is just allergies but Jackie is a doctor so this got in my head and is still bothering me. Am I getting a cold? Oh no!
So, there's that.
It's a relatively cool day, mostly overcast (although of course the sun came out for my run) and still only 71 degrees right now at 12:30 pm. It was about 11:15 when I went out, kind of late, but it was so cool.
I ran around the park and the Kilgour race route, then finished up by running down Herschel View and out to Pape-Erie and around the corner to the trail.
It's not that it was sooooo bad. There were a lot of moments of pleasure. Just not as "fun" and "easy" as last week.
I iced both my left knee and my left achilles afterwards. They didn't bother me during the run, but the knee felt tight when I got home and when I sat down to ice the knee, I realized the achilles felt a bit tender, so I got out another ice bag. Had a glass of chocolate milk.
Another little niggling problem is that my weight is steadily keeping up. I need to get a handle on that and get it back down where it needs to be. I'm sure my knees would appreciate it, and the extra weight is not going to help my performance.
Tomorrow is another easy run day for 40-50 minutes. I wanted to get 5 miles in today. I'll probably shoot for around four tomorrow, and three on Sunday if I run then.
Thursday, August 09, 2012
Week 4, Day 4
Today is actually a scheduled recovery day off. I feel great though and it is weird not to run when I have time and feel this good. I suspect I did not cover as many miles yesterday as I was really supposed to, or I didn't run hard enough, or something.
I am dutifully taking the day off---well, it is not that hard for me to do it since I am so lazy! I'm thinking about doing a little abdominal session this afternoon, though.
Friday and Saturday are "easy" runs and Sunday is either off or another easy run.
I sent an email to Greg McMillan inquiring about whether I can add in the 10k race in Morrow next Sunday to my schedule. I think it will work if I skip the speed session scheduled for the day after. But I wonder if I should then move the speed session to another day, or just skip it entirely. Or would I be better served by doing the half-marathon as a long training run, and skipping that long run on its regular Wednesday. Anyway, hoping the folks at McMillan Training can give me an answer.
I am dutifully taking the day off---well, it is not that hard for me to do it since I am so lazy! I'm thinking about doing a little abdominal session this afternoon, though.
Friday and Saturday are "easy" runs and Sunday is either off or another easy run.
I sent an email to Greg McMillan inquiring about whether I can add in the 10k race in Morrow next Sunday to my schedule. I think it will work if I skip the speed session scheduled for the day after. But I wonder if I should then move the speed session to another day, or just skip it entirely. Or would I be better served by doing the half-marathon as a long training run, and skipping that long run on its regular Wednesday. Anyway, hoping the folks at McMillan Training can give me an answer.
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Week 4, Day 3
Instead of a long run today, the scheduled workout is a "progression run." I had to read the article on the web site to understand what that is. On the schedule, it is described as a "90 minute Thirds Progression Run " which means 30 minutes easy, 30 minutes moderate, 30 minutes medium to hard.
It's hot today and we slept in a little (that means, past 7 am) after staying up late watching the Olympics. So I didn't get out for the dogwalks until after 9. The lizards were out in full force by then, so I decided to walk Zen by herself. I first took Eddy & Maggie around the Observatory route, then took Zen into the woods, for a total of about 1:15.
So by the time I was ready to run, it was really too hot to run outside, so I had to do it on the treadmill. This is what I did:
1) Did the long, slow warmup from 0 to 5.7 mph (10:31 pace), until I hit 30 minutes.
2) Increased the pace every five minutes for the next 30 minutes, from 5.8 to 6.3 mph (up to 9:22 pace).
3) Increased the pace every ten minutes for the last 30 minutes, from 6.4 to 6.6 mph (up to 9:05 pace).
9:05 is faster than my current supposed marathon pace or even half-marathon pace, according to the McMillan pace calculator, but it is my actual goal marathon pace if I want that BQ, so I hope that is okay. It didn't feel too hard.
Plus, in reality I did not spend that much time at these faster paces, because I did my usual treadmill walk breaks every half-mile for one minute each time. So every four minutes or so I was walking. Yeah, I'm a wimp. If it was outside, I would walk every mile, but on the treadmill, I baby myself.
I drank water during every walk break, and I had my GU Chomps at mile 3 and 6. At the end of the 90 minutes, I hit the cooldown button on the treadmill for the five minute slow down, which went from 5.7 mph down to 3.5 mph.
