A crappy end to a crappy year

Mind you, 2008 did have its high point--my husband, dog, and I had a fabulous road trip in Feb-March...but even that was tarnished by the looming deployment, and it didn't quite make up for spending pretty much 3/4 of the year apart from the man I love.

Still, I got some stuff done, got my career change/re-education started, at least, and I got my eyes fixed. No more legal blindness! And I got to see a whole lot more of my family, and I joined a great running club, and had a few really good races, the Hypothermic 1/2, the Hintonburg 5K and the Army Run, and then also a few 'learning experiences'. This whole year has been a pretty good learning experience altogether. But there's no denying that it took a big chunk out of me.

Which is why I'm at home typing (and blowing my nose) while the Resolution Run is going on. I'd planned to go--I'd also planned to nap after work, but instead finished a bio assignment which was pretty exciting...and then my throat got sore, I got lethargic and sniffly, and, around 5:30, I crashed. Woke up around 6:05. I wanted to go running, wanted to see my friends, but I've just recovered from my inflammatory fever, and so, no.

Which leads me to new years resolution #1--don't cut things so damned close! I've had so many short nights of sleep, it isn't funny. Yeah, the first 1/2 of the deployment does inspire casting oneself in the crucible, and I got through that, and then that darned fever came on and now I'm cleansed. or something. I can relax a bit more now. Stay tuned for work developments...reducing the split shift, at least, hopefully. This is the third time I've had a split shift--seems like I'm good for about six months and then that's it.

Meanwhile, resolution #2....tighten up the schedule! meaning, get back on the morning routine, observe the netfew, plus no caffeine at my evening job AND no snacking afterwards! Is it any wonder that I've been up until 2 or 3 these past few nights? LOL

resolution #3.....enjoy running and races more! Less pressure about pace. Who the heck cares except for me? LOL. Dare I leave my watch behind at races and immerse myself totally in the experience, not numbers? I'm seriously considering this. It'll be kind of weird, but the Hypo Half is coming up so I can give it a good try then, if I dare.

resolution #4....go to the doctor! geez, I feel guilty about using resources seeing as I'm still more active than most people, but knowing all these old people who get a medivac and hospital stay just for UTIs has kind of made me realise that, shoot, what are my few tests but a drop in the bucket? LOL.

So, there it is. Hopefully 2009 will be better. 2008 will end with some Chinese food with my parents and maybe The Spirit of the Marathon (part of my husband's Christmas gift to me :)

recovering?

yeah, still, but there's less and less to recover from. :)
I jogged to my morning job, and will likely jog to and from my evening one, so a total of 3.5 miles again today. Bullcrap short runs, but probably the best thing for me at this point. I didn't use the machine today--I was busy between jobs with a course project/experiment that didn't work out, so I'll have to repeat it. Bummer!
Pushups today too, but no morning routine. Not enough time...I didn't get enough sleep as it was. Oh, well, I have five easy days ahead of me to recover somewhat, plus I don't have to work at all this weekend. nice!

still recovering...

I'm still stiff, but at least there's much less pain, and I seem to be running fine.
I ran 2 miles and might run more to/from work, will see. The sidewalks are still pretty bad in parts, so I'm not going to count on a steady jog, but it might be a case of walking on the slippery bits and jogging on the clear to make up time. lol

Anyway, my 2 miles (sort of) were on the WalkFit machine---I remembered the name this time. It was pretty much the same workout, effort, and feeling as yesterday. An added element was having the dog there this time...we managed to share the belt for about ten seconds. It's a little too narrow. LOL

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to add the run to my morning routine (I just did yoga and pushups...until it gets lighter earlier, I don't think I'll be able to do it. After my morning shift was ok, but that's usually dog-exercising time. We'll see if I manage to toughen up. Meanwhile, I'm going to attempt my resistance exercises. It's been a week since I've done them last, but things feel a lot better now, and even getting into and out of lunges is fine. I still can't touch my toes, though.

still recovering...but....

I actually ran today, sort of! 2 miles, sort of.

See, there's one of those NordikWalk machines or whatever here. It's a user-propelled treadmill for walking--it also has things you move with your arms. Definitely not something which seemed useful for running.

However, over the past week
-I've been recovering from LAT and general stiffness,
-I've been eating like I'm going into hibernation soon,
-the weather outside has been definitely non-pedestrian friendly--not just ice, not just slick ice, but slick ice with a layer of water over it. I will run over/through most things, but this is one that I won't (the others being hot coals, radioactive/chemical waste (although, I had to shelve this rule while on APG, lol) and raw sewage,
-the dog has been getting a little hefty.

Me too, but it was easier to criticize the dog. So, we've been playing more in the backyard, and then I thought, hey, wouldn't it be cool if he could use the NordikWalk? We've sort of hit a snag, in that it's designed to be human-propelled and not dog-propelled, but I might increase the incline and see if that helps him gain the necessary traction. Meanwhile, with time and patience and peanut butter, I've got him walking/trotting on it while I move the belt along with one of my limbs.

This got me thinking...well, my LAT is finally subsiding and I really want to increase blood flow to the area and burn a few Cs while at it, without breaking my neck outside. I googled 'running on manual/user-propelled treadmill', and got very little info, and almost all of it negative. If there's someone who's happily running on such a treadmill, they're not writing about it...except for me.

Yeah, it was a really good experience. Maybe I'm so cagey now that anything's better than nothing, but with some adjustments, I got it working. It's near-impossible to use without contact with the arm-thingies: the belt stops unless one digs in really deep or lengthens contact time with the belt, neither of which seem beneficial. I hung on the arm things for a while and it was easy as long as I didn't try to move them. I tried moving them, and maybe this might work with less resistance, but my cadence was still too fast. To get a good swing in, I had to slow things down too much. At any rate, hanging onto the arm things still wasn't good for my gait: my aborted arm-swing was translating into unnecessary movement in my shoulders and torso. I adjusted the arm-things (what are those things called?) so that I could swing my arms normally and still punch/tap the arm things with every arm swing. This momentary contact was enough. It required concentration, but it also allowed--and even encouraged, I think--good form.

It was definitely different than running normally or even on a normal treadmill, least of all because the incline was considerably steeper (and I might jack it up a little more), but it's not too far off from barefoot running. I was in my socks, which helped make it more comfortable. Maybe in time my feet will toughen up to go completely barefoot, but just socks is still nicer than shoes.

So I'm pretty stoked! I did only about 20 min (3X 4:1, and then the last running interval 6 min), which I'll say is about two miles. I played a CD of sounds of the rainforest and watched some birds outside, both of which adequately distracted me from the stuck-indoors-on-the-treadmill aspect. And I LOVE running without shoes. I don't get to do this often enough. And I love that the thing doesn't use electricity and that it's so convenient--I can toss on a few things and go for a quick jog. When I run outside, it's a bigger production, so it involves at least ten extra minutes for a not-very satisfying run, not including a few minutes eaten up at traffic lights. I live only about a mile from good bike paths, which is pretty decent, but not practical for shorter recovery jogs. Outside, my 20 minute jog probably takes up 30-40 minutes total. Inside, maybe my 20 minute jog takes up 22 minutes or so. (neither including shower!) Not to mention that the laundry generated inside is pretty slim, short-shorts and a tank top and bra.

This has opened up a couple of possibilities:

1. I can go for a short jog every morning, as part of my routine, before leaving the house. This won't make up for a longer run later on, but it's a good way to rev things up and justify the morning shower.

2. I can do shorter recovery runs if I need them. Since I've come here, my recovery runs have lengthened, mainly because it takes me that mile to get past all the traffic lights, and then once I'm on a good path, I don't want to leave it right away. So, instead of 2-4 miles, my recovery runs have been in the 5-8 mile range. I didn't notice any strain from this, but maybe it still affected my other workouts, and maybe, some days, I really need only 2 miles or whatever, or maybe 2 miles twice a day instead of a 4 mile run...this way, I can do that.

3. Maybe I can build my own NordikWalk! How cool would that be? LOL Or, at least, hook it up to a generator...oh, the possibilities....

Meanwhile, I'm going to stick to 20ish minutes on this thing, and 4:1 (mostly) for this week. Ease into it gently. I don't need any more LAT or whatever!

edit: I also did my morning routine (yoga--just 10 sun salutations) and then 3 rounds of pushups.
edit edit: this thing looks pretty much like what I used, the Nordic Whatever device with the arm thingies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruibe0H0rys (same link as in comments)

still recovering...

I did yoga today, and some pushups...easing back into it. I'll walk some more, too, and I have work this evening. That should loosen me up a bit. No thoughts of running, yet, though, and it's still icy out.

I think I feel better than yesterday, but I'm still stiff.

Still recovering

In the interests of humour, I've decided that I'm suffering from lower-ass trauma, or LAT. It's a bit lower anatomically, but, hey! It's mostly a hamstring pull--on both sides, but I'm still stiff in other places, so it's more than a hamstring pull. I'm not really sure. And it's curious that the damage seems to be mostly in my hamstrings. Other parts were hurting a lot more during the class. One of my hamstrings got a little sore at the end of my run after my yoga class, and so I stopped running and I was fine. Perhaps the class relaxed them too much to withstand the forces of running, and maybe the ordeal of the class--it was pretty transcending--somewhat numbed me to what was going on in my body afterwards. I didn't run right after, but I definitely still felt relaxed when I did set out. And, honestly, it was a slow and stiff run from the get go, but I didn't think anything of it because I've done tons of easy recovery runs in that condition. However, there might have been a subtle difference...when I'm battling illness, even when it's not yet apparent, runs feel ever so slightly duller and heavier...I'm not bring fresh blood to sore/repairing muscles so much as not activating so many muscles to begin with. My body is cocooning. It's hard to explain, and it's a slight difference, but definite. If I do the 'sick' recovery run, I usually feel just as crappy as the day after, as opposed to the 'sore' recovery run, which almost always paves the way to a successful harder workout the day after. Perhaps I failed to recognize the 'sick' recovery run for what it was, and so I went longer than I would, 5.5 miles or whatever instead of 2 or 3. And, thus, LAT!

Anyway, I'm still not running, but I'm eating and resting lots, though! And walking is easier.

Unfortunately, I'm not sleeping as much as I should. I'm not getting tired enough. I feel better, but I think that if I could sleep more, my recovery would be quicker. So it's frustrating.

