I love fall, that cool overcast weather. It makes me sad, but in a good way; it makes me think of the paths I have not taken, and of all the possibilities I had before me when I was still in grade school. It also reminds me of how miserable and off my head I was sometimes. It's curious to consider the dumb stuff that cast me into the deepest depths of gloom, and how cavalierly I treated what was really important.
It also still seems to be the start of the new year. It's been years since I've been to school, even a few since I've taught, and still the feeling persists that, when September rolls around, all these great new things will crop up. A bit of brisk weather to get us going, and then some long dark months during which we retrench and ferment our plots, and then Spring brings them to fruition with that mania sparked by the longer daylight hours. Something like that. If I consider the year starting in January, like much of the world, it doesn't seem right somehow. Yes, I'm rejuvenated, but there's nothing on the shelf and by the time I sort things out, it's May and starting to get too sticky to bother.
Anyway, I love fall. Especially the weather. Especially today. It was like 11C when I ran, crisp and overcast. Nice.
I was supposed to run about 15 miles according to the plan...yesterday. That didn't happen. My hopes weren't high today, either. My cold is on its way out, but still...so tiring myself too much will just delay the departure. So I grabbed the dog and entertained vague plans of running 8 miles with him and returning home, then running 10 miles with him and returning home...meanwhile, we were just coasting along. He was being very good and seemed loaded with energy, but was content to lope beside me on the grass beside the path. Plus, he didn't have a bowel movement for at least an hour, which is a minor miracle in itself, and allowed me to sink more deeply into the zone. We passed and were passed by another runner a few times, and exchanged a few words (not the dog, though). And then we were six-ish miles out so we turned around. I figured he could do 12, but didn't want to push him further, nor myself.
And 12 miles it was. Around 11.5 I started to feel tired, and soon after I decided to walk the rest of the way home to let things loosen up. A nice relaxing jaunt.
Anyway, back to that fall nostalgia...during the run, I was thinking about half marathons and why I prefer them to other race distances (although, 5Ks are good, in a different way). I guess the recent Army 1/2 has sparked some memories, especially in connection with my husband. And I have time now to dwell on this. Wrote my last anatomy test yesterday, and my new courses don't start until October 1st.
HALF #1, March 2004, Seoul. My first race ever was a 1/2 and it was because of this race that I met him. I was a bit bombed out in general in a good way, had moved to Korea a couple of months before and didn't have much contact with other Westerners, which was cool for the first month and then felt a little odd for the 2nd....anyway, I was happily trying out new things, kumdo, raw squid, pickled fruits, following people up random mountain paths, etc. I eventually met up with some hash harriers, and one of them had the nerve to ask me out (well, more than one--the odds were in my favour), and I accepted and then asked him his name. LOL. I was injured at that point, had been for more than a year, and was running very sporatically (ok, not at all until I joined the group). But, some weeks after I joined the group, we started planning for this weekend and the 1/2 marathon sounded cool. How long is that? Oh, about 2X longer than I had ever run before. Oh, well, I had about 3 weeks to prepare for it, I think, and got back up to about 6 miles beforehand.
I jogged it in 2:06 (as "Brad"...there was a mix up with my own entry) and had problems walking the next day. Meanwhile, my husband was a MAN and bolted to the turn around in about 45 minutes, and then walked the rest of the way with some friends.
HALF #2, December 2004, Seoul My husband/then boyfriend was in Iraq during this time, and I was working overtime, still injured, still not running much beyond once a week, which was really mostly scrambling up hills and through shiggy and over fences. lol. Anyway, my friend Karen had a bib for this race and I ran it for her in about 2:03. I was the only Caucasian there. So I was English Speaking Practice Central. Lots of fun. Some guy gave me what I thought was soy milk but was really makoli (sp?) afterwards and this turned my stomach, then I went to an opera with some friends and then went to another friend's birthday party/crawl and then my cab home rear-ended another and I hopped out and walked the rest of the way. The nights are long in Seoul.
HALF #3, March 2005, Seoul My husband/then boyfriend was still in Iraq, and I was still working and playing hard, and was starting to crash. Turns out I had tonsilitis the week or so around the race, plus other things...a few weeks later, I got tired of falling asleep while speaking/standing/walking and went to my doctor and got a whack of bloodwork done and my doctor put me on an herbal detox and some diet modifications. It was East meets West medically, and very effective. I was still running on Sundays with the pack, but my injury had gotten progressively worse. Thankfully, there was another mix up with my registration, and I never did find out my finishing time. I suspect it was 2:17. Not sure why. I walked quite a bit. It wasn't fun until I got to the finish line, and then we had a bbq and so forth.
HALF #4, January 2006, Ottawa My running dwindled to nothing soon after the last 1/2. I could manage maybe a few minutes at a time, which was fine for hashing. But, yes, running got slower and slower, and finally I gave it up. Left Korea in June of 2005, and spent some time in the Middle East, where running was not an option. Temps were 40-55C--but dry, and I liked it--and so I swam. I rejoined my husband/then boyfriend/future roommate in Colorado in late July, and we hiked around and so forth for a few months. Meanwhile, I was doing yoga and resistance exercises, and missing running a lot. Finally, around October or November, 2005, I restarted. We were living at 6000+ feet above sea level, so my lungs BURNT after about a minute at first. Fortunately. This kept my progress slow and sure. Anyway, I rashly decided to combine a visit home to my folks with the Hypothermic 1/2, despite my low volume of training. My longest run had been about 7 miles. My injury resurfaced around mile 9 and I was slowed to a walk of shame. 2:14.
Fortunately, that trip north of the border was the last straw for US Customs and Immigrations. I got an invite to the back room, and eventually they let me back into the US, but just for a month. So my then common-law husband and I decided we should shit or get off the pot, and we rung up our folks and then went to the local courthouse and paid $10 (Cash Only. No Checks Accepted) and took some papers outside and signed them there with some friends, then went and had pizza. It was my dream wedding. My only regret is that we didn't have family there for the ceremony, but there was no ceremony anyway, so maybe we'll have a big anniversary party one of these years and invite everyone to a bbq or something.
HALF #5, April 2005, Denver This was a sad occasion. We moved away from Colorado shortly after, but decided that we could squeeze in this race, in Denver. We ran together for the first time, for the first nine miles. Then my husband started having problems with his knee and told me to leave him. I hope this won't turn out to be prophetic. Anyway, I went on ahead, and it got hot and I started to slow down. Mile 11 took about 18 minutes. Actually, what had happened was a death on the course :( a homeless guy, so the course was rerouted, adding an extra .7 of a mile to the course, 13.8 miles in total. My time: 2:18. I almost missed seeing my husband finish...turns out he restarted running and gutted it out in 2:25.
HALF #6, September 2006, Virginia This was a joyous occasion. We moved away from Virginia soon after. Meanwhile, I was still wrestling with USCIS (and I'm STILL wrestling with USCIS...) so I had lots of time to train. I figured, this is it, I'm going under 2hrs. The summer was hellish and I got heat exhaustion once, and there were a few days where I stepped out to water my garden before running, sweated through my clothes during the 5 minutes that took, and nixed the run. Anyway, we chose a nice little picturesque race, the Battlefield 1/2. Some modest inclines, but nothing too bad. It was a bit hot, in the low 20s, but ok. We started together and then my husband told me to go ahead at some point, maybe mile 7, and I came in at 1:59. Good enough! He was not too far behind, around 2:05.