Total distance was 8.34 miles in 1:35.
Eddy joined me down in the basement and I kept him occupied with a bunch of stuffed toys. To keep myself occupied, I tried to watch the Olympics. I had the TV on and also tried to watch the live feed off my phone with the earbuds in, but I am just not an earbud girl so I finally gave up on that and just watched TV. They had volleyball (of course) on NBC, and water polo on MSNBC, so I watched the water polo.
I didn't really pay attention to the game, but there is something about staring at a swimming pool that seems to really help me deal with the treadmill. I might have to get a video of just random people splashing around in a swimming pool, or just an empty swimming pool maybe, to watch.
What I didn't know was that at some point NBC started showing the heats of the men's 5000 meters, so I missed the first one but the second came on just as I was getting off the treadmill and I did get to see that one.
It's hot today and we slept in a little (that means, past 7 am) after staying up late watching the Olympics. So I didn't get out for the dogwalks until after 9. The lizards were out in full force by then, so I decided to walk Zen by herself. I first took Eddy & Maggie around the Observatory route, then took Zen into the woods, for a total of about 1:15.
So by the time I was ready to run, it was really too hot to run outside, so I had to do it on the treadmill. This is what I did:
1) Did the long, slow warmup from 0 to 5.7 mph (10:31 pace), until I hit 30 minutes.
2) Increased the pace every five minutes for the next 30 minutes, from 5.8 to 6.3 mph (up to 9:22 pace).
3) Increased the pace every ten minutes for the last 30 minutes, from 6.4 to 6.6 mph (up to 9:05 pace).
9:05 is faster than my current supposed marathon pace or even half-marathon pace, according to the McMillan pace calculator, but it is my actual goal marathon pace if I want that BQ, so I hope that is okay. It didn't feel too hard.
Plus, in reality I did not spend that much time at these faster paces, because I did my usual treadmill walk breaks every half-mile for one minute each time. So every four minutes or so I was walking. Yeah, I'm a wimp. If it was outside, I would walk every mile, but on the treadmill, I baby myself.
I drank water during every walk break, and I had my GU Chomps at mile 3 and 6. At the end of the 90 minutes, I hit the cooldown button on the treadmill for the five minute slow down, which went from 5.7 mph down to 3.5 mph.
Total distance was 8.34 miles in 1:35.
Eddy joined me down in the basement and I kept him occupied with a bunch of stuffed toys. To keep myself occupied, I tried to watch the Olympics. I had the TV on and also tried to watch the live feed off my phone with the earbuds in, but I am just not an earbud girl so I finally gave up on that and just watched TV. They had volleyball (of course) on NBC, and water polo on MSNBC, so I watched the water polo.
I didn't really pay attention to the game, but there is something about staring at a swimming pool that seems to really help me deal with the treadmill. I might have to get a video of just random people splashing around in a swimming pool, or just an empty swimming pool maybe, to watch.
What I didn't know was that at some point NBC started showing the heats of the men's 5000 meters, so I missed the first one but the second came on just as I was getting off the treadmill and I did get to see that one.
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
Week 4, Day 2
It is getting easier and easier to get out the door for these morning runs pre-coffee. Today I went out about 6:15. It was still dark out. I saw some of the people I now think of as the "regulars" but not all of them. Where was the older couple I usually see coming down the hill in the first mile? On vacation?
Shirtless guy was out there and said hello, twice. Fast guy with glasses was out there.
Coming up Erie past the police station, something growled/barked at me from the woods. Sounded dog-like but it wasn't in somebody's yard so don't think it was a dog. A lost dog wouldn't be growling at me from the woods. Groundhog? Racoon? Whatever, it gave me a jolt of adrenaline, and I moved out into the street.
A young woman was running down the hill towards me and I tried to warn her about it, but she was one of those earbud wearing people with the glazed over eyes and the vacant expression that I will hereafter refer to as a "zombie," so she did not respond or seem to hear me. She probably didn't hear the growling, either.
37:43 for 3.5 miles or a 10:47 pace, right in there for a recovery run.
Shirtless guy was out there and said hello, twice. Fast guy with glasses was out there.
Coming up Erie past the police station, something growled/barked at me from the woods. Sounded dog-like but it wasn't in somebody's yard so don't think it was a dog. A lost dog wouldn't be growling at me from the woods. Groundhog? Racoon? Whatever, it gave me a jolt of adrenaline, and I moved out into the street.