At any rate, I'm enjoying my last day off.

:)

I'm a bit better today. I don't have a fever anymore, and I'm less stiff. My hamstrings still hurt, though, but I'm walking better, at least. I'm trying to not walk much, just stretch and relax, but I did take the dog for a walk this morning and it was ok, just slow. It was better than yesterday because nobody stopped and stepped aside for me--I must have looked in pretty rough shape yesterday because people were being really polite. LOL

I really wanted to run today because the conditions were so good, but I really need to take it easy. I had a couple of issues with my hamstrings in the past--like any other sort of injury, it's the sort of thing that you can't push. However, some exercise is good, to increase blood flow around that darned connective tissue, as long as it's easy. Easy right now means a 15-20 minute slow walk or thereabouts; with time, 'easy' will encompass running too. I just have to be careful. And if this means that I won't run again until 2009, so be it. It was still a good year.

At any rate: Merry Christmas!!!

:(...more of the same

I didn't get much sleep, about 4hrs again--took me a while to drop off after a busy evening shift, and then I got woken up earlier than early because of an emergency at my morning job. I'm pretty ripped to shreds--i can't even touch my toes! lol. So there was more squatting and less bending over at my evening job, which is supposedly better anyway, and fortunately there seemed to be less lifting and carrying than normal. Still a busy shift, though. It's pretty hard to walk today because i'm still stiff all over, but more of the pain/tightness seems to be around my hamstrings. I'm continuing to stretch and massage those--gently!--as well as my quads. Laughing baby pose, as sickeningly 'precious' as that sounds, feels really good.

Fortunately, I don't have to work anywhere again until Saturday, so I'll be sleeping lots. :) :) :) If that isn't enough, then I'll go to the clinic. I have a slight fever, but this sort of thing has happened before, including during my husband's last deployment: sleep debt + infection = fever/stiffness/wide-scale inflammation. Six months in instead of seven, and nowhere as much dough to show for the long hours, but I haven't gotten to the falling asleep while standing and/or talking stage, and I have just a sore throat, no tonsil or sinus infection. so it's an improvement over last time. Just have to rest and eat anti-oxidants or whatever. Fresh fruit, mostly, but I actually tried Vega today, the 'Natural' flavour. Um...the thing is, as much as I love eating seaweed (really!) anything in liquid form that remotely reminds me of it makes me gag. I got most of it down, though, and will try one of the non-'Natural' flavours next time.

At least I almost made it through 2008 without getting injured! No big deal if I don't run again this year, which might happen. I doubt I'll be taking a stab at BQing in the spring. I have a full marathon in February, but without any time goals and my fitness from the fall will go a long way in preparing for that--I'll probably just do one 30+K run sometime in late January or early February. And, if my schedule permits, I'd like to do the Ottawa full or 1/2 marathon. And I would like to maintain a good weekly mileage, whatever that means. I'll see what I can handle. And I want to be more regular with cross-training. I'll be refining my goals for 2009 over the next week.

:(

I didn't sleep well so I'm in more pain today. Working tonight is going to be interesting. At any rate, I will likely travel 4ish miles today...alternating very slow jogging and walking to/from work this morning seemed to help things loosen up. Everything's stiff and my hamstrings especially, leg-wise. My upper body is pretty much trashed too. I'll see how I feel over the next few days.

I got a protein shake and some citrus fruit, too, and I'll have a looong nap soon. Hopefully all this will help me shake this. I haven't been drinking milk but I'm beginning to think that it really helps with recovery.

Snow and pain

I didn't run today. I didn't even get outside much. I wanted to try running in the snow, but I'm really stiff, and I have a heavy work day tomorrow. I decided instead to stay in and knock out my last Anatomy assignment. I stretched too, and will do so again. Hopefully I will be in better form tomorrow and this stiffness won't linger too long...seems like I've just gotten rid of the last bout of lingering stiffness I had.

However, I'm still happy I went through the Solstice mala because it was groovy and it's added incentive to maintain a regular (non-yin) yoga practice and core exercises: I would like to do an Equinox mala in March, but would rather not feel afterwards as though I was hit by a truck, as I do today. This is worse than after the marathon, though I can walk better.

Solstice

I guess technically the solstice is tomorrow, but I want to push that thing aside now.

It's been a struggle getting to it. I'm not a fan of long cold dark nights to begin with, but this turnaround back to the light has been extra-significant this year. My blog title is no longer accurate. It's not even 2XX days to go, but something close to 182.5ish, give or take a week: in other words, HALFWAY. Halfway through this deployment. The 3 months or whatever of training my husband went through before the deployment doesn't count. Still, he has been away for 9 months already, which has made the first six months of the actual deployment seem extra long. But they're behind us now and I can rest a little more. I feel a lot lighter.

I've been keeping myself busy in my husband's absence, and certainly I'm not one to hinge everything onto a husband (much as the army would like me too, lol) but being with him does enrich my life and we have a lot of fun doing various things together. To have him suddenly gone for over a year was hard to handle, so I had to break it down a bit. Hence the significance of this solstice, which was so conveniently placed.

It's strange that something as insignificant as a date (which isn't all too accurate anyway) can nevertheless bring such hope. It's like the middle of a race, sometimes, one which isn't going very well. Struggling to get to the halfway point dredges up all sorts of negative thoughts. If it's this hard already, what's it going to feel like during the 2nd half? And then, an inauspicious turn around, a pylon, or timing mat, or even just a blip on a Garmin, and suddenly everything changes for the better. The brain realizes that the majority of the challenge is gone, and so it eases its iron grip on the body's reserves, and a cloud is lifted.

Then the hurt and all comes flooding back...BUT it's still ever so slightly better.

Which is where I am now. It helped that it was sunny today. Cold as heck, but sunny. I slept in and enjoyed waking up to a room bathed in light. I dithered for a bit over the yoga class, and then decided to just go for it. I can do 5 sun salutations, what's another 103? So, a few sips of pop and some almonds (I failed breakfast today), and I was off to yoga. I had run out of classes, and I was going to buy 5 more, but I'm kind of low on funds already, so I bought one class, ripped off my outer clothes in the change room, and entered the class as that last person who doesn't quite fit so others gracefully make room while wondering why it is that they always have to do so, despite being more conscientious about getting there with plenty of time to spare. LOL

I was that last person to enter the class--apologetically--but there was room, and we got to it. It was really a fun class. Tough in many ways, and it was appalling how I couldn't keep count. We did the sun salutations in sets of 20, which seemed bad enough, but the breathing and concentration helped. But it seemed that I'd already done heaps, and then I'd hear that we had done almost ten in that set. Somehow, in my mind, I'd already be up to surely 14 or whatever. So I had to chuck negative thoughts aside and crank out the rest. I did the first two sets pretty strongly, and then my knees started dropping in the last bit of the third set. The fourth set was surprisingly strong to start, and then I had to resort to knees for the last half. The fifth set was a blur, and then, for the last eight, I did my best to hold myself up, no knees, and I closed my eyes. Those last eight salutations went by quickly. I got into a zone, a surprisingly joyous zone...it was a big sense of accomplishment.

It was very relaxing afterwards. I couldn't believe how much I'd sweated...the room was pretty packed, though, and it was certainly the most rigorous yoga class I've been to in a long while. It's been eons since I've been to anything but a yin class, and, gosh, I kind of miss the other poses now, even though I've been getting back into them on my own. So maybe I'll use some of my free classes for non-yin classes. Yes, there were door prizes and I won 5 free classes! that's a good omen. :)

It was still too cold for the dog, so I walked home, ate lunch, and then went for a run on my own. My body didn't feel too bad then, but I was definitely somewhat trashed....it was a very slow run. Things weren't sore, just not moving at the usual speed. I took it easy and coasted around for 5.57 miles.

Now I'm pretty sore, mainly in my arms and, strangely, hamstrings. They started hurting during the end of the run, so I cut it short and abandoned my mileage goal for the week: over 40 miles. I did do some exercises targeting them yesterday, so maybe they're still recovering from that. At any rate, I'm really tired. But happy.

The best part of this is that, while there's six months remaining of the deployment, it'll be broken up by a two week visit :) Yes, my husband still hasn't taken R&R. That's something to look forward to, and only a few months away! Work and school will keep me busy until then.

Somehow, Christmas has totally been off my radar this year, but that's a good way to kill another week or so.

Friday...busting the netfew once again

I'm slogging through an assignment. I care ever so deeply about substrate-level phosphorylation so it's a good mental test/struggle to tear myself away from that. lol

I didn't do much on Thursday except about a mile of jogging around, and pushups, and my morning routine (5 whole sun salutations and the deep breathing, lol)and a yoga class. Yin yoga, of course. one of these days, I should really go to a regular class. It's been eons since I've done one of the Warrior poses. Anyway, Thursday was pretty much a wash as far as running was concerned because I was low on sleep and stiff.

Today was better. I ran almost 6.5 miles today, one commuting, and then 5.5ish to/at/from run club. Two people count as a club, right? Attendance was a little low, lol. It was one of those bragging-rights runs. Not as much snow as expected, but what was falling was concentrated into little ice needles or something, and they weren't falling so much as flung with deadly force. Not that there was much exposed skin, not with the windchill close to -30. However, my eyes were vulnerable and there were a few times I felt close to tears. And then my lashes started sticking together and it got better.

The groovy thing about such runs in such temps is the increased insulation...it kind of makes me feel like I'm not really there, with such a big buffer. It was a little surreal at times. I was floating again...no, really running, but I wasn't connected.

My scarf started freezing into the shape of my face, but otherwise I overdressed somewhat. I think my windbreaker started collecting ice on the inside....at any rate, it's beginning to smell like old hockey equipment, so I'd best wash it.

Well, back to α-ketoglutarate & Co., especially if I want to do what I hope to do tomorrow: run and maybe go to this crazy two-hour yoga class: 108 sun salutations. It'll be a bit of a stretch, as I've been doing only 5 in the morning. Apparently, 108 is traditional for the Solstice. It's supposed to be cleansing. It's intriguing, at any rate.

run club!

Today was a good running day. I jogged nearly 2 miles to work and errands, and then run club was 5.63 miles plus getting there and back, so about 9.57 miles altogether. Not bad for 4ish hrs of sleep and feeling like utter crud when getting up.