HALF #7, April 2007, Virginia Well, we missed Virginia so much! LOL. It was the inagural Dismal Swamp 1/2 Marathon, so we had to return. I was training for my 2nd marathon at this point, so was pretty fit. Somehow, we both thought that the run would be on trails--we'd been to the swamp before, and remembered walking on dirt/gravel--but, no, it was road, and DEAD FLAT. A marble wouldn't roll on any part of this course. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but when I read of courses like the Ottawa 1/2 being 'flat' or Philly being 'flat', I have to laugh. Yes, they're fast courses, and relatively flat, but this swamp race was FLAT. Anyway, I tore off a chunk of time and came in at 1:50, and my husband was soon after, in about 1:53. We both started late, the gun went off when we were in the portas. I got out first. Fortunately, it was also chip timed.
HALF #8, September 2007, Philadelphia. I was training for my third marathon and my husband for his 1st, and as we lived pretty close to Philadelphia, where his dad and step-mom lived, we decided to head up for a visit and give this race a whirl. It was near-perfect race weather, maybe too sunny, but only about 7-9C, if I remember correctly. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to hit the loos before the race, and I was running great but starting to feel a little full around 10K. Hit 10 miles under 1:20 and then really started to have to go. I tried hanging in there, but, man, I copped out a short time afterwards and ducked in some grotty thing that didn't even appear to be race related--it was coated in old newspapers. I didn't care. I hovered for over 2 min and my thighs were cramped up. Finished in 1:47. My husband cracked 1:50 with 1:49.
HALF #9, January 2008, Ottawa. Again, I decided to combine a visit home with this race because there was unfinished business. My husband couldn't come, unfortunately. The weather was decent--cold, but not too cold, not too windy, and conditions were mostly not icy, just a few patches. I eased into the run and it went really well, far better than my expectations. Finished in 1:47 again, but ranked far better than at Philly. Having good trail/winter shoes really was an advantage.
HALF #10, May 2008, Ottawa. My husband was away in Kansas on pre-deployment training, but had this weekend off. He flew up, and hoped to run the 10K, but had knee issues. We went down to cheer my dad for the 5K, and I ran the 1/2 the next day. It was too hot and humid for me. I held onto a pace, but it was slower than I'd hoped for, and I was miserable. At least I got rid of the 1:47 streak. With 1:48:00. :/. But that didn't really matter. I had my husband with me and we had a great weekend.
HALF #11, September 2008, Ottawa. Thought of my husband lots and ran 1:41. We are stronger when we think of our loved ones.
It's strange to think that September is nearly gone. I'm glad. It's one of my favourite months, but not when it's standing between me and my man. At any rate, I hope to run the Hypo 1/2 again, and maybe my next 1/2 after that will be with my husband. I hope so. I think I will be so glad to see him again that I'll actually run with him and hold hands with him crossing the finish line...which we could perhaps manage until about 50M to go when we'd likely drop the connection and try to outsprint each other. I have, however, promised that I will watch one football game with him, as in, actually watch it and not just be in the same room reading. LOL. As for where our next 1/2 or TV might be, we have no idea where the Army will send us next.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
recovery sleep in
Ahhh, I wish I could sleep in tomorrow, too. It was so nice!
I still haven't done much today, just some studying (well, admittedly, a very little bit), some surfing--new marathon world record set today by Haile in Berlin--eating, showering, laundry, and a very relaxing run.
It's nice and overcast out, with a bit of a breeze. Temps were about 18C and a trifle too humid for my preference, but it was fine for relaxing. It was definitely tank top weather but I wore my Army 1/2 shirt too. I've been overdressing a bit lately so that I don't get too used to the colder temps just yet, plus I have this cold: letting my core temps get a little hotter seems to help my recovery. Anyway, I debated taking the dog and eventually thought against it. I think he's a bit tired and would prefer a walk later on...he's run a fair bit this week and was a bit sluggish yesterday. Plus, I wanted to relax as much as possible, and focus on me, how things felt, tweaking my form, loosening up, etc, etc.
It went well. I jogged 7 miles...I was tempted to do more, but I would like to have another good night's sleep and try to do my long run tomorrow. We should have the same sort of weather, which will be good. I'll take it easy and just tour around for about 2.5 hrs, if all goes well.
I still haven't done much today, just some studying (well, admittedly, a very little bit), some surfing--new marathon world record set today by Haile in Berlin--eating, showering, laundry, and a very relaxing run.
It's nice and overcast out, with a bit of a breeze. Temps were about 18C and a trifle too humid for my preference, but it was fine for relaxing. It was definitely tank top weather but I wore my Army 1/2 shirt too. I've been overdressing a bit lately so that I don't get too used to the colder temps just yet, plus I have this cold: letting my core temps get a little hotter seems to help my recovery. Anyway, I debated taking the dog and eventually thought against it. I think he's a bit tired and would prefer a walk later on...he's run a fair bit this week and was a bit sluggish yesterday. Plus, I wanted to relax as much as possible, and focus on me, how things felt, tweaking my form, loosening up, etc, etc.
It went well. I jogged 7 miles...I was tempted to do more, but I would like to have another good night's sleep and try to do my long run tomorrow. We should have the same sort of weather, which will be good. I'll take it easy and just tour around for about 2.5 hrs, if all goes well.
Free!
My goodness, this past week has been hard, especially the last three days, both morning and evening jobs. I still have this cold, too.
Friday, I ran to my morning job, so about .5 of a mile, and then after it, I grabbed the dog and we rolled. Unfortunately, he was not giving 110% or even two digits, lol, so I left him at home after about 5 miles and an hour of running/walking/pretending to poop but really sniffing things. Yeah, he's recently gotten into this bad habit, faking poopy, but finally I gave up on seeing any kids dropped off at the park, and refused to let him stop until it was convenient for me. He shaped up after a couple of sharp 'no's. His feelings are sometimes easily bruised.
Anyway, I considered staying in the house with him and getting a longer nap, but I was so worked up, I needed to run. Did another 6.5ish miles in about an hour, and that made me feel better. Tired me out for the evening shift, though.
And then I had to tutor this morning...I woke up feeling pretty cruddy. At first, it felt like the cold had started to move to my chest. After tutoring, though, I felt much better. I took the dog for a short 2.5ish mile jog, and then I ate and napped and returned to my evening job. And it went well.
I am so glad I'm through these past few days...they had been weighing on my mind.
The weird thing is, I don't mind the work I do. I actually like most of it--I wish I got paid more, of course, but I enjoy the company of most of the people I'm with, and I've gotten into a rhythm and am mainly left to follow my own lead. However, I don't like being an emotional punching bag sometimes...well, not at all, but usually I consider the source (senility, usually, with a healthy dash of paranoia sometimes, or repressed anger) and just shrug it off. But the combo of being sick, low on sleep, recovering from a race, and working overtime made me more emotionally fragile. Not to the point where I believed that I was whatever a few patients called me, but definitely near the boiling point. Yesterday was especially hard for some reason. I couldn't bear to think that I had to return so soon.
Today went a lot more smoothly, and knowing that I had just a few hours left at the end was nearly pure bliss. Now I'm happily procrastinating studying, and I am delirious with the thought of SLEEPING IN TOMORROW. I suspect my Sunday Long Run will happen on Monday.