A young woman was running down the hill towards me and I tried to warn her about it, but she was one of those earbud wearing people with the glazed over eyes and the vacant expression that I will hereafter refer to as a "zombie," so she did not respond or seem to hear me. She probably didn't hear the growling, either.
37:43 for 3.5 miles or a 10:47 pace, right in there for a recovery run.
Monday, August 06, 2012
I Had Forgotten How Lovely Ice Baths Feel
It's Week 4, Day 1. Today's workout was the Fartlek intervals again, just like last Monday. It's a lovely day, temperatures cooler and less humid, so I got it done outside. Outside is better because I don't baby myself as much as I do on the treadmill. I do the warmup faster, I get some hill running in, and I run the intervals more on perceived effort than some artificial pace that I set on the treadmill.
I went out around 10:30, following a long dog walk around the park. I decided to do a route that covers the Murray Ave. trail, because that would give me a good stretch to get the intervals in without having to stop for traffic. The workout was supposed to be 10-20 minute warmup followed by 8-10 time 2 min at 5k to 8k pace, with 1 minute recovery jogs, followed by a 10 to 20 minute cooldown.
So I did about 20 minutes of warmup, did the intervals as prescribed except for the recoveries I walked 30 seconds, jogged 30 seconds, and then finished up with a bit over 10 minute cooldown. My total time is a little bit approximate because I forgot to start my watch until I got out to Erie Ave., but it was about 57 minutes and I covered 5.77 miles.
The route was out to Erie, down Erie, around the Broadview loop, back out Erie and across to Murray Ave., out to Settle and back, up Erie, and around the neighborhood.
I felt a little gimpy, especially at the start, probably as a result of the weekend of agility and maybe not getting enough sleep. I'm also a little congested and have a slight headache (maybe a sinus thing, or maybe again, just fatigued). But I didn't have any particular problems during the run.
On the intervals, I switched the Nike pace band over to show pace instead of miles, and I just tried to keep it around 8:30. Of course, I went up and down depending on the hills. The route worked out pretty well, because I got around 6 intervals in on Murray, and then finished the last two on the hill, so the cool down was around the neighborhood. The only times I had to stop for traffic were in the beginning when I crossed Erie at Saybrook and when I crossed over to get to Murray.
When I got home, I fixed my glass of chocolate milk and I was ready to sit down with the bag of frozen peas on my left knee. But then I started thinking about how my hips and my thighs really felt stiff also, and decided to take an ice bath. Haven't done that in awhile. So I dumped all the ice out of the ice maker into the tub and filled it up with cold water and hopped in for ten minutes. I had forgotten how great that can feel after a hard effort.
Right now I am sitting outside on the patio with the dogs, because it really is a very lovely day. My head still hurts a little but overall I feel pretty good.
I went out around 10:30, following a long dog walk around the park. I decided to do a route that covers the Murray Ave. trail, because that would give me a good stretch to get the intervals in without having to stop for traffic. The workout was supposed to be 10-20 minute warmup followed by 8-10 time 2 min at 5k to 8k pace, with 1 minute recovery jogs, followed by a 10 to 20 minute cooldown.
So I did about 20 minutes of warmup, did the intervals as prescribed except for the recoveries I walked 30 seconds, jogged 30 seconds, and then finished up with a bit over 10 minute cooldown. My total time is a little bit approximate because I forgot to start my watch until I got out to Erie Ave., but it was about 57 minutes and I covered 5.77 miles.
The route was out to Erie, down Erie, around the Broadview loop, back out Erie and across to Murray Ave., out to Settle and back, up Erie, and around the neighborhood.
I felt a little gimpy, especially at the start, probably as a result of the weekend of agility and maybe not getting enough sleep. I'm also a little congested and have a slight headache (maybe a sinus thing, or maybe again, just fatigued). But I didn't have any particular problems during the run.
On the intervals, I switched the Nike pace band over to show pace instead of miles, and I just tried to keep it around 8:30. Of course, I went up and down depending on the hills. The route worked out pretty well, because I got around 6 intervals in on Murray, and then finished the last two on the hill, so the cool down was around the neighborhood. The only times I had to stop for traffic were in the beginning when I crossed Erie at Saybrook and when I crossed over to get to Murray.