My calves were good...the snow has made them complain a bit, but they're certainly not as trashed as they were last week or so. They're adjusting well, I think, to the change of footplant or whatever it is that's going on with the snow. I think it's a good change, to work different muscles.

And the temps were lovely for a run.

The dog got his outing after I came back, a walk and then a romp around a field. Well, he was more interested in sniffing than sprinting around this time. Another dog showed up and it looked like they were going to have some good play time, but it wouldn't get off my dog and there was some growling, too....it sounded like play growling, which my dog does sometimes when he's playing with certain dogs, but he wasn't in the mood tonight...not sure which dog it came from, anyway. He stuck by me instead of tearing around with the other dog, which is his cue to leave. The owner was kind of anxious to get his dog away as well. Hey, who's jumping on who? Quit judging my dog. LOL

When I got home, I did core exercises. No pushups today for some reason--must get back to them, but the morning routine did happen, miraculously.

tuesday

Today, about 3 miles around, to/from work, etc...
And I am exhausted, yet revved up. Not in a good way. I spoke up at one job, about changes that need to be made, and it's happening but for the time being I have more work still. The other job is, I'm afraid, a lost cause. Time to get more irons in the fire. LOL

At any rate, I didn't run around after the 2nd job...I even accepted a lift home (hangs head in shame--I was pooped). I didn't even do pushups today, just the morning routine.

Tomorrow will be better. Run club, and I should run with the dog beforehand. Will see what the weather dictates.

engulfed by the evening shift

In a good way...it's really my best sort of schedule. I guess I'm not a morning person. Left to my own devices, I go to sleep around 2-3 and wake up around 9-10.
Anyway, I did my pushups and core exercises, and ran to and from my 2nd job. Way too slippy to run to my first, but that stuff eventually melted. It was pretty mild today, about +8 when I was running to work. And mucky! By the time I got out at night, though, the sidewalks were pretty much bare, with ribbons of thin ice, but very little slush or snow or anything else. Just bare concrete and smooth ice. And almost no traffic.

It's been pretty miserable since the strike with all these extra cars and extra-frustrated motorists jamming up MY neighbourhood, even the little B-list streets--I've felt caged. To have the asphalt empty was a real treat. I love running on downtown streets with buildings around me...I'm not a fan of traffic lights, but neither am I particularly fond of paths along rivers and canals. I'm grateful that they're there, and I use them a lot, and I would miss them, but the scenery and so forth is largely wasted on me. Take the Philadelphia marathon--my favourite parts are the first bit through downtown and then Manayunk; the park and stretch by the river do not inspire me. I like nature more when it's a little more well-rounded, like dirt/mud trails and decaying deer carcasses and multi-species scat and so forth, like where I ran in Maryland. That was interesting. The Canal, not so much. But stores and houses, which I can peer into, or dumpsters, or just a lot of different little nearby things that go by quickly, that's entertaining.

The temps were cooler tonight, but not enough to make the gusty wind miserable. In fact, that wind seemed mostly behind me; it was invigorating and kept my gait light. I was airborne. It was really refreshing to have all this space around me. I used to spend a lot of time outdoors after dark, just walking or running around, wherever I lived, here, Montreal, Halifax, NB, Seoul, wherever....well, the States kind of broke that habit. Meth and guns. lol. Altough, the two times we lived on post were better. Anyway, I used to clear my head quite regularly in the night expanse, but it's been a while. I felt so happy to be running tonight that I grabbed the dog and we did a few more miles for fun. I hope conditions will be as good tomorrow night. It's been a while since I've actually craved a run this much, which is really sad.

It made me realise that I wanted to qualify for Boston for the wrong reasons. Why do I have to prove myself? I think I had this idea that serious runners qualify for Boston and I felt that I had to justify all the running this way too. Do I really want to be a serious runner?

snow

And sleep--I slept for about ten hours straight!
My stiffness is going away, thank goodness, but my abdominal region is still sore. I broke down and had some milk in my tea today. No ill effects. Milk will likely trickle back into my diet. lol

Anyway, I did my morning routine (sans Qigong...will have to brush up on that) and I've done my pushups. I'm getting better at remembering to do them...it was suggested to do them every time I went to a certain spot, but that wasn't clicking. So, I just do them whenever I remember, wherever I am. And I jogged 7.5 miles...the first mile was with the dog but he was getting kind of fussy with his paws (he won't wear booties) so I dropped him off and continued. There was an inch or two of snow on the sidewalks, but it was ok. My legs were still tired from yesterday's 5K race, and my calves are still a bit sore, but things seem to be recovering nicely. I had a good run. Maybe part of the cause of the stiffness was not running enough. My body got used to and then needed that level of activity. At any rate, I must get enough sleep these next two days--I'll have both jobs.

This week will be the darkest one and then the light will be at the end of the tunnel, in more than one way :)

Girding up for battle

I've run about 5.32 miles so far today, to a fun 5K prediction run, the 5K run, and then home. It was pretty interesting running a 5K in -19C. Plus, my calves are still a little sore (but definitely better) and I'm having GI issues majorly. The dull roar of the past month seems to be getting worse (this morning was awful and I'm still sore) so I am considering seeing my doctor. The thing is, I haven't seen her in a while because I've been away, and my doctor in the States wasn't really willing to consider a holistic approach to whatever it is that's my problem, be it dietary changes or meditation, or whatever. I'm kind of pessimistic about it. The medication I was on for a year helped, but after a while it was losing its effect. I don't want to be on something that I become dependent on; I'd rather make changes to my life. At the same time, though I know what my trigger foods are, roughly, and what I should avoid, there might be something innocuous that I'm nevertheless allergic to, and it would help greatly to sort that out.

I gave up dairy about a week ago, just to see if that would help matters, but they're worse. So lactose intolerance isn't my big problem. I don't even know if I'm lactose tolerant...both my sibs are, but I usually drink a lot of milk. And there have been times where I stayed off of dairy (particularly in Asia) and still had issues. I'll stay off it for a few more days to be sure, though.

And after going through my anatomy test on the digestive system, I realized that I wasn't chewing my food as much as I should--turns out that chewing releases an enzyme which helps digest carbs, and this happens in the mouth--so I'm trying to be more conscious of that and less in a hurry.

And maybe I need to get back into Qigong, or at least do the movements having to do with the digestive region. Won't be hard to add that to the morning routine.

And STRESS...well, there's only so much I can do, but I'm working on it.

So, anyway, I ran the 5K in 23:33, which is about a minute and a half slower than it should be for me, but better than I thought I'd manage today. I also did core exercises and 2 sets of pushups so far.

edit: 8.48 miles total today and 6 sets of pushups....yes, I've busted my net curfew (netfew?) once again.

Getting crazy

First of all, the dog and I need to put our heads together and find that nonexistent happy medium between his no-booties stance with his no-running-in-slush stance....can't have both in this weather!

I haven't been running as long as I usually do because he's good for only 4-5 miles, which is FINE. I just have to be more strict with myself and accept that we have fewer options and I might have to run the same way every day, or nearly. I'm thinking that we'll do loops around a nearby park, and then I return home and keep going on my own. That will cut down on the traffic lights, rather than running the mile to the Canal and then having to return home soon after. Or I get snowshoes and tire him out by the river. that's a possibility too.

At any rate, I haven't done my core exercises yet, but morning routine and pushups are in so far. and running, 4.5ish miles.

And I'm going NUTS! I really am getting seriously scrambled. I was kind of hoping that this wouldn't happen again, but at least I've been through this before and it's not stressing me out as much, though I'm still doing the same crap as before, not eating or sleeping enough, spending way too much time checking, rechecking email:

The 1/2 way point of my husband's deployment is nearly here, give or take a week or so. I don't know the exact date, but that doesn't stop what I'm going through again: for some reason, time really starts to drag a few weeks before this 1/2 way point. I'm not sure why! It's not as bad as when time drags the couple of days before he's due home, but it's more annoying in a way because I endure all this angst for nothing tangible. I'm off my nut but, yay, the day will come and, oh, it'll still be at least three more months before I see him.

So I really really really need to run all this off, but I need to exercise the dog too and he bails after a few lousy miles, and of course, when I'm at home dropping him off, I need to check my email, and then, geez, I might as well shower and get on with the rest of the day.

So, new net rules to save my sanity: no checking after 9:00pm. That's right! no checking before the morning shift, nor no more than five minutes between the morning shift and exercise. That's it so far...

Slacking off

Sort of....I'm still freaking stiff! I'm not sure why. granted, I haven't been to a formal yoga class for a few weeks now....ohhhhh. But I have been stretching at home, and am getting better about the morning routine and getting enough sleep, so I'll keep things going a bit longer and see. And maybe try to get back to a class, too.

It didn't help that this morning I woke up with a pretty fierce knot just under my left shoulder blade. I'm falling apart! lol

So, yoga, walking, pushups today. no running.

I am toying with the idea of throwing a few crunches in, probably in the morning....I know that I'm doing core exercises, but I guess I somehow feel that I should be doing the various crunches too, and every day. At any rate, the push ups are getting a little easier. I don't do many at a time, just often--3+ times a day. today has been 5 so far. I'm also doing a different sort than I've done in the past: elbows in instead of out. This is considerably harder for me--my base level (without any recent training) of the old sort is about 25-30 until I start getting shaky, lol, but with this other type, I'm lucky to get 5 in. LOL. However, I was told that if I ever want to do a one-armed or a Chinese pushup (which I can't describe except that it looks really cool), then this is the sort to practice.

Oh, and running....my calves are still a little sore. I've been stretching them regularly, as well as stretching the other stuff on the opposite side of the line, esp quads. My quads are usually tight.

Busted! I broke my no net after ten rule again! it's after ten? geez!

ok, before I be good and ditch this for a few yin yoga poses and my bio textbook, I have a confession to make. It's kind of gross, I think. My sore calves are just an excuse. Running actually gets them to loosen up. But why am I not running as much? nothing to do with recovery....in my defense, those 100+K weeks amounted to a LOT of showering. usually, 2X a day. I'm enjoying not having to shower quite that much. Will leave it at that.

run club

Well, I was late out of the gate for run club....actually, I was late all day. My watch is starting to run low on battery life, and the first thing that goes seems to be the volume on the alarm. So one thing led to another, and eventually I was half-in my running tights and looking at my watch ("hmm, can I get to run club in like 2.5 minutes?") and then at my dog (guilt, massive guilt, allegations of neglect, "and are you going to replace me with a Christmas puppy while you're at it?")