Friday, I ran to my morning job, so about .5 of a mile, and then after it, I grabbed the dog and we rolled. Unfortunately, he was not giving 110% or even two digits, lol, so I left him at home after about 5 miles and an hour of running/walking/pretending to poop but really sniffing things. Yeah, he's recently gotten into this bad habit, faking poopy, but finally I gave up on seeing any kids dropped off at the park, and refused to let him stop until it was convenient for me. He shaped up after a couple of sharp 'no's. His feelings are sometimes easily bruised.
Anyway, I considered staying in the house with him and getting a longer nap, but I was so worked up, I needed to run. Did another 6.5ish miles in about an hour, and that made me feel better. Tired me out for the evening shift, though.
And then I had to tutor this morning...I woke up feeling pretty cruddy. At first, it felt like the cold had started to move to my chest. After tutoring, though, I felt much better. I took the dog for a short 2.5ish mile jog, and then I ate and napped and returned to my evening job. And it went well.
I am so glad I'm through these past few days...they had been weighing on my mind.
The weird thing is, I don't mind the work I do. I actually like most of it--I wish I got paid more, of course, but I enjoy the company of most of the people I'm with, and I've gotten into a rhythm and am mainly left to follow my own lead. However, I don't like being an emotional punching bag sometimes...well, not at all, but usually I consider the source (senility, usually, with a healthy dash of paranoia sometimes, or repressed anger) and just shrug it off. But the combo of being sick, low on sleep, recovering from a race, and working overtime made me more emotionally fragile. Not to the point where I believed that I was whatever a few patients called me, but definitely near the boiling point. Yesterday was especially hard for some reason. I couldn't bear to think that I had to return so soon.
Today went a lot more smoothly, and knowing that I had just a few hours left at the end was nearly pure bliss. Now I'm happily procrastinating studying, and I am delirious with the thought of SLEEPING IN TOMORROW. I suspect my Sunday Long Run will happen on Monday.
Friday, September 26, 2008
cold
I still have a cold.
I also had a pretty busy day, 8:00 am start, then errands after that first job, and then my evening job, which ended at 11 pm. Ok, 10:30, because the night nurse took pity on me and let me go early. So, it should have felt lighter, but usually I don't run errands but run, eat and sleep instead between jobs.
And now I'm wired and can't get to sleep!! Time to hit my anatomy book and untangle pre-and post ganglion whatever once and for all. And On old Olympus' towering tops a Finn and German viewed some hops. How moldy is that? (to help memorize cranial nerves, but I think I'm missing a few words). I'm so not interested in nerves. Neurotransmitters are another story. Hook me up to the calming juice, please.
Anyway, I figure I've trotted at least 2 miles during the course of the day. lol
I also had a pretty busy day, 8:00 am start, then errands after that first job, and then my evening job, which ended at 11 pm. Ok, 10:30, because the night nurse took pity on me and let me go early. So, it should have felt lighter, but usually I don't run errands but run, eat and sleep instead between jobs.
And now I'm wired and can't get to sleep!! Time to hit my anatomy book and untangle pre-and post ganglion whatever once and for all. And On old Olympus' towering tops a Finn and German viewed some hops. How moldy is that? (to help memorize cranial nerves, but I think I'm missing a few words). I'm so not interested in nerves. Neurotransmitters are another story. Hook me up to the calming juice, please.
Anyway, I figure I've trotted at least 2 miles during the course of the day. lol
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
sick/speedwork
I woke up with a cold...probably a combo of the 1/2 and a short night of sleep after that. Fortunately, I didn't have to work much today, so got to spend much of the day sleeping, eating, drinking, and studying, which led to more sleeping. Not that it wasn't interesting. I'm especially intrigued by otoliths. Still, I used to be a little bit concerned that studying makes me drowsy, but then I learnt in one of my courses that we have a better chance of retaining facts if they aren't displaced by subsequent distractions. The best time to study is just before one goes to sleep.
Trust your body, eh?
Anyway, I was going to run with the dog, but he got a short walk instead. I debated skipping run club, but 800M repeats seemed reasonable, as long as I took them slowly. Plus, the cold wasn't major and it would do me good to raise my core temp.
Turns out our coach gave us the option, if we'd raced this past weekend, of jogging several miles instead, but this didn't seem attractive to me. I didn't want to move more than a few minutes at a time, lol, and my jogging speed seems to be pretty slow in comparison to everyone else's in the group. When I jog, I take it easy. I don't breathe much harder than when I'm walking most of the time. I used to do my 'easy' runs a bit faster, but I really needed to relax this summer, and I really like the zone I get into when I'm just skimming along. And looks like my race times haven't suffered any for it--on the contrary!
Anyway, I went for the 800M repeats, and took them somewhat gently at first, keeping things loose and streamlined:
3:42
3:45
3:40
3:42
3:49
3:41
3:38
3:36
3:37
3:31
And then halfway through I started running with one of my fellow neo-gazelles (there's a few of us who are at roughly the same pace and we've determined that we're not quite gazelles) and she inspired me to step it up a bit. Plus, the bugs were out and I didn't want them to catch me.
It felt good. I try to make these interval sessions count, but every so often it's nice to slack just a little and enjoy going faster without hurting. It's like a preview: if I keep training, one day that pace will feel that easy for hours. Maybe.
The total I ran was about 10.35 miles.
Now I'm typing this on my floor in a modified yin yoga pose...gecko. I can't type in dragon. I've been slacking on the stretching recently, and I think it's starting to show (or feel, you know). There's like 9 weeks left before the marathon, then I can slack.
Now, I just read my friend's blog, and that's gotten me thinking about me buying new running shoes...won't NB shoes last because they won't, or because I've been told that they won't? They still feel ok. Maybe they'll age gracefully like my old pair of Attacks, which are admittedly falling apart (my dog helped with that during his separation anxiety phase last year), but I still run comfortably in them. The only reason why I've backed off the pumas is that they seem to have gotten stiffer with age. And I once got more than 1000K on a pair of Asics...there's probably more than that on those Attacks, but undocumented. lol. Anyway, I'll mull it over.
Trust your body, eh?
Anyway, I was going to run with the dog, but he got a short walk instead. I debated skipping run club, but 800M repeats seemed reasonable, as long as I took them slowly. Plus, the cold wasn't major and it would do me good to raise my core temp.
Turns out our coach gave us the option, if we'd raced this past weekend, of jogging several miles instead, but this didn't seem attractive to me. I didn't want to move more than a few minutes at a time, lol, and my jogging speed seems to be pretty slow in comparison to everyone else's in the group. When I jog, I take it easy. I don't breathe much harder than when I'm walking most of the time. I used to do my 'easy' runs a bit faster, but I really needed to relax this summer, and I really like the zone I get into when I'm just skimming along. And looks like my race times haven't suffered any for it--on the contrary!
Anyway, I went for the 800M repeats, and took them somewhat gently at first, keeping things loose and streamlined:
3:42
3:45
3:40
3:42
3:49
3:41
3:38
3:36
3:37
3:31
And then halfway through I started running with one of my fellow neo-gazelles (there's a few of us who are at roughly the same pace and we've determined that we're not quite gazelles) and she inspired me to step it up a bit. Plus, the bugs were out and I didn't want them to catch me.