When I got home, I fixed my glass of chocolate milk and I was ready to sit down with the bag of frozen peas on my left knee. But then I started thinking about how my hips and my thighs really felt stiff also, and decided to take an ice bath. Haven't done that in awhile. So I dumped all the ice out of the ice maker into the tub and filled it up with cold water and hopped in for ten minutes. I had forgotten how great that can feel after a hard effort.
Right now I am sitting outside on the patio with the dogs, because it really is a very lovely day. My head still hurts a little but overall I feel pretty good.
Friday, August 03, 2012
Week 3, Day 5
Scheduled workout: Easy run of 45-60 minutes at 9:39-10:33 pace.
I went out about 10:30 am after the dog walk. It was overcast and not too hot, but humid. Not impossible to run outside and I know that I'll go faster outside than on the treadmill. The treadmill is okay for intervals but it is miserable for the slow, easy runs that are supposed to be pleasant.
After three weeks, I've really figured out that the way to approach this is not to spend a lot of time staring at my watch trying to maintain a particular pace. If it's supposed to be an "easy" run, then the way to do it is just go out and run. Just enjoy the run. Don't try to go slow, don't try to go fast. Easy = fun. And the pace will take care of itself.
I did my "Settle" route which is basically down Erie Ave., out and back on Murray Ave. to Settle, and back up Erie. Covered 4.64 miles in 47:08, which is a 10:09 pace, just about right. I felt great the whole way. It was easy!
I went out about 10:30 am after the dog walk. It was overcast and not too hot, but humid. Not impossible to run outside and I know that I'll go faster outside than on the treadmill. The treadmill is okay for intervals but it is miserable for the slow, easy runs that are supposed to be pleasant.
After three weeks, I've really figured out that the way to approach this is not to spend a lot of time staring at my watch trying to maintain a particular pace. If it's supposed to be an "easy" run, then the way to do it is just go out and run. Just enjoy the run. Don't try to go slow, don't try to go fast. Easy = fun. And the pace will take care of itself.
I did my "Settle" route which is basically down Erie Ave., out and back on Murray Ave. to Settle, and back up Erie. Covered 4.64 miles in 47:08, which is a 10:09 pace, just about right. I felt great the whole way. It was easy!
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Week 3, Day 4
Workout: Recovery Run
I did my Shady Lane route again, covering 3.43 miles in 38:06, or 11:06 pace. A little slower than Tuesday but Tuesday was a little too fast anyway, at least according to the charts.
My body is getting used to running in the morning without caffeine! I did not have any trouble getting out the door this morning. Actually went out a few minutes earlier than usual. Yeah, the first mile was hard but not miserable like a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful morning. I am totally remembering why I used to love running in the morning.
I am seeing some of the same people along the way each morning on these recovery jogs. Guess this is part of their schedule, too.
My quads are a little sore from yesterday but otherwise I did not have any particular pains.
I did my Shady Lane route again, covering 3.43 miles in 38:06, or 11:06 pace. A little slower than Tuesday but Tuesday was a little too fast anyway, at least according to the charts.
My body is getting used to running in the morning without caffeine! I did not have any trouble getting out the door this morning. Actually went out a few minutes earlier than usual. Yeah, the first mile was hard but not miserable like a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful morning. I am totally remembering why I used to love running in the morning.
I am seeing some of the same people along the way each morning on these recovery jogs. Guess this is part of their schedule, too.
My quads are a little sore from yesterday but otherwise I did not have any particular pains.
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Week 3, Day 3
It's long run day. Woo! Workout is 12-14 miles at 9:41 to 10:57 pace.
Tommy is home this week and agrees to walk the dogs so I can run outside in the morning before it gets too hot. I'm up at 6:30 am to make coffee. It takes me until after 7:30 get out the door, by the time I've had a cup of coffee. covered myself in vasoline and sunscreen and used the bathroom four times.
I wear my cute little pink running skirt and the technical top from last year's Kilgour 5k. I have my new Camelbak fanny pack with the big water bottle filled with ice water, and a package of GU Chomps (peach tea flavor) and a Tri-Berry GU.
For my route, I do my traditional neighborhood ten-miler ("3 Loops" is what I call it) with another little bit tacked on the end. Loop 1 is under 5 miles, Loop 2 is a little over 3 miles and Loop 3 is a little under 2 miles. And then the last bit is like 2.5 miles.
Saw Alison Delgado on her way back home in my first half-mile. In her Earth Drummer's singlet, she's hard to miss. There aren't any other people in this neighborhood that run that fast, or at least not any other women.