Usually I run with him in the morning and do run club in the evening, but I'm, uh, base building these days, or recovering, or whatever happens between training cycles. Slacking off, pretty much.

So I grabbed him and we jogged around for nearly 5 miles.

I also did my core exercises and pushups, but the morning routine went out the window when I woke up about 11 minutes before I was supposed to leave for work. LOL

commuting

So, I wasn't going to run today, but the heavens opened and spewed all this snow, and who can walk in that? Can't trust the buses either. And I have no car. I jogged, probably about 4-5 miles altogether.

My calves were a bit sore still when I got up, but the funny thing is, it's still way more comfortable to run mostly on my toes and that makes my calves feel BETTER, even afterwards. So I'll just roll with that.

I jogged, as usual, to my morning job, and by the time it got to my afternoon/evening job, the snow was quite thick. I've jogged there a few times in my scrubs, but that wouldn't have worked (although, I jogged home with them and they didn't get too wet....). I wore running clothes and carried the scrubs and a spare pair of shoes.

The endorphins were great! I was totally off my mind for a bit there, like I was all revved up and everyone else was moving so slowly. It was a really good start to the shift, and a good thing I had all that excess energy because I needed it. Pretty trippy with all the Brownies and old folks--the Brownies were there to give a concert and there were about 40 million of them. Fun but very busy evening.

And then I jogged home because the bus schedule has been changed...and they'll likely go on strike, anyway, so running made more sense although i was momentarily peeved about that. After a few minutes, though, I was happy. Happy enough to grab the dog when I got home and run a bit more with him. At one point we were tearing around a playing field and he was jumping up to shoulder height around me (not on--he knows better!)....he loved it. There was nobody out around midnight or whenever it was, and the field had all this fresh unbroken crunchy ankle-deep snow. It probably now looks like a pack of dogs had ripped through there.

at any rate, sometimes I really like running at night!

Unfortunately, I broke that no-net-past-ten rule, so will pay for it tomorrow. Meanwhile, x-training...morning routine, check, pushups, check. Core exercises tomorrow.

x-training!

Or, in other words, no running. not even to work! My calves are a bit sore from yesterday (which is what I'd expected) and I had errands to walk, lol, and it's too cold for the dog and I've been finishing my chem assignment, and I'm not training, just maintaining, or whatever. See, no reason to go for a run!

However, I did the morning routine and the pushups and the first round of core exercises, to be repeated on Wednesday and Friday (I think....will see how that goes...). I hope to do yoga tonight. Just one more gnarly problem to hash through, and I'll be good.

I probably won't run tomorrow, either...will be very busy with both jobs and errands in between. Will try to stick to the routine, though!

It's winter!

I have been a slug, though a swamped one...and since it still hasn't been too long since I ran that marathon, I haven't felt especially pressured to run. missing a day or two, no big deal. This will go on probably for the rest of December, and then things will get more strict.

At any rate, I worked late last night, and slept in this morning. Run club, wasn't going to happen. So I did homework instead and figured I'd head out once it warmed up.

Well, it didn't! I was a bit shocked at how much the temps had dropped.

But it was nice...the wind was too much, but the air was crisp and clear and the crunch-crunch of the snow beneath my shoes was satisfying. The footing was good (thanks to my new trail shoes!) and the path/scenery white and clean and thinly-populated. I usually find winter running enjoyable, and today was a reminder of how I missed it. Hopefully, I will manage to ride the good vibe for a few months at least, and not get sick of winter prematurely.

I ran about 7.36 miles in something...I think just over an hour. I have toyed with the idea of going by time and not by distance--would save time clicking on runningmap.com--but I like miles too much and don't want to give minutes up at traffic lights. Wearing my Garmin would simplify matters even more, but some of the mystique would be lost.

I wore three long-sleeved shirts, one of which was hooded, a hat, thin pants, and mitts...the pants were too thin. I felt fine during the run but the skin on my legs was tingly/itchy afterwards and very red. The funny thing was, I was scratching it at one point in the shower and then looked down and saw really deep red/maroon marks. OMG! well, then I realized that that was my birthmark, which has long been white, but occasionally turns red, but the scratching had aggravated it to purple. never saw that before. Then again, I keep forgetting that I have a birthmark at all--the sight of it keeps catching me off-guard--so who knows what it does on its free time?

Apart from the thinness of my pants, I felt a bit overdressed during the run, except for my face---must consider some sort of scarf next time--and I was fine walking one block back to my house at the end, to let things loosened up, and I was fine inside. I ate something before going into the shower....and then it struck me. I usually sweat like a pig during exercise--even today--and then get chilled afterwards. Even in summer! More blood goes to whatever's moving, while in other parts it gets stagnant and thus chilled, and then when THAT blood starts to circulate more and hits my core, I quickly get cold. I forget the fancy medical term for this. Anyway, I got the shower nice and hot, got in, and after a few minutes, it suddenly wasn't hot anymore. I couldn't crank up the heat enough and I was starting to feel sort of weird. So I dried off and got under the covers, got my dog to lie on top of me, and I warmed up. Next time, I'll try to hop into the shower as soon as possible. I should have brought my wind-blocking layer, not for the run but for the short walk afterwards. Usually I tie it around my waist, but I didn't bother with it at all for some reason.

The other funny thing about the run was a change of gait. I was in my new trail shoes, but they were my 2nd pair of that model, so not totally new. However, I've been wearing pretty light and flexible shoes, and to suddenly switch to a trail shoe, however light, is a pretty big change. The soles are a lot stiffer. Plus, there was still a bit of snow which changed things too. The traction was great, but for some reason I felt a lot more comfortable running much more on the balls of my feet...my heels hardly came down at all. THis is how I run barefoot, but never before in shoes. Every so often, I'd try to run like I usually do in shoes (I don't seem to be a heelstriker, but my heels definitely make contact with and push off of the ground), but it felt wrong. Too much effort forcing my heels down and back up. The shoes were making that too clunky. After a while, I gave that up. My calves are a bit sore now, but otherwise it was fine. If I alternate running like that and running normally, and stretch lots afterwards, I should be fine until my body gets used to it. It's pretty much the same thing with running barefoot. Why I was running like that today is beyond me, but it worked.

Oops, I went over the computer cutoff! And I haven't touched chemistry...will polish that off tomorrow. I forgot to do the breathing exercise this morning, but got in yoga and at least 3 sets of push-ups throughout the day. Gotta keep reminding myself of that stuff. And tomorrow will also be the start of a core strengthening regimen. I did the same program last spring and I think it helped.

recovery

Yes, once again, I'm recovering, sort of. I'm still feeling run down, and the last few days have been worse than usual. I did have two short nights of sleep, but usually that doesn't hit me as hard. Then I realized that, whoa, I'm eating too much junk while studying, so I'll be making changes to that and my diet in general. Strangely, unseasonally, I'm craving salad so I'll be eating more of that, with iron-rich nuts and feta and so forth to boost it up. I also realized that it's been at least two weeks since I've taken any iron supplements. I take them after running. But I haven't been running! Well, now I've restarted and I'll see how I feel in a week.

Morning routine, breathing exercises and a bit of yoga. Will build on this after a week or so. Pushups--I'm still forgetful, but will get as many sets in as I can manage. Stretching, after runs. Running: 5.24 miles with the dog. Just an easy run. I worked on loosening up and keeping things light--like I usually do--but I focused specifically on picking my feet off the ground as quickly as possible, and in keeping my form tight. And it was actually sunny for a bit, which was really nice.

As for resistance exercises, Friday will be a good day. I think Wednesday will be good, too. I like doing them on tougher days...not that any day will be particularly tough for a few weeks....lol. Anyway, I'll start tomorrow and see.

breaking in the new shoes

I'm back in the saddle!
7ish miles...on the one hand, I was fresh; on the other, I was tired. The last few days have been fatiguing. The first 1/2 hour was oddly tiring...I wasn't breathing hard, and my legs were rolling over quickly of their own accord, but everything was stiff, too. And things were a little rusty and kind of scattered. I still felt like I was working too hard.

After about a 1/2 hour, though, things clicked and the endorphins kicked in and all the jagged bits smoothed out.

oops, I busted my no-net-after-ten rule! Will get enough sleep, though, and then restart the new deep breathing/yoga routine tomorrow. I'm also trying to get back into resistance exercises. I have to slot in the anti-ITBS stuff 2-3X a week, and then I'd like to incorporate pushups too, grease-the-groove method, little bits but often. I used to do 5 every time I had to use the bathroom. LOL

destressing

The sun salutations haven't been happening, but I'll have more room soon. Everything else is going well. I didn't touch the computer after coming home from the worst shift ever. LOL. It was busy in a dull way, if that makes sense. That's the worst kind of busy. No adrenaline, just slogging.

I still haven't resumed running. My legs feel fine and I'm starting to miss it; both are good signs that my break is drawing to a close. I work overtime tomorrow and Tuesday, so Wednesday will probably be the big day.

Friday

Update on the destressing....

Deep breathing--I was good on Thurs, and then today I had to get up and out of the house pre-dawn because one of my clients had to go to the hospital early for tests. That melted my newly minted schedule pretty nicely. I got about 2 minutes in before I started rushing around. lol

Sun salutations--haven't been happening. Probably because I gave up my room for guests, and the one I'm in now doesn't have room for yoga and the dog crate. Not that he spends a lot of time in it, but it had to go somewhere.

Computer cutoff--actually seems to click with me. It helps me prioritize my time better and get to sleep sooner. However, the big test will be tomorrow, after the late shift, when I habitually crawl through the front door at whatever after 2300 and instantly get sucked to the keyboard. Sometimes even before changing out of scrubs. oh, the shame, the desperation. lol

And I got a school assignment and a mess of US Immigration paperwork mailed off today, which has reduced my stress levels a LOT already. And, most importantly, in roughly three weeks, we'll be over the halfway point of this deployment. I'll still be stressed, but then I'll start to feel better and better as the time remaining diminishes. can't wait! phew!

ok, what else...I ran to that pre-dawn job today, lol, and things felt fine. I'll probably resume with the club on Wednesday, just an easy run. Mostly, though, I've been walking. The dog needs walking and I've been doing errands besides.