It felt good. I try to make these interval sessions count, but every so often it's nice to slack just a little and enjoy going faster without hurting. It's like a preview: if I keep training, one day that pace will feel that easy for hours. Maybe.
The total I ran was about 10.35 miles.
Now I'm typing this on my floor in a modified yin yoga pose...gecko. I can't type in dragon. I've been slacking on the stretching recently, and I think it's starting to show (or feel, you know). There's like 9 weeks left before the marathon, then I can slack.
Now, I just read my friend's blog, and that's gotten me thinking about me buying new running shoes...won't NB shoes last because they won't, or because I've been told that they won't? They still feel ok. Maybe they'll age gracefully like my old pair of Attacks, which are admittedly falling apart (my dog helped with that during his separation anxiety phase last year), but I still run comfortably in them. The only reason why I've backed off the pumas is that they seem to have gotten stiffer with age. And I once got more than 1000K on a pair of Asics...there's probably more than that on those Attacks, but undocumented. lol. Anyway, I'll mull it over.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
why does this site work, and not my course site?
I'm trying my best to not procrastinate, but....
Anyway, I tore myself out of bed this morning, got through my short morning shift, and then I was done for the day. A nice feeling. Went home, really wanted to go back to bed, but I was good and grabbed the dog and we went.
I chose the wrong pair of shoes. It's getting to that point where I really need to order more.
My stable:
3 pair of Puma prevails...newest pair (a year old??) on the verge of being retired, and 2 older pairs already demoted to job footwear (which works great because I wear down the fore/middfoot padding when running, and leave the heels fluffy for walking).
2 pair of Asics Trail attacks, one of them over 2 yrs old, I think, and battered to slipper suppleness, almost, lol, and actually still good for jogging to work in the morning and the odd easy run (tsk!). The other pair is maybe 8 months old and relatively unused. These were the shoes I wore today, and they were a poor choice. Still stiff and clunky, but perhaps only in comparison to my other shoes.
1 pair of Puma waterproof trail shoes (forget the model name)...worn 1 winter, and good for another. I will probably buy another pair soon.
1 pair of Nike Frees, bought a while ago. Still comfy.
1 pair of NB 826s. Wonderful shoes, but a lot of miles on them these past 8 months (bought with the newer pair of Attacks). I would buy this model again in a heartbeat except that NB has tightened the reins on cross-border shipping, so I'd have to pay $130 or something like that. I'd rather pay a little more and get 2 pairs of shoes. I'm going to have to pay shipping, anyway, because stores here don't seem to carry the sort of shoes I like.
At any rate, my NB shoes aren't going to last through the marathon training. I need something light and comfy....unfortunately, Puma prevails are between models, or otherwise unavailable, but they have another shoe which, despite its sickly appearance, looks to be what I want. Can I stomach light pink shoes? yes. Option 2 is a pair of yellow shoes, score, but unisex sizing, which could work...I have to think about it.
At any rate, what prompted all of this was remembering my run: clunking in those trail attacks. My legs were stiff, like the rest of me, and those shoes really didn't help. I was trying to keep things loose and easy, and not let my feet stay too long on the ground, without pushing myself too much aerobically....well, after about a mile and a half, I felt everything slide into place. Of course, this meant it was time to drop the kids off at the park, and after I'd stooped and scooped, I was stiff again. We carried on, the dog and I, and my mind really started to wander. I was forgetting where I was, that I was running, even. It was a bit bizarre. I don't usually disassociate that much--never run with music, for example. But, I guess I was tired of running.
It was a good buzz and then some lady busted it. We were on a bike path, and she was headed for us, and apparently glaring. It seemed to be mostly directed at the dog, as though she was staring him down. The thing was, she was on our side of the path--the wrong side for her.
Sometimes people run on the wrong side, on the grass, whenever one side has more room or less slope than the other. She was on the pavement, though, and fierce. I got a bit steamed, actually. If she was worried about my dog, why didn't she just return to her side, thus putting me between her and the dog?? And why was she on the wrong side, anyway? Maybe she had been plowed by a bike once, and I've seen that happen, but to someone who had been walking on the wrong side!
At any rate, she raised my hackles and discoloured the rest of my run. And I dislike that when that happens. She wasn't worth the powder. However, it was worth considering.
1. maybe she wasn't glaring at all, and that was her hard workout face (heaven help her if she always looks like that!). No, she wasn't going particularly fast, but who am I to judge? I wasn't going fast, either, and it could be that I was glaring too in discomfort...
2. In which case, maybe her expression was a mirror of mine. But why did I feel so threatened?
3. Probably because she wasn't following a very simple but extremely helpful rule. I'm all for thinking outside the ovoid, but clunking up the flow like that sucks. Something about her glare was very antagonistic. It could be totally unconscious, or maybe she enjoys putting others offguard. My dog does one of the two, I suspect. During this run, we met 2 dogs, and both lunged and growled at him. He hadn't made a peep. However, he has a very direct stare, and whether he employs this consciously or not, it probably gets more of a reaction than a tired expression would.
4. She really is a low-grade sort of shitheel who likes to mess with people's emotions and/or doesn't give a crap about anything or anyone else.
5. The poor woman recently underwent chemotherapy and is still in a lot of discomfort.
At any rate, the dog and I jogged seven miles.
Anyway, I tore myself out of bed this morning, got through my short morning shift, and then I was done for the day. A nice feeling. Went home, really wanted to go back to bed, but I was good and grabbed the dog and we went.
I chose the wrong pair of shoes. It's getting to that point where I really need to order more.
My stable:
3 pair of Puma prevails...newest pair (a year old??) on the verge of being retired, and 2 older pairs already demoted to job footwear (which works great because I wear down the fore/middfoot padding when running, and leave the heels fluffy for walking).
2 pair of Asics Trail attacks, one of them over 2 yrs old, I think, and battered to slipper suppleness, almost, lol, and actually still good for jogging to work in the morning and the odd easy run (tsk!). The other pair is maybe 8 months old and relatively unused. These were the shoes I wore today, and they were a poor choice. Still stiff and clunky, but perhaps only in comparison to my other shoes.
1 pair of Puma waterproof trail shoes (forget the model name)...worn 1 winter, and good for another. I will probably buy another pair soon.
1 pair of Nike Frees, bought a while ago. Still comfy.
1 pair of NB 826s. Wonderful shoes, but a lot of miles on them these past 8 months (bought with the newer pair of Attacks). I would buy this model again in a heartbeat except that NB has tightened the reins on cross-border shipping, so I'd have to pay $130 or something like that. I'd rather pay a little more and get 2 pairs of shoes. I'm going to have to pay shipping, anyway, because stores here don't seem to carry the sort of shoes I like.
At any rate, my NB shoes aren't going to last through the marathon training. I need something light and comfy....unfortunately, Puma prevails are between models, or otherwise unavailable, but they have another shoe which, despite its sickly appearance, looks to be what I want. Can I stomach light pink shoes? yes. Option 2 is a pair of yellow shoes, score, but unisex sizing, which could work...I have to think about it.
At any rate, what prompted all of this was remembering my run: clunking in those trail attacks. My legs were stiff, like the rest of me, and those shoes really didn't help. I was trying to keep things loose and easy, and not let my feet stay too long on the ground, without pushing myself too much aerobically....well, after about a mile and a half, I felt everything slide into place. Of course, this meant it was time to drop the kids off at the park, and after I'd stooped and scooped, I was stiff again. We carried on, the dog and I, and my mind really started to wander. I was forgetting where I was, that I was running, even. It was a bit bizarre. I don't usually disassociate that much--never run with music, for example. But, I guess I was tired of running.