Lots of people out running this morning. It's a little nicer weather than we've had recently. I don't think I could have done this run outside last week or the week before.
That weird little foot pain from yesterday, I noticed it when I was home and also walking the dogs last night. Had it a little in the beginning of the run but it went away pretty quick. Knee felt okay the whole way.
I felt really good after the first mile. Amazing the difference a cup of coffee makes! Had that happy to be out running feeling. Had a half-package of Chomps at 3 miles. Finished the first loop in 51:01. Stopped in to the UDF to buy a bottle of water. Ordinarily I would just refill at the fountain in Graeter's, which is about a mile away, but I was worried it might not be open yet. Had some confusion about what to buy. Every size bottle they sell (including the gallon jug) is the same price (2 for $2, or 1 for $1.49). I end up with a 32 oz. bottle, which I pour into my water bottle, drink some, and then carry the partially emptied bottle in my hand for another 2 miles. This was dumb. What I should have done was buy the two 16 oz. bottles. Then I would have had a smaller bottle to carry. Next time that's what I'll do.
Have the rest of the Chomps at mile 6. Second loop takes 39:12. Third loop is 17:49. Had the Tri-Berry GU at mile 9. Started to get a little hot towards the end and that last mile was rough but at least it was in the shade. Last segment was 26:39.
So, it was 12.55 miles in 2:14:31, or a 10:43 average pace, which is right in the range. I did not count the time I spent in the UDF and any time I was stopped at a traffic light. But still, it was better than I would have done on the treadmill, where I would have done a really slow first mile and the cooldown at the end.
Iced my knee after even though it didn't really bother me during the run. Better safe than sorry. Really I should probably have taken an ice bath. Maybe next time.
Tommy is home this week and agrees to walk the dogs so I can run outside in the morning before it gets too hot. I'm up at 6:30 am to make coffee. It takes me until after 7:30 get out the door, by the time I've had a cup of coffee. covered myself in vasoline and sunscreen and used the bathroom four times.
I wear my cute little pink running skirt and the technical top from last year's Kilgour 5k. I have my new Camelbak fanny pack with the big water bottle filled with ice water, and a package of GU Chomps (peach tea flavor) and a Tri-Berry GU.
For my route, I do my traditional neighborhood ten-miler ("3 Loops" is what I call it) with another little bit tacked on the end. Loop 1 is under 5 miles, Loop 2 is a little over 3 miles and Loop 3 is a little under 2 miles. And then the last bit is like 2.5 miles.
Saw Alison Delgado on her way back home in my first half-mile. In her Earth Drummer's singlet, she's hard to miss. There aren't any other people in this neighborhood that run that fast, or at least not any other women.
Lots of people out running this morning. It's a little nicer weather than we've had recently. I don't think I could have done this run outside last week or the week before.
That weird little foot pain from yesterday, I noticed it when I was home and also walking the dogs last night. Had it a little in the beginning of the run but it went away pretty quick. Knee felt okay the whole way.
I felt really good after the first mile. Amazing the difference a cup of coffee makes! Had that happy to be out running feeling. Had a half-package of Chomps at 3 miles. Finished the first loop in 51:01. Stopped in to the UDF to buy a bottle of water. Ordinarily I would just refill at the fountain in Graeter's, which is about a mile away, but I was worried it might not be open yet. Had some confusion about what to buy. Every size bottle they sell (including the gallon jug) is the same price (2 for $2, or 1 for $1.49). I end up with a 32 oz. bottle, which I pour into my water bottle, drink some, and then carry the partially emptied bottle in my hand for another 2 miles. This was dumb. What I should have done was buy the two 16 oz. bottles. Then I would have had a smaller bottle to carry. Next time that's what I'll do.
Have the rest of the Chomps at mile 6. Second loop takes 39:12. Third loop is 17:49. Had the Tri-Berry GU at mile 9. Started to get a little hot towards the end and that last mile was rough but at least it was in the shade. Last segment was 26:39.
So, it was 12.55 miles in 2:14:31, or a 10:43 average pace, which is right in the range. I did not count the time I spent in the UDF and any time I was stopped at a traffic light. But still, it was better than I would have done on the treadmill, where I would have done a really slow first mile and the cooldown at the end.
Iced my knee after even though it didn't really bother me during the run. Better safe than sorry. Really I should probably have taken an ice bath. Maybe next time.
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