Once the guests leave (not that it's not been cool having them, just a little squished), I'll ramp up the resistance exercises. I'll probably do the same regimen I did last spring.

At any rate, I think this crappy marathon result has actually been a positive experience in some ways. A good wake up call, at least. How do I want to live my life? And what do I need to get out of running? Not 'want'--that's too great a luxury right now, apparently. And why did I want to qualify for Boston? the challenge, yes, which means I still have it. The experience of actually going to Boston? I'm not sure. I waver about this. It would be ultra-ultra-cool on one hand, but maybe too emotional/stirring for me on the other. Not to mention crowded and expensive. I still want to go, but maybe I want it too much on other people's terms, and not so much on my own--I want it mainly out of pride. I still want it, but I can hopefully rest a little more easy about it, and concentrate rather on having a good marathon experience or two while minimizing stress.

The army marches on its stomach

Don't I know it!
In short, the best running was done by my bowels; I crashed at mile 14 or 15, pushed until mile 20, but in vain, and then drank some beer, helped a collapsed runner, and finished the thing in 3:56.

I will cut and paste my longer report soon, but I'm already (mostly) over the disappointment and plotting my next move.

I will have to somehow rein in my parasympathetic system because I am stressed in general. I hadn't noticed, really, and then the race tipped me over the edge. It didn't feel much different than the pre-race buzz of shorter races, but the distance is too long for the resulting diminished glycogen. However, this isn't just about me getting worked up consciously about the race, but more about minimizing daily stress (kind of hard with a deployed husband, lol) and being more strict with my daily routine, perhaps diet, and definitely sleep. This might also involve some large-scale changes as regular yoga/deep breathing, minimizing procrastination, etc, etc.

And this isn't just about running a better marathon. As sucky as it was, it is good that I had that sort of canary chirp to realize that I don't quite have my act together and that it may, as it has in the past, slam me hard.

So, I'll start off small. One sun salutation and 5 minutes of deep breathing in the morning, just to start me off right. No computer or homework, except for studying, after 10:00 pm, especially not late after the evening shift. LOL

That's it for now.

About one more week off running, and more stretching/yin yoga. Then easy jogging for December, gradually building mileage back up. Then, speedwork starting next year, and then the Hypo 1/2. And then I'm going to do an experimental marathon--the Winterman, here in February. It starts at the decent hour of 9 am, and consists of loops. I'll leave the Garmin at home and concentrate on being mellow and relaxed. And then there's the Ottawa full in May, which might be too hot, but that's a perfect scenario for, again, having lower expectations and less stress. It would be nice to try an ultra, too, but I haven't started looking.

So, a plan.
And I'm getting pretty close to that computer cut-off, and I have to order a few things online (including signing up for Winterman) and finish my bio assignment.

Tues? Wed?

Somebody was a total genius and worked until 11 pm the night before taking a 6:30 am train....
Usually I stay up this late after that shift, but get up later...it's going to hurt in a few hours. But then I'll conk out on the train. That's the whole point of taking the train. I'm incapable of getting enough sleep, but I sleep a LOT on trains. lol

At any rate, today's hour-long run didn't happen. Way too much going on--didn't get much time between jobs, even. Fortunately, I was jogging a lot between things, so still managed to cover some miles. And then there was more than usual running up and down stairs at my evening job. At least a few false alarms with the call bells, and plenty of pulling for stupid things (ie, my favourite: somebody wanted to know if their pjs felt wet. They weren't sure. Well, if you don't feel that they're wet, be it because they are dry or because you lack the necessary sensory receptors, then you'll be able to sleep in them, no prob! (they weren't wet) LOL)

I'm wired!

I had a point, and I forgot.

Anyway, I'm finished packing, and I was trying to find old clothes that I wouldn't mind discarding at the start. Well, in the past five years, I've lived in 11 different houses/apartments/etc. Anything I wouldn't mind discarding has long been discarded. And then I thought, hey, what if I got some old pjs? Unfortunately, I don't have any, but that would be pretty funny. And then I thought about my scrubs, which would be even funnier if I happened to start running in them. lol

Oh, yeah--my point--I nearly did something stupid. It's highly recommended, if not obligatory, for me to get a flu shot. One of my superiors was going to give me one then and there, and then I remembered that it might drain me for the next few days...duh. So I asked for a postponement, saying that I had a busy trip ahead of me. That would have been classic though, after all this training, to get a flu shot a few days before the race.

Rest day

I didn't get enough sleep again...I'm just too wound up over this deployment. oh, well!
Fortunately, I didn't have to work much this morning, and that's over and done with. Now I'm back at home, and will nap, catch up on schoolwork, and start preparing for my trip down south. Usually I would just pack the day before, lol, but I'll be working tomorrow evening, and I want to make sure I collect all the required paperwork. I shouldn't have any problems crossing the border, but my greencard/deployed husband situation is a little unique. THey're so worried about greencard marriages, but here I am, clearly having married the man not the country, and yet they have made things a little difficult for me too because I don't want to live alone in the States while he's overseas. Anyway, I'd bent over and paid the $300ish for their travel permit/rip-off, and if that doesn't get me back in, I'm going to cry theatrically LOL. It should go ok unless I get the agent who's having a crappy day.

starting to get superstitious

Well, I've largely escaped taper madness, I think, but now I'm starting to get anxious. I have a tendency to get injured in the house. Nothing major, just stuff like sliding around a corner too sharply and tweaking a knee...tapering gives me more energy and since I'm fundamentally a fast-twitch person, that means sprinting in the house, up the stairs, down the hall, etc, etc.

So I'll be treading very carefully for the next week.

I'm also getting wary because training has gone well....too well, perhaps, and I'm waiting for the karmic boom to drop. I pushed things hard, and didn't get injured. I got sick this week, but that was fine, and I still managed to do a good speed workout, plus a sort of marathon-pace 10 miler today.

Ah, yes, the traditional 10-miler the week before the big day. I've done this a couple of times, I think. Ideally, it's supposed to be an MP run, but I didn't manage that before, mainly because the first time, I didn't train properly, the 2nd time, I didn't know what my MP would be, anyway, and the third time, training had not gone well and it had been a horrible run even at a normal easy run pace.

Today, I didn't feel that peppy because I was working late last night and didn't get quite enough sleep, and I didn't have much time to eat and drink beforehand and jogged over holding breakfast (a banana). My hopes weren't high and it wasn't supposed to be an MP run anyway. My legs were a bit sluggish at the start, but being with two excellent running mates livened up the pace a little...we were all kind of tapped into the same vibe, I guess, and it was decent running weather. I saw that mile two was 8:33 and I was like, hey, if some MP happens, great.

Well, none happened, really, because I just can't run at MP...except on average. Yes, my average pace for the 10 miler turned out to be just a shade faster than what I need to qualify for Boston, like fractions of a second per mile. There were a few slower miles, at the beginning and going up and across the locks, mainly, but also some easy cruising miles at below MP. This is no surprise--I've noticed during the other MP workouts that my body has chosen its own MP pace, at almost 30 seconds per mile slower than my 1/2 marathon pace, so nothing extravagant. I kept my breathing at 4-2, which is easier than what my 1/2 marathon was at. It was still an easy effort, but on the edge.

So, a big confidence boost. I hit MP pace (on average, lol), while going on an 'easy' run! Not too shabby, especially since I had started off slowly and still managed to make up time. So, if the first 2 or 3 miles at the start are 9:00ish/mile, I don't have to panic right away. I can relax. There's time to fix it.

I would like to lock into the 8:26/mile I need at least for the first half, to lessen the risk of crashing, but it's also nice to know that this 8:08-8:15 pace that I've been favouring is so comfortable. I just have to get it into my head that the first while will really just be a warm up, and that it shouldn't feel like much work until at least mile 16 or so. I still remember my last full, how eerily easy sub 8 miles were for the first 1/2...they kept slipping in. I was barely breathing. But I paid for them later.

This time, I'll try to be smarter.

Just a few more runs to go, an hour-ish at slightly above MP pace, some intervals at MP pace, and then a shorter one to loosen up, if necessary. A great thing about training with the group has been the heightened expectation. I've been told that I WILL qualify, there's no doubt about it. I have to. That'll make it easier to dig deeper near the end of the race.

Friday and Saturday

Well, today (Saturday), I didn't run at all. I was on my feet for most of an 8-hr shift, though.

Friday involved much more running, to work, then 6ish miles with the dog, then to meet up with friends, a run with them, and a run back...total was about 12.47 miles. Just easy running, no speedwork. The last bit of speedwork I have will be a couple of 2K intervals at race pace, I believe.

thursday

I jogged a couple of miles today, about...just the usual going to and fro biz. I sometimes find it easier to jog lightly than walk, and since I'm often late, I usually end up trotting. Sometimes I count this, sometimes not, but I'm counting it now because that'll be most of my running this week. lol.

But, as bullcrap as this mileage is, it's really good in a way. When I run for just 5-10 minutes at a time, I can really focus on form throughout. There have been a few issues that I've been working on, and lately it seems that things have become more fluid. Plus, the little stints are a good reminder to my body of what it needs to do, and a good way to loosen up, without tiring it out.

I went to yin yoga too....it's been a while since I've gone to a class, so it was good to go and loosen up a little.

I can't believe that in less than a week I'll be on a train to Philly! wow!

ok, time for some confidence boosting...over the course of this training, I've done 3 progression runs in the 18-22ish mile range.

First one, 19 miles, last 12ish at an average pace of 8:21/mile.
Next one, 22 miles, last 9 at an average pace of 8:19/mile
Last one, 18-19 miles, last 8ish at an average pace of 8:01/mile. yes, a little excessive!

All I have to do is rest and eat properly, not do something stupid in my house (where I seem to get injured most! not running!) and not eat anything stupid the night before. I miss popcorn, but I've been good in avoiding it these past few weeks. I had a brush with black pepper the night before the last progression run, actually, which made it an even better simulation of post-wall running. I will eat plain naked noodles the night before the marathon, if necessary. Or maybe bananas washed down with Ovaltine. I don't care! I really don't want stomach probs on race day again. I imagine I'll be shoving down all sorts of foul and greasy crap food after the race...can hold out until then....

on to homework!

speedwork!