It was a good buzz and then some lady busted it. We were on a bike path, and she was headed for us, and apparently glaring. It seemed to be mostly directed at the dog, as though she was staring him down. The thing was, she was on our side of the path--the wrong side for her.
Sometimes people run on the wrong side, on the grass, whenever one side has more room or less slope than the other. She was on the pavement, though, and fierce. I got a bit steamed, actually. If she was worried about my dog, why didn't she just return to her side, thus putting me between her and the dog?? And why was she on the wrong side, anyway? Maybe she had been plowed by a bike once, and I've seen that happen, but to someone who had been walking on the wrong side!
At any rate, she raised my hackles and discoloured the rest of my run. And I dislike that when that happens. She wasn't worth the powder. However, it was worth considering.
1. maybe she wasn't glaring at all, and that was her hard workout face (heaven help her if she always looks like that!). No, she wasn't going particularly fast, but who am I to judge? I wasn't going fast, either, and it could be that I was glaring too in discomfort...
2. In which case, maybe her expression was a mirror of mine. But why did I feel so threatened?
3. Probably because she wasn't following a very simple but extremely helpful rule. I'm all for thinking outside the ovoid, but clunking up the flow like that sucks. Something about her glare was very antagonistic. It could be totally unconscious, or maybe she enjoys putting others offguard. My dog does one of the two, I suspect. During this run, we met 2 dogs, and both lunged and growled at him. He hadn't made a peep. However, he has a very direct stare, and whether he employs this consciously or not, it probably gets more of a reaction than a tired expression would.
4. She really is a low-grade sort of shitheel who likes to mess with people's emotions and/or doesn't give a crap about anything or anyone else.
5. The poor woman recently underwent chemotherapy and is still in a lot of discomfort.
At any rate, the dog and I jogged seven miles.
recovery
Sort of. I have insomnia. Long frantic shift....but the nice thing about frantic shifts is that there isn't enough time, so it passes more quickly. The not so nice thing is that it takes a while for that adrenaline to melt away. Dang it, can that parasympathetic nervous system kick in already?
Anyway, the dog and I jogged about 5 miles today. I was pretty stiff at first, and then things loosened up. My quads are a bit sore, though, but nothing major. Going to yin yoga yesterday helped a lot, pulling my skeleton apart a bit. I can run up and down stairs fine. Found that out at work.
That job, for all I whine about it, isn't half bad in many ways. I think it's improved my core strength, at least. And time sure doesn't drag while I'm there.
Anyway, the dog and I jogged about 5 miles today. I was pretty stiff at first, and then things loosened up. My quads are a bit sore, though, but nothing major. Going to yin yoga yesterday helped a lot, pulling my skeleton apart a bit. I can run up and down stairs fine. Found that out at work.
That job, for all I whine about it, isn't half bad in many ways. I think it's improved my core strength, at least. And time sure doesn't drag while I'm there.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Army run
I was really happy to learn that the Canadian Army was getting its own showcase run. And they really did a great job with it--kudos to everyone who worked on it, the army, organizers, and the volunteers. It sold out and went very smoothly.
I was going to carry my husband's bib and chip, I guess (hadn’t really thought it through), but my brother decided he wanted a stab at a half, and he did well. My mother ran the 5K. We all wore t-shirts with my husband’s picture printed on the back. Admittedly, I wasn’t thrilled about wearing cotton, but I wanted to do this for my husband, and cutting off the sleeves seemed to do the trick. I felt a bit warm at times but didn’t chafe.
I also hoped for a PB. I'm in good shape and I figured that thinking of my husband would give me more mental strength. We are stronger when we think of our loved ones. I held my paceband in my hand and forgot about it, but remembered the months. The faster I got through each one, the faster this deployment would end. Something like that!
I had my Garmin too...and I actually remembered to start it! Stopping it was another matter, though...at any rate, I knew my goal pace would result in a just-under 1:45 finish...there was no 1:40 bunny and I got through the crowd and then saw I was too close to the 1:35 rabbit...so I edged back until it got too crowded, just ahead of the 1:45 bunny. I thought that maybe it would be better to go behind him for a bit to warm up (I jogged maybe a few minutes, but that was all), but I didn’t want to manoeuvre any more.
The start was great—they fired a cannon! And we were off. I had looked at the route beforehand and figured I’d just coast for the first six-ish miles, and then there would be the only sizeable hill, an overpass. The first mile was iffy—I tried not to weave too much, but some people were seeded too far ahead, but that’s normal for most races. It wasn’t too bad although I didn’t like getting into a groove and then having to slow down umpteen times. My first mile was 7:51, though...I was prepared for something above 8:00 until I was warmed up, so I freaked out a little.
However, I thought about it—I was feeling fine, I was relaxed, I was in good shape, I was barely breathing, the weather was decent, I wasn’t trying to pass people, but I couldn’t let them slow me down too much...and I had to get used to seeing 7s. I’ve seen plenty of 7s this summer, and 6s with mile repeats—ENOUGH OF THE 8s. Dang it, I was going to run through my husband’s deployment as well as I could. This was it.
So I hung on. After 3 or so miles, I got a bit of my right hip glitch, but I straightened my form and loosened up, and that was that. The first five miles were fine. I got through June 2008, July, August, Sept, and October...that was a thrill to be nearly done with 2008. There was still a bit of passing, me passing other people and people passing me, but things thinned out after a couple of miles. Oh, and the 1:45 pace bunny passed me around mile 3 or 4, which was a bit of a shock. I felt crappy for about a minute then I looked at my Garmin and realized that he was probably going by gun time, or banking time. I just kept going like I was, and after a while, I passed him....ran alongside for a bit then I gradually pulled away, I guess. I wasn’t especially trying to, but that was nice.
The overpass was coming up...first there was a bit of an out and back, and it had a bend in it that was a surprise. Bummer! I felt momentarily crappy about that, but then reminded myself that I was already in November or December (forget where I was exactly), and that got me through the bend. Then there was the overpass, but it wasn’t bad. The thing about not-too-steep hills is that leaning into them gives other muscles a bit of a break.
At that point, some guy passed me and, seeing my tshirt, said he’d think of my husband. That was really nice of him, and that got me over the rest of the bridge. I was starting to feel too warm around here, but then the wind picked up and I didn’t really think about feeling too hot after that, though I wasn’t as comfortable as I am in cooler weather. The temps at the start were 9C and they got up to 12, I think, so it was pretty good. It could’ve been a lot worse.
Then we were off the overpass and it was new territory, sort of...I’d never run on this particular stretch of road before, and I knew that there would soon be a bit of a loop on the Experimental farm, too, which I wasn’t sure would help mentally. I guess it was around this time that thinking of the months really helped. Whenever my Garmin beeped for the mile, I would think of the new month, and after a while, this gave me this strange sort of chill/boost I sometimes get, when I sort of feel emotional but also suddenly devoid of fatigue (which then gradually builds up again). I so want to be in January 2009, or March, or whenever: this is the 2nd year long Iraq deployment my husband has gone through since we’ve been together, and while the first one was harder in many ways for him (and, thus, I), this time, he was also away for the 3 months prior to it. He's been away long enough, dang it!!!! Enough!! But, that’s how it is, and far better that he went through the training than not. Anyway, I started to feel sort of tired around mile eight, or January 2009, and then I went into the loop and realized that I would be out of it around mile nine, and it was actually pretty nice.
And mile nine meant that, roughly, there was less than 4 miles to go! (well, not quite, but that’s how I think)...at this point, though I wasn’t out of breath, or really fatigued, I was starting to drift slower, but I’d pick myself up and think, March, March, April, April, lol, soon I’ll get to see my husband. I guess after around mile 7 or 8, I was with the same couple of guys, and they’d drift ahead, then I would....for a while, there was someone else who was breathing pretty hard and who seemed to drift towards me too much and I had to veer away a few times, but I eventually lost him around mile 10, thank goodness.
Mile eleven was back to familiar territory, by the Canal. Now, in the past, mile 11 has been my worst for halfs—long enough to be tired, not close enough to the finish—but somehow, I was thinking it was mile 10 until I was more than halfway through it. I realized that mile 11 wasn’t going to be an issue, and that helped a lot. Only less than 3 miles to go!
Around 17K, I started to feel tired again, but I realized, hey, less than 20 minutes to go!! And then I realized that, if I hung on, I would bust 8 min/mile, and I got another chill/boost. And then, it was 2 miles to go and less than 15 minutes to go...sort of. That’s what I thought at the time, but it would have been more than that, but it cheered me up and I forgot to look at my time anyway. I didn’t look at the timer much...I looked at the auto laps whenever it dinged, and I noticed that, somewhere just beyond ten miles, that I’d PBed for that distance, but I was in pretty good shape and not hanging onto the timer yet.
I got more tired. I wasn’t the only one: others around me, including the two guys I was sort of leapfrogging, were starting to drift slower and I was too. Around the same time, a couple whom I’d never seen before breezed past, so I decided to trail them. It was May 2009! I could do it! Well, I didn’t quite hang on, but I got through the end of mile 12 at a better clip, and then I was in my old neighbourhood, Centretown...my turf.
I was pretty tired: I wasn’t out of breath, and my legs were ok, and I felt like I could run for longer, but more slowly. Usually I feel this around mile 11, but here was mile 13, and less and less to go—I had to hang in there. And that got really easy all of a sudden—I knew that, unless I tripped, I was good to go, and I looked around a bit and decided to enjoy it...without slowing down, of course.
We got through the big bend of the Canal and then I knew it would be just a few more minutes. Then I could see my old high school and other landmarks nearby....last time I ran down this stretch in a race, I was counting down lampposts and feeling like death warmed over, but I was in better shape and actually passing some people. I also saw some of Long's runners cheering us on—that was cool. I had been thinking of my husband pretty regularly, especially seeing him after this danged deployment; at this time, though I wondered if he was running then too, at that moment. Well, turns out he wasn’t, but seeing the finish line made me wonder about his race. I think, somewhere in the back of my head, I had convinced myself that getting through the months meant that I would see him then and there at the finish. LOL
Near the end, a woman thanked me for pacing her—she said she had been following me for most of the race. I actually recognized her—or her waterbottle at her back, lol—she’d been ahead of me around the out-and-back around mile six and then I’d lost sight of her. We introduced ourselves and then she told me to sprint us in. I didn’t have much sprint in me, but we picked it up. I heard my mom call my name somewhere in the last minute, and then I was over the mat and feeling like crap all of a sudden. It wasn’t bad; I usually feel like this and I bend down at the end of races. They say not to do this, but it feels so good. A few seconds, and things were settling back to normal. I got my chip cut off, got my medal—a dog tag, cool!—and I talked with my race pal and we congratulated each other, and then remembered to stop my Garmin. Duh!
It read 1:43:09, though, so I knew that I had beat the 8s overall. . I knew I was doing that during the race, but didn't want to count my chickens too early. or chicks. or whatever.
Mile splits:
1/ 7:51
2/7:44
3/7:40
4/7:38
5/7:42
6/7:44
7/7:42
8/7:47
9/7:48
10/7:33
11/7:31
12/7:40
13/7:28
.1/3:17 (lol)
Afterward, I ate about 2 bananas, met up with my mom, but failed to link up with my brother or most of the people I was hoping to see. I hung around the finish line to cheer, and then wandered around...I hope everyone else had as good a race as I had. I’m really really happy about it. It’s more than 6 minutes off my previous PB, and a really good confidence boost. Looks like slacking on easy run pace hasn't hurt me any. As for the BQ...I need a 3:40. My chances look good for Philly, knock wood. My gun time today was 1:41:19.
Anyway, my husband phoned while I was typing the above paragraph. It’s been 2 or 3 weeks since we’ve last talked, and it was swell to touch base. It sure has been a great day. He’s hoping to do his army run tomorrow.
I was going to carry my husband's bib and chip, I guess (hadn’t really thought it through), but my brother decided he wanted a stab at a half, and he did well. My mother ran the 5K. We all wore t-shirts with my husband’s picture printed on the back. Admittedly, I wasn’t thrilled about wearing cotton, but I wanted to do this for my husband, and cutting off the sleeves seemed to do the trick. I felt a bit warm at times but didn’t chafe.
I also hoped for a PB. I'm in good shape and I figured that thinking of my husband would give me more mental strength. We are stronger when we think of our loved ones. I held my paceband in my hand and forgot about it, but remembered the months. The faster I got through each one, the faster this deployment would end. Something like that!
I had my Garmin too...and I actually remembered to start it! Stopping it was another matter, though...at any rate, I knew my goal pace would result in a just-under 1:45 finish...there was no 1:40 bunny and I got through the crowd and then saw I was too close to the 1:35 rabbit...so I edged back until it got too crowded, just ahead of the 1:45 bunny. I thought that maybe it would be better to go behind him for a bit to warm up (I jogged maybe a few minutes, but that was all), but I didn’t want to manoeuvre any more.
The start was great—they fired a cannon! And we were off. I had looked at the route beforehand and figured I’d just coast for the first six-ish miles, and then there would be the only sizeable hill, an overpass. The first mile was iffy—I tried not to weave too much, but some people were seeded too far ahead, but that’s normal for most races. It wasn’t too bad although I didn’t like getting into a groove and then having to slow down umpteen times. My first mile was 7:51, though...I was prepared for something above 8:00 until I was warmed up, so I freaked out a little.
However, I thought about it—I was feeling fine, I was relaxed, I was in good shape, I was barely breathing, the weather was decent, I wasn’t trying to pass people, but I couldn’t let them slow me down too much...and I had to get used to seeing 7s. I’ve seen plenty of 7s this summer, and 6s with mile repeats—ENOUGH OF THE 8s. Dang it, I was going to run through my husband’s deployment as well as I could. This was it.
So I hung on. After 3 or so miles, I got a bit of my right hip glitch, but I straightened my form and loosened up, and that was that. The first five miles were fine. I got through June 2008, July, August, Sept, and October...that was a thrill to be nearly done with 2008. There was still a bit of passing, me passing other people and people passing me, but things thinned out after a couple of miles. Oh, and the 1:45 pace bunny passed me around mile 3 or 4, which was a bit of a shock. I felt crappy for about a minute then I looked at my Garmin and realized that he was probably going by gun time, or banking time. I just kept going like I was, and after a while, I passed him....ran alongside for a bit then I gradually pulled away, I guess. I wasn’t especially trying to, but that was nice.