Well, when I taper, I taper! lol
I've run about 8 miles this week so far...that's less than what I was doing per day. oh, well! It did me good, I think, to rest up and just jog one or two miles, like I usually do in the course of a day, just getting around.

And I was well-rested for speedwork tonight. it was 6-8 X 800M, and I decided to be content with 6. My Garmin ran out of juice, but my companion said that our repeats were 3:18-19ish, except for the last one: 3:13. It felt fine and not too hard; we were supposed to go at 10K pace, but I was going faster, I think--I don't have a 10K pace. I have a 5K and then suffer pace. Still, I wasn't killing myself over them or even close to lactic acid build-up--I was going at what felt like tempo run effort, my tempo runs being in the 'comfortably hard' range for 20 min or so--so they were fine.

I vaguely remember doing a similar workout before my last marathon--oh, here it is, about a month before the race:

warm up 1/2 mile, then 6X800 (3:16, 3:11, 3:19, 3:19, 3:22, 3:24). Pacing poor, but great temps

I remember those repeats being considerably harder than the ones I did tonight, pretty much VO2max effort, and they were on a flat track, not slightly up and down on the Hill like tonight. Pacing was more consistent this time, too: we were varying within just a few seconds, until the last repeat.

So, yep, I'm pretty confident that I'll at least PB on this marathon. :) knock wood!

extra extra tapering

I jogged about 1.5 miles today, just commuting. I ran to work and then from the Remembrance Day ceremony downtown. I had dressed lightly, just enough to jog to/from work, but I wanted to go to the ceremony. It got a little cold, my feet especially, but that's nothing compared to what others have sacrificed.

Anyway, I do feel better now, especially since I just finished my assignment. woohoo! On to the next one...

Tomorrow will definitely involve running, perhaps with the dog, definitely speedwork in the evening. Last speedwork session!

Extra tapering

Because I'm sick! So it was just a fair bit of walking (to/from work, errands, with the dog) today. And yoga, maybe later. At any rate, the timing of this illness is very good. My body is talking to me: rest! This is when I have to rest! Supposedly, I'm supposed to run about 50 miles this week, according to my coach's taper formula, as derived from my peak mileage, but that's not going to happen, and maybe that's for the best. My body's like 'Ok, you tore me out of my lazy, self-preservation zone, and that actually worked out--but now you listen to me while I fix this mess!'

I'm plowing through a chemistry assignment right now, talk about a steep learning curve with that course. it's been eons since I've done chemistry, and I've gnashed my teeth over it, but lately it's starting to gel together. I can't make a corny pun out of that because I've just covered aqueous reactions so far, but hey~

(actually, gels kind of remind me of a new restaurant opening here in Ottawa--Atelier--molecular gastronomy! I can't believe that we're getting a taste of this stuff here. I've been curious about it for a few years now, and was expecting to have to go to a major city or order a kit, so I'm pumped. It's $75 for a tasting menu, so I'm not sure when I can swing that, but I'll see. Maybe in December.)

And how does all this chemistry segue into running? via burning of fuel, that's how! watch this space. lol

But, yeah, between all these equations and this cold, plus the heat generated by my laptop, I think I'm running a fever.

Well, back to tapering! This cold couldn't have come at a better time. While I'm sitting on my arse and wrangling moles, all those tiny muscle tears sustained during the course of training are being repaired. Incidentally, I had a test which included actin and myosin filaments, but that doesn't quite abate my recent curiousity about muscle tears. Yeah, they're in the muscle, but that's so vague. The problem with all this science studying is that, more and more, I want to see just what is involved in various things, including muscle tears, and so I claw down to the smaller and smaller levels (ie, from the muscle to the fibres to the myofibrils and finally to the individual actin/myosin cross-bridges, which in turn gets me wondering about the molecules involved, but I'm not there yet), and getting closer to the atomic thus leads me to my usual quandary: so much space! How can space tear? ok, I'm being symplistic here, and possibly the tears just occur straight across myofibrils or whatever, totally tearing through my painful intricacies....ie, like I'm fussing over a particular rebar while the whole bridge is going down.

At any rate, part of my interest in muscle tears is due to the oft-repeated assurance that these are part of getting stronger. How? Yes, the muscle rebuilds itself more strongly...how? How does it get stronger? Thicker fibres? more of them?

Ok, I'll get through my assignment, get some sleep, and if this still matters to me after that, I'll look into it.

Running a fever can be so productive, but sometimes it makes me fixate on the wrong things.

At any rate, I'm tapering and mysteriously becoming stronger!

Sunday

No running today--I'll walk the dog and go to yoga. :)

---------------

Scrap going to yoga....I can't breathe out of one nostril. It's been like this since last night. It's better than both being blocked, but it's still kind of annoying, and I don't want to drip through a yoga class. I'll just do one of my yoga DVDs.

Anyway, ehhh, my brain's being fried by Chemistry but ultimately by this stupid, stupid deployment. Negativity alert!! It was like this last time too: the last month or two before the halfway point really began to crawl. Which made me think of relating it to race terms, using some sort of mental trick to get over this hurdle, lie thinking that 3K is just 'a mile and a bit' (one of my favourite tricks) or that a half marathon is just a warm up and then a ten-miler....well, nothing's working so far. At this point, it looks like the best way to wade through the rest of the suckage is to spend the next several weeks in an opium den.

But, way, could I actually be having TAPER NERVES?

I've really been looking forward to tapering. I've pushed things a bit with this training, but nothing bad has happened, knock wood, and after those umpteen 100+K weeks, I'm ready to not run as much, or shower as often. Honestly, if I lived in a culture where it would be permissible to whiff more, I'd probably knock out more 2-run days. But, relaxation aside, I suppose that the point of tapering is to coil that spring a little tighter, and thus I'm getting more worked up about the deployment lately.

lol

Saturday

It was a dark and stormy night...morning...not quite dark, either, but close enough. And I felt like crud. I am not getting enough sleep, no matter what I do. Having a deployed husband is just too much stress, and it's especially hard as it gets longer and longer and still not quite halfway through. Same thing happened last time. Anyway, I considered phoning my friend and cancelling, especially since I knew I could do the run on Sunday (today) with run club.

However, I also had to work last night, and since it's been at least a few weeks since I've slept in, I wanted to reserve Sunday morning for that.

So I got out of bed and jogged over.

What to wear when I know I'll be in soaked clothes for at least 2 hrs? I chafed last time this happened, so I figured a tank top under a long sleeved thing would be best--once I warmed up, I could take the long-sleeved thing off and thus not chafe. This worked. I was a little cold and should have brought a hat, but it was ok.

We ran 22 K in 1:59, which is decent, especially since it was a fast finish and, ironically, the last umpteen K were at my marathon pace and it felt good. I haven't managed to hit that yet, but somehow, yesterday, after we'd gradually picked it up for a bit, I felt into a good groove, and found out afterwards that it was around my MP to qualify. ok! So, in total, I ran just over 25 K. In miles, 15.67. It's gotten to the point where I see it's 'just' 25 K or whatever, and I don't bother bringing water or fluid. I ate a banana and drank some pop beforehand, put a gel in my pocket just in case (I didn't use it) and off I went, and that was fine. I'm a camel! Or amphibian in this case. I probably absorbed a least a litre through my skin. LOL

Then I napped, and then I went to work. I was pretty groggy, but got through ok. I wasn't the only one out of sorts there anyway. LOL

upper body workout

Today was an easy day. No run with the dog, just a walk. I forgot to keep track of the dog tally, but everyone was pretty much well behaved.

And then I jogged with some friends. I think I jogged about six miles in total.

And then I had the upper body workout of the year. Just one rep. My arms and chest are still sore. I had to pull my dog off a cat....I'd checked the backyard before letting him out, and it was clear, and then about five or so minutes after I'd let him out, I'd heard this big racket, so I run out. My dog and a cat are tussling. A vision of this cat getting disemboweled smacks me, so I haul my dog off and into the house. The mean ass cat sticks around and yowls and hisses at me when I try to get closer to assess its condition. I think it's fine, and the owners came running to collect it and to apologize. It had gotten out, and for some reason, it decided to go onto the deck where my dog was. It scratched up my dog pretty good; it looked to be starting to lose by the time I got there, but my dog didn't manage to bite it.

Now my dog's out of sorts. We disinfected his scratches so he should be fine, although his pride's probably wounded. he emptied his anal glands, too and smells now....he was pretty worked up.

I suspect we'll use the gentle leader on the next run, until I see how he reacts to other cats. Sucks, especially since it took him several months to be cool with cats after the last time he had a tussle with them: he didn't use to pay much heed to them, but then my husband brought him to his mom's house and her two 20-pounders pounced on him. These cats kill many things and once even cornered a possum. They whupped my dog well and he didn't forget. So we'll see how he is after this cat. I'm really surprised I managed to pull him away like that, and I don't think I could do it again. My arms are aching now. It was one of those lift-the-car-off-your-kid things. A good jolt of norepinephrine.

relaxation

Another balmy day.
I was a little stiff from yesterday but the dog cooperated by matching my sluglike pace, and I managed to loosen up. We jogged about 7.05 miles.

Dog tally--5 well behaved/well-managed dogs, 1 not (another small dog loose on the bike path).

taper!

It's about time!
Monday: 0.
Tues: 2ish miles, plus both jobs. I was training someone during the 2nd one, so it was about 9 hrs on my feet, and then I was revved up and could only get about 4-5 hrs of sleep again.
Wed: 16.21 miles, 8.12 with the dog in the morning, and 8.09 or whatever with speedwork in the evening.

What a nice day to run. I can't even complain that it was hot enough for me to smell gross...it was nice to be in short sleeves and shorts. The dog and I took it easy, and we were on the same wavelength too, which was even more relaxing. Plus, he didn't have to go poo at all, so the run was pretty much an unbroken stream of semi-consciousness. I thought mainly about loosening up, keeping things light, etc, etc.

And I thought about dogs. We passed at least 3 other dogs. I should start keeping track. One was loose and not responsive to voice commands--yeah, it was a small cute thing, all the more reason not to let it loose on a bike path with the spandex squad out in full zipping force! The owner said sorry but we just kept running before we could get bogged down by butt-sniffing and painful insincerity: "Oh, that's ok." It's not ok. I have seen just a handful of reliably voice-commanded dogs. My dog isn't one of them, either, which is why he stays on a leash when we're on paths. We're working on it, and sometimes he gets to run around with other dogs off-lead, but not just randomly. And I doubt I'll ever let him off-lead near traffic, even foot/bike traffic. It wouldn't be fair to everyone else.

Anyway, I've gotten into the habit of just shrugging and keeping going when we are slowed down by someone's disobedient dog, 90% of the time. Maybe that's rude but it irks me so much to have someone else's dog pull their way into our space when we're out running on one of the paths, and then to be dealt such an automatic airy 'sorry', like it happens all the time. Hmmmm....?
To the owner's credit, though, when we passed the dog again on our way back, it was on a leash. The leash still stretched much of the way across the path, but this is progress. :)

Oh, I might as well get this rant over with...it's been brewing for a few months: yes, Obedience School teaches you to heel your dog on your LEFT side, but when on paths and so forth, it really makes much more sense to put your dog on your RIGHT side. That way, when something interesting comes across on the opposite side of the path, your dog can be stopped by your leg/body, lol, instead of stretching the leash across the centre and potentially tripping someone. and, no, it's not too confusing for the dog to switch sides. Mine accepted it within minutes. Plus, most of the dogs on the paths aren't heeling properly to begin with, so there's no mold to break. Next week's rant: gentle leaders/Halti's don't really mix with flexi-leashes. That's combining a device that is supposed to stop pulling with a device that encourages it. Common sense, people!!!

Anyway, the 2nd dog was well behaved, the third was not. And we still had a good run.

Phew! I thought I'd left all the angst with the speedwork. It was 3000M repeats, but just 2 of them because we're tapering. oh, yeah! I was still in shorts and a tshirt, but it was starting to cool off, which was pretty refreshing. My stomach was acting up again, though....it's been touchy for the last few days, but started hurting a few hours before speedwork.

However, I did not crap my britches, and I think I've finally cracked this nut: my gut hurts due to diverted blood flow. This is not news. But what this means is that all this blood is going to my legs, because my body knows that something's cooking, and it needs to divert resources. And so it actually does! in short, stomach cramps are now a GOOD sign. WOW!

Because I nailed those repeats. They were too fast, but I got with a couple of faster people, and I knew I was running faster than I should, but I couldn't help myself. It was a good night to run. I just kept telling myself to stay light, stay straight, keep going. It helps that I've run several 2-mile time trials in the past: 3000M is pretty much the same clip. This was much less excrutiating than a time trial, but I still had that sort of rhythm on the brain.

Anyway, my repeats:
12:36
12:26

So, not the fastest I've run at that sort of distance, but what surprises me is how more reasonable that sort of pace feels.

In fact, it feels like I'm peaking, actually peaking. Knock wood! This is like before my 2nd marathon, when I ran a 3 mile 'tempo' run in 20:20ish...all of a sudden, there was more gas in the tank. Very encouraging, especially since the subsequent marathon was a considerable improvement over the first. I'll try to rein it in, though, so that I don't go flat. Just 2.5 more weeks to go...

The hay's in the barn and I tore down the house

Well, I wanted an excrutiating mental-building run, and I got one.
The excellent steak last night had pepper on it; I scraped it off but ate enough of it to (combined with nerves) give me the shits this morning. This is excellent prep for the marathon. I had gut issues in my first marathon, and my third/last one too. It'll probably happen in Philly again too, to some degree.

So, I figured I'd show up tired for the run...being drained was an excellent bonus.

My legs were heavy, but I jogged about 2 miles to the Canal, and then 8.4-5 miles or whatever with Gazelles #1 and #2. We did one loops, from Laurier to the locks back to Laurier. Then it came to the 2nd loop. This was supposed to be at marathon pace. I had given up on this earlier, and promised myself that, if I did the 2nd loop, I wouldn't have to run it any faster. However, when we came to it, Gazelle #1 pulled ahead and I couldn't bear the thought that I would still be running/suffering while he was done, so it was time to end it.

Marathon pace, 8:23ish a mile, continues to elude me. It's not one of my gears. We ran the first loop at about 9:00/mile, and the 2nd at about 8:00. I still don't know how I did it. 9:00/mile was bad enough. My legs were stiff, my stomach sore. I was also little low on sleep...these last couple of weeks have been somewhat insomniatic, so what happens is that I wake up with weird snippets of tunes in my head, and these loop over and over. I had some sort of 50's bass line going through my head this morning. I guess it helped me get into a rhythm, though, and I tried to keep things light and lazy and just follow Gazelle #1.

I don't know how long the 2nd loop took...not long, though! altogether, I ran about 30K in about 2:42:XX.

Sure am beat now! We went to the spa afterwards. :)

Nap time!

I had fun last night, even if it took me nearly an hour to wash off all the make-up. How does a junkie manage all that eyeliner? At any rate, it was fun being Amy Winehouse (without snorting anything) for an evening, even if the wig was a little hard to dance in. Got in at 1 am or so, a modest hour, and got nearly enough sleep, though didn't drink quite enough water. I wasn't hung over, though, just dehydrated. an easy fix.

Then I met up with friends and jogged 16.29 miles in total. A bit silly to do so the day before a long run, but now I'm going to spend the day eating and sleeping, pretty much, and this will allow me to bounce back quite a bit. If worse comes to worst, I will run a shorter run tomorrow and tackle the long-long run on Monday, but I really want to get the long-long run over and hit the spa with a clear and empty conscience. LOL

Happy Hallowe'en!

I had to tire out the dog, somewhat. We jogged 9.78 miles. It was gorgeous out there, sunny and not too windy, and about 8C. Doesn't get much better than that. Now I guess I have to shower, carve a pumpkin, dress up, hand out candy, and then try not to stay out too late.

insomnia

Another short sleep, like 4 hrs. I think I'm just stressed/easily excitable. Anyway, I ended up plowing through a chapter of my anatomy course before falling asleep, so it wasn't entirely fruitless.

It sure hurt to get up this morning, though. After work, I jogged with the dog, about 6.56 miles. We took it very slowly, and surprisingly, I felt fine. No stiffness, nor soreness...I think had I attempted to go faster than 10 or 11 or whatever min/mile, I might have felt something, but I kept it easy and loosened up.

More studying, more procrastination....I'm hoping to knock out an assignment today and then go to yoga and then straight to bed.

Happy Hallowe'en

Well, preparations have come early this year! I'm working on a zombie costume, and it'll be 100% natural. Ok, I'm really short on sleep. Again. These past 3 nights have all been in the 4-5 hour/night range, and though I got to nap yesterday and today, that wasn't quite enough. Fortunately, work will be pretty darn light for the next while, so I can catch up.

So, Monday and Tuesday were very light running days, a few miles here and there with the dog, and jogging to work. Total, 8ish miles for the two days, I guess.

Today was 19.2 miles. First, 10.33ish miles with the dog--crazy weather! There was that melting snow smell too (snow + pollutants, I believe) that brings me back to my childhood, all those clammy hours in the schoolyard. Anyway, the dog and I got out after my morning job before all the snow melted, and jogged for almost a couple of hours. The path by the river was already clear.

Evening was speedwork, about 8.87 miles total. Today was 'tough', 4-6-8-6-4 min at 10K pace. Now, I have done just 3 10Ks, and none of them particularly well, and I was feeling sort of dull and unmotivated again (at least in terms of thinking) so I went with the flow of 'comfortably hard'.

4 min @ 7:17/mile
6 min @ 7:13
8 min @ 6:57
6 min @ 6:49
4 min @ 6:36

I was mostly on my own for these; nobody else near my pace. It was dark and windy. I was tired. All this actually helped: it was going to be somewhat miserable no matter what, and the inevitability got me into that robot mode where I accept the discomfort and just crank out whatever. I'm pleased with what I did tonight.

Next up: a few days of easy jogging and then the last monster run. And THEN the spa!!

tired

I ran about 8 miles, 1 mile to the meeting place, and then 3.5 out and 3.5 back...ish. Not really sure. I wasn't wearing my Garmin because I felt somewhat tired from yesterday's run and short sleep.

Plus, I needed to take it somewhat easy because we went ziplining this afternoon. Well, that wouldn't have been too strenuous, but there were also obstacles, walking on wires, swinging things, etc, etc...I got pretty tired out and didn't finish the course. Did the Tarzan rope, enjoyed it, and figured I might as well end it on a high note.

It was a good day, but I'm beat. Just have to get through two heavy work days, and then I can relax more.

Oh, and this is my last tough week of training. Only 4 weeks until the marathon. Holy crap. Well, after the Tarzan rope, it should be a cakewalk. LOL

Chafed!

Yep, I have under-upper-arm chafing, mainly because I ran in sodden clothes for upwards of two hours. Plus, I overdressed slightly, so I was probably sweating too. It was hard to tell.

At any rate, I ran over to a friend's house, and then ran with her and a few others for a while. The drizzle was slight at first, and it got heavier, to rain, then to pouring rain...didn't quite get to the downpour stage, but pretty close. Likewise, my mood shifted from annoyed, to miserable, to giddy, to numb. Eventually, there were just the two of us left, and we were achieving the hoped-for faster finish because we just wanted to go home already.

So, I ran in total 15.79 miles, including getting there and back. I didn't take any water or gels. Went home, jumped in the shower, and felt no different at first. LOL

At any rate, I've been having a bit of a science crisis, the regular ole thing about matter being primarily composed of space. I think I went through this in high school too: OMG, nothing's really solid! well, fortunately, I've also had to read about the adhesive qualities of water....after today's drenching, I definitely felt more cohesive. LOL

Speedwork

The dog got two walks and no run today. I'm nearing the point of 'oh, this didn't use to hurt before', little glitches here and there. I stretch, take the stick to it, and something else crops up. I am getting pretty tired!

So I saved my energy for speedwork. Was very sluggish jogging over and doing the warm up drills, but I eased into the intervals. 2 min intervals at 5K pace, measured in miles:

.27/@7:24/mile
.27/@7:24
.28/@7:08
.25/@ 8:00 (did someone drop a doughnut???!)
.29/@6:53
.28/@7:08
.29/@6:53
.31/@6:27
.31/@6:27
.32/@6:15

It was ok. I got into that tired dull state of mind where I could just keep plugging away because caring and complaining were too fatiguing. Near the end, I freshened up and was trying to do one complete lap around the section we were running around, and the last one was successful! runningmap.com pegs it at .34 of a mile...