The overpass was coming up...first there was a bit of an out and back, and it had a bend in it that was a surprise. Bummer! I felt momentarily crappy about that, but then reminded myself that I was already in November or December (forget where I was exactly), and that got me through the bend. Then there was the overpass, but it wasn’t bad. The thing about not-too-steep hills is that leaning into them gives other muscles a bit of a break.
At that point, some guy passed me and, seeing my tshirt, said he’d think of my husband. That was really nice of him, and that got me over the rest of the bridge. I was starting to feel too warm around here, but then the wind picked up and I didn’t really think about feeling too hot after that, though I wasn’t as comfortable as I am in cooler weather. The temps at the start were 9C and they got up to 12, I think, so it was pretty good. It could’ve been a lot worse.
Then we were off the overpass and it was new territory, sort of...I’d never run on this particular stretch of road before, and I knew that there would soon be a bit of a loop on the Experimental farm, too, which I wasn’t sure would help mentally. I guess it was around this time that thinking of the months really helped. Whenever my Garmin beeped for the mile, I would think of the new month, and after a while, this gave me this strange sort of chill/boost I sometimes get, when I sort of feel emotional but also suddenly devoid of fatigue (which then gradually builds up again). I so want to be in January 2009, or March, or whenever: this is the 2nd year long Iraq deployment my husband has gone through since we’ve been together, and while the first one was harder in many ways for him (and, thus, I), this time, he was also away for the 3 months prior to it. He's been away long enough, dang it!!!! Enough!! But, that’s how it is, and far better that he went through the training than not. Anyway, I started to feel sort of tired around mile eight, or January 2009, and then I went into the loop and realized that I would be out of it around mile nine, and it was actually pretty nice.
And mile nine meant that, roughly, there was less than 4 miles to go! (well, not quite, but that’s how I think)...at this point, though I wasn’t out of breath, or really fatigued, I was starting to drift slower, but I’d pick myself up and think, March, March, April, April, lol, soon I’ll get to see my husband. I guess after around mile 7 or 8, I was with the same couple of guys, and they’d drift ahead, then I would....for a while, there was someone else who was breathing pretty hard and who seemed to drift towards me too much and I had to veer away a few times, but I eventually lost him around mile 10, thank goodness.
Mile eleven was back to familiar territory, by the Canal. Now, in the past, mile 11 has been my worst for halfs—long enough to be tired, not close enough to the finish—but somehow, I was thinking it was mile 10 until I was more than halfway through it. I realized that mile 11 wasn’t going to be an issue, and that helped a lot. Only less than 3 miles to go!
Around 17K, I started to feel tired again, but I realized, hey, less than 20 minutes to go!! And then I realized that, if I hung on, I would bust 8 min/mile, and I got another chill/boost. And then, it was 2 miles to go and less than 15 minutes to go...sort of. That’s what I thought at the time, but it would have been more than that, but it cheered me up and I forgot to look at my time anyway. I didn’t look at the timer much...I looked at the auto laps whenever it dinged, and I noticed that, somewhere just beyond ten miles, that I’d PBed for that distance, but I was in pretty good shape and not hanging onto the timer yet.
I got more tired. I wasn’t the only one: others around me, including the two guys I was sort of leapfrogging, were starting to drift slower and I was too. Around the same time, a couple whom I’d never seen before breezed past, so I decided to trail them. It was May 2009! I could do it! Well, I didn’t quite hang on, but I got through the end of mile 12 at a better clip, and then I was in my old neighbourhood, Centretown...my turf.
I was pretty tired: I wasn’t out of breath, and my legs were ok, and I felt like I could run for longer, but more slowly. Usually I feel this around mile 11, but here was mile 13, and less and less to go—I had to hang in there. And that got really easy all of a sudden—I knew that, unless I tripped, I was good to go, and I looked around a bit and decided to enjoy it...without slowing down, of course.
We got through the big bend of the Canal and then I knew it would be just a few more minutes. Then I could see my old high school and other landmarks nearby....last time I ran down this stretch in a race, I was counting down lampposts and feeling like death warmed over, but I was in better shape and actually passing some people. I also saw some of Long's runners cheering us on—that was cool. I had been thinking of my husband pretty regularly, especially seeing him after this danged deployment; at this time, though I wondered if he was running then too, at that moment. Well, turns out he wasn’t, but seeing the finish line made me wonder about his race. I think, somewhere in the back of my head, I had convinced myself that getting through the months meant that I would see him then and there at the finish. LOL
Near the end, a woman thanked me for pacing her—she said she had been following me for most of the race. I actually recognized her—or her waterbottle at her back, lol—she’d been ahead of me around the out-and-back around mile six and then I’d lost sight of her. We introduced ourselves and then she told me to sprint us in. I didn’t have much sprint in me, but we picked it up. I heard my mom call my name somewhere in the last minute, and then I was over the mat and feeling like crap all of a sudden. It wasn’t bad; I usually feel like this and I bend down at the end of races. They say not to do this, but it feels so good. A few seconds, and things were settling back to normal. I got my chip cut off, got my medal—a dog tag, cool!—and I talked with my race pal and we congratulated each other, and then remembered to stop my Garmin. Duh!
It read 1:43:09, though, so I knew that I had beat the 8s overall. . I knew I was doing that during the race, but didn't want to count my chickens too early. or chicks. or whatever.
Mile splits:
1/ 7:51
2/7:44
3/7:40
4/7:38
5/7:42
6/7:44
7/7:42
8/7:47
9/7:48
10/7:33
11/7:31
12/7:40
13/7:28
.1/3:17 (lol)
Afterward, I ate about 2 bananas, met up with my mom, but failed to link up with my brother or most of the people I was hoping to see. I hung around the finish line to cheer, and then wandered around...I hope everyone else had as good a race as I had. I’m really really happy about it. It’s more than 6 minutes off my previous PB, and a really good confidence boost. Looks like slacking on easy run pace hasn't hurt me any. As for the BQ...I need a 3:40. My chances look good for Philly, knock wood. My gun time today was 1:41:19.
Anyway, my husband phoned while I was typing the above paragraph. It’s been 2 or 3 weeks since we’ve last talked, and it was swell to touch base. It sure has been a great day. He’s hoping to do his army run tomorrow.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
recovery
I slept in, about nine hours straight and I feel a lot better now! And I should get umpteen more hours tonight, after I look at the race route online, and then it'll be up to my stomach and the weather. :)
It's amazing how one good night of sleep helps so much.
Anyway, I jogged down to the expo to pick up race stuff for tomorrow. My legs felt stiff, but that's ok. I didn't expect otherwise. They will probably continue to feel stiff until the adrenaline kicks in. It has been the same way with other races, and with speedwork too. My body has gotten more sparing with speed, and I'm cool with that. It was part of my summer resolution, after all, to get more in touch with what felt right; in return, while I usually end up jogging closer to a 10:00/mile than a 9:00/mile most of the time, I think (I really don't know for certain, that being another facet of my summer resolution), I have been more successful at hitting those faster miles when I ask for them.
So, tomorrow, I would really like to crack 8:00/mile. Mind you, my training has not focused on this, so I can't be too demanding, but I'll do my best to get into a good frame of mind and a reasonable pace.