Total run/jogged: 8.58 miles. So I'm pretty much at my mileage goal for this week, 50 miles, but there's still a longish run tomorrow with some friends. oh, well!

Thursday, no running, just grazing. The army marches on its stomach

Not one step. Not even to work. I had just the morning job today, and will walk with the dog and do yoga this afternoon. The rest of the day will be devoted to studying.

And eating. I went to the grocery store and bought more things to graze on (apart from the dried fruit I've been eating), including bananas, pickled herring, pomegranates, bean salad, bagels, and hummus. It looks like I'm replacing popcorn with corn chips and hummus. alright, then.

And there were two churros. Were. See, there's a bakery I usually walk by on my way home from the morning job, and lately I've been hitting the skor caramel/granola bars there pretty hard...I gave it a miss today but thus broke the cardinal rule of grocery shopping and started off hungry. Churros are not ideal, but now that I know that they aren't particularly good there anyway, I can pass them up next time. Hopefully. I think I'll give up and keep going to the bakery instead. The skor caramel/granola bars there aren't deep-fried, at least.

At any rate, I'm happy to not run today. I've been pushing it pretty closely lately. There's a little more that feels stiff and sore when I start out most times; I've been more diligent about stretching and yoga and I think that's holding most of it at bay. I've definitely noticed an improvement in my fitness recently, despite the increased fatigue, which is really encouraging...but at this point it's almost too encouraging, because my body's also much closer to the edge.

Tuesday/Wednesday

Tuesday, no running, except about 2 miles total to jobs. EHHHHH.

Wednesday, jogged with dog 7.6 miles. He was good and then we finished our run, started walking home, and he decided to ignore me. Nothing major, not even much pulling, but I was starting to get annoyed with the marking, and telling him not to mark (something in heat must have passed by because he was attempting pretty much one continuous dribble of pee along the Canal path, lol), so I put the Gentle Leader on him. I carry that thing every run, but usually don't use it....about once every few weeks or so, though, he needs a Gentle Reminder that it's MY run. Apart from that, though, it was a good run. I worked on more form issues. I'm trying to be more efficient. I'm lazy.

Speedwork tonight. First, studying.

But, lately, nothing has been sinking in. This marathon training, and recent short sleep--again--have messed up my brains. I'd thought that I'd balanced my intake of caffeine at work well, but the last two days have been ghastly. I think it's more adrenaline than caffeine, anyway. At any rate, I cannot continue to stay up until 3 or whatever, and then get up 4 hrs later. Not enough sleep. Another problem is hunger--I eat a lot at work, but by the time I get home, I'm hungry again. I need to smarten up and just have milk or Ovaltine, not the full-on late night fridge raid. Who eats hummus and bagels after midnight?

Anyway, if I drink less tea at work, and eat less afterwards, I might be able to sleep more; thus I'll feel less stiff/tired and less cognitively-impaired.

The nice thing about being somewhat sleep-deprived, though, is that I somehow get a new perspective on creative concerns--IE, what to be for Halloween? I might not bother, but I feel like I'm already halfway to looking like Amy Winehouse. This would not have occured to me if I'd been in a more normal frame of mind.

will write more after speedwork.

ok, speedwork done, bringing my daily total to 18.32 miles. Anyway, I think I've hit upon gold...let me explain. My deepest set burning running ambition is not just to get 'fast', whatever that means, but to get 'fast' and run fast...in costume. On and off, I've been pondering the possibilities. Amy Winehouse running a marathon would be something. By the time I get "fast", though---if---there will be someone else on the pop chop block. I hope Amy's straightened herself out by then. She really has an amazing voice. Anyway, oh, yeah, speedwork--

Well, just as I'm doing a mini digestive system detox (cut out a few things, and added more fruit and real cranberry juice and green tea), I've been pondering an emotional detox too. I've been really negative in general, I think--for me, at any rate. Too much whining. Much of it has to do with Matt's deployment. I'm handling it ok, but not well. This is a sucky period, several months in but still not even halfway. Plus, there are my job issues, but I've taken steps recently, and things have recently become better.

Anyway, the gastro-intestinal thing made my Monday and Tuesday evening shifts interesting, and I'm feeling somewhat drained because of it. Edit: to clarify, I wasn't among the inflicted, not directly. Anyway, I decided that I just had to dig in and do the workout, no whining---I would spare Gazelles #1 and #2. They're pretty tough, but they deserve better. LOL

The workout was 6X 6min. I started quickly, before I had time to think or whine about it, and ended up in a group of the faster people in the run club, who were running slower than usual because of races this weekend. Still, it was a bit unnerving, but I hung in there. Actually, it wasn't hard to hang in there, for some reason. I was talking a bit with them too, and hearing them take the pace relatively effortlessly kind of sunk into my head the idea that, no, this wasn't hard after all, really.

.83/@7:16
.84/@7:09??? (forgot to hit the lap button--.95 miles in 8 min, 2min of which were rest. Conveniently, all of my rest intervals were .11, so I figure I ran .84)
.85/@7:05
.87/@6:54
.85/@7:00 (the people I was with didn't do this repeat--I was on my own. Just ran what it felt like before. not bad)
.9/@6:39 (ended up linking up with Gazelle #1)

So, a pretty decent workout. It was amazing how not terrible the intervals over 7:00/mile felt, actually. This is good. I've been trying to convince myself that, in light of my recent 1/2 marathon, that 7s are actually not scary at all, even when they're on the low side. I still have a mental ceiling about 6s...

At any rate, I've run most of the miles I wanted to run this week, already, and I'll be well over at this rate...I might take tomorrow off and just walk the dog. Definitely, I should head over for another yin yoga class too.

Full of beans

Well, walks don't cut it for my dog, lol....2 days without running and he's totally in my biz, glued to my hip, tumoresque, and MANIC, so we jogged around for 5ish miles. It was not entirely relaxing because there was a great disparity between his level of energy and mine, but I did get blood going, at least. There wasn't much that was tight, surprisingly. I was just tired.

It really helped going to yin yoga last night. Some of the poses were pretty agonizing, but I walked out of there feeling totally new. So, I'll do some more tonight...I usually do at least 1/2 in the poses while studying, but I really need to focus on the yoga itself, and the deep breathing, and so forth, to reap the full benefits. However, sitting in the poses while studying is better than nothing, I guess.

Anyway, famous last words: I doubt we'll run tomorrow. I have a couple of errands to do between jobs.

follow the leader

Well, I was of two minds (one vacuous, lol) about running this morning with the group. I wouldn't have considered it at all, except that I left gazelle #1 alone in the wilderness last Sunday and felt a little guilty about that. LOL. Plus, the route looked neat.

I slept a LOT and got up, didn't feel stiff, so it was on.

The pace was faster than expected, because we ended up behind somebody even faster, but he knew an even better route, a really interesting route, and so I had to keep up. It wasn't hard to, anyway, because we were running on this litle dirt path by the river, sometimes through tall grasses, behind buildings, etc, etc...I'd never been there before and it was exhilirating. I really miss running on that sort of surface--it wasn't a paved or even un-paved bike path, it was a true running trail. Single track. It was totally primeval....lol....well, not really. Pretend there was an apocalypse, though, and infrastructure collapsed, and survivors had to scramble through re-emerging nature amid crumbling concrete and rusted rebar and so forth...well, this is the sort of thing we'd be hustling on, this small path engineered by foot traffic.

It was so much fun. I didn't really know where I was...yeah, I vaguely knew which way to get back home, but I didn't really know how far I was going, how fast--all I had to do was follow. And it felt surprisingly easy. We were going right around 8:00/mile, and it was fine....for about 13-14 K, and then we were on boring roads again and suddenly my quads had had enough.

I elected not to do the loop around the Farm; instead, I jogged back along the Canal. Counting running to the meeting spot, I ran about 14.67 miles, which puts me close to 60K these past 2 days. I should feel worse than I do, but I think all these miles are starting to build up and stuff is finally getting less hard. Not speedwork--I'm definitely getting sluggish with that--but just miles and miles in general.

It was a big confidence boost, too. We were going faster than my marathon pace. So, when I'm get to the tired point, I will have no excuse to go slower. LOL

Yoga tonight, and I doubt I'll run Monday or Tuesday: heavy work days, both of them.

Coasting on good weather and good conversation

So I decided that, instead of being a total slug today, I'd accompany someone else for the first bit of her monster 30ish K run. 10 or so miles wouldn't hurt.

Getting up for an 8 am start did...I'm used to that the morning after the evening shift, but it still isn't pleasant. I drank some juice, pulled on some clothes, and left. Fortunately, I grabbed a gel at the last minute. Just in case. Why? I'll sometimes run 2hrs without eating or drinking anything, and feel fine.

Well, some higher power had a surprise for me in store. First, I felt cool. Shorts and long sleeves and gloves. I jogged over to the meeting point, and then we set off, and it was wonderful. Very peaceful. The leaves were so vibrant. There was frost, too, by the river, which was all sparkly and so on....ok, poetry escapes me, but the scene could have been in a snow globe without the snow or the shaking-up. And the pace was relaxing, the conversation interesting...well, we coasted to the point where I would have turned off to go home, and I didn't want to go.

There was no reason to, really.

There was an optional turning off point later on, for 25K. I still didn't want to go. What was 5K more? I ate my gel just in case, and my friend offered me some water, which I accepted. Very nice of her. I was totally unprepared...heck, I was wearing Nike Frees. However, I wasn't worried. I've long exceeded the recommended 'for easy runs 3-6 miles long' guidance or whatever it is. My regular running shoes tend to be pretty light and skimpy, too.

Near the end, I was starting to feel tired, and my quads were starting to feel sore. I will have to stretch them out more tonight. Other than that, it was a great run and I can't believe how quickly the 3+ hrs passed. I jogged home and figured out that, in total, I'd run 22.03 miles. A slight hair over the 10 miles I'd figured on. This bumps up my weekly mileage obscenely. Yes, obscenely. I was doubtful that I'd get over 70 miles/week during this training, and I'm now over 80. This is artificial, this is something I'm not going to do weeks on end, or even next week or anytime before 2009, I figure, but it's still something. geez. I miss my husband that much!

Now I'm partaking of the last bag of (victory) popcorn.