I also made a pace band. First time ever! It's in miles--I think better in miles--and I ended up going with the months of my husband's deployment. Trick will be to trick myself into believing that if I run mile 11 (usually my worst point in a 1/2) in 7:59, then April 2009 will come and go all the more quickly. LOL
My husband will be doing his run soon, too....either in a few hours or at the same time tomorrow.
It's amazing how one good night of sleep helps so much.
Anyway, I jogged down to the expo to pick up race stuff for tomorrow. My legs felt stiff, but that's ok. I didn't expect otherwise. They will probably continue to feel stiff until the adrenaline kicks in. It has been the same way with other races, and with speedwork too. My body has gotten more sparing with speed, and I'm cool with that. It was part of my summer resolution, after all, to get more in touch with what felt right; in return, while I usually end up jogging closer to a 10:00/mile than a 9:00/mile most of the time, I think (I really don't know for certain, that being another facet of my summer resolution), I have been more successful at hitting those faster miles when I ask for them.
So, tomorrow, I would really like to crack 8:00/mile. Mind you, my training has not focused on this, so I can't be too demanding, but I'll do my best to get into a good frame of mind and a reasonable pace.
I also made a pace band. First time ever! It's in miles--I think better in miles--and I ended up going with the months of my husband's deployment. Trick will be to trick myself into believing that if I run mile 11 (usually my worst point in a 1/2) in 7:59, then April 2009 will come and go all the more quickly. LOL
My husband will be doing his run soon, too....either in a few hours or at the same time tomorrow.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Update
Oh, man, did I totally jinx myself or what: craziest shift so far. I got a lot of stairs in because I often didn't have enough time to wait for the elevator...and the paramedics had to use it for a bit, too.
I didn't know before how much more tired I could get. LOL
I didn't know before how much more tired I could get. LOL
fatigue
I'm tired.
It's a combo of split shift-tired and higher mileage settling in-tired and taper-tired.
I'm not sure why tapers seem to feel so tiring...it's as if the body has been doing minor renovations during the bulk of training and then, given much more free time and funds, decides "never mind the new tile, let's gut the place."
So I'm more tired than worried.
The dog and I jogged 3.86 miles this morning, and I ran to work before that. Soon I will have a short nap and then I will do my evening shift. I have a few ideas to make the evening run smoothly, if not slothfully, knock wood.
1. that nobody will somehow run a wheelchair into me or otherwise injure me.
2. that I won't have extra work left by the day shift.
3. that certain residents have not been overly caffeinated.
At any rate, my jog today was easy but very blah, sort of sluggish and I wasn't 100%into it. I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow--this should put some spring back into my step!
It's a combo of split shift-tired and higher mileage settling in-tired and taper-tired.
I'm not sure why tapers seem to feel so tiring...it's as if the body has been doing minor renovations during the bulk of training and then, given much more free time and funds, decides "never mind the new tile, let's gut the place."
So I'm more tired than worried.
The dog and I jogged 3.86 miles this morning, and I ran to work before that. Soon I will have a short nap and then I will do my evening shift. I have a few ideas to make the evening run smoothly, if not slothfully, knock wood.
1. that nobody will somehow run a wheelchair into me or otherwise injure me.
2. that I won't have extra work left by the day shift.
3. that certain residents have not been overly caffeinated.
At any rate, my jog today was easy but very blah, sort of sluggish and I wasn't 100%into it. I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow--this should put some spring back into my step!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Rest day
I jogged to work today.
Though I've been a 'runner' for just a few years, I have spent many more as a 'commuter on foot'. And, owing to the fluidity of time (how it speeds up those last umpteen minutes prior to departure; nothing to do with me being late), I've often had to travel at a trot. My morning job is in pretty much the same neighbourhood as my old high school, which led me to two considerations:
Could I conceivably, one morning, run to my high school by mistake, by some deep-stirring of old once-ingrained habit? And, even more traumatically, would I somehow find out there that, yes, it's the 90's again and I am expected to show up to Physics on the third floor?
More importantly, I was wondering why I was still racking up a sweat and shortness of breath, even though I've since run a few marathons and many many miles. It's been pretty cool these past few mornings, which is lovely, and yet I've managed to feel just as hot jogging to work as I used to feel jogging to school, when I was more out of shape and much more burdened by junk food, late nights, etc...not that I was a total sloth, but running even a mile required serious fortitude and perhaps a few breaks back then. I noticed the same thing when I used to run to my previous job--I just couldn't get up early enough to walk to a 6 am start, and I didn't enjoy biking there. Anyway, it's been puzzling me why I feel so out of shape on the trips to work. A mile is nothing! but to work, it seems endless.
I considered clothing...these days, I'm in business casual during my morning jobs. It's not that constricting, and usually in the morning chill, I'm slightly underdressed, too. My afternoon job usually doesn't require jogging, due to whatever miracle of self-governance, but occasionally I've had to jog a few blocks to get back on schedule, and that felt pretty tough, even in scrubs. My previous job involved even more casual attire, mainly tshirts and track pants...I still felt the strain of the jog over. And, of course, shoes: sneakers, all the time. Not a factor.
And then I realized that I wasn't jogging to work. I was going at the same effort as I used to use when running to school and wherever. I might be going faster (I would expect so!) but at the same level of discomfort.
So I decided that, this morning, I was no longer a panicking teen trying to get to Homeform before I would be marked Late. I took my time and didn't try to bolt from the house. And it was a breeze.
It really is all about pacing.
That all being said, I'm not running any more today, knock wood (to spare myself a 1.5ish mile sprint in scrubs to work this afternoon). I'm tired, the dog is tired. a short walk seemed to be enough for him. Now he's napping, and so will I.
Though I've been a 'runner' for just a few years, I have spent many more as a 'commuter on foot'. And, owing to the fluidity of time (how it speeds up those last umpteen minutes prior to departure; nothing to do with me being late), I've often had to travel at a trot. My morning job is in pretty much the same neighbourhood as my old high school, which led me to two considerations:
Could I conceivably, one morning, run to my high school by mistake, by some deep-stirring of old once-ingrained habit? And, even more traumatically, would I somehow find out there that, yes, it's the 90's again and I am expected to show up to Physics on the third floor?
More importantly, I was wondering why I was still racking up a sweat and shortness of breath, even though I've since run a few marathons and many many miles. It's been pretty cool these past few mornings, which is lovely, and yet I've managed to feel just as hot jogging to work as I used to feel jogging to school, when I was more out of shape and much more burdened by junk food, late nights, etc...not that I was a total sloth, but running even a mile required serious fortitude and perhaps a few breaks back then. I noticed the same thing when I used to run to my previous job--I just couldn't get up early enough to walk to a 6 am start, and I didn't enjoy biking there. Anyway, it's been puzzling me why I feel so out of shape on the trips to work. A mile is nothing! but to work, it seems endless.
I considered clothing...these days, I'm in business casual during my morning jobs. It's not that constricting, and usually in the morning chill, I'm slightly underdressed, too. My afternoon job usually doesn't require jogging, due to whatever miracle of self-governance, but occasionally I've had to jog a few blocks to get back on schedule, and that felt pretty tough, even in scrubs. My previous job involved even more casual attire, mainly tshirts and track pants...I still felt the strain of the jog over. And, of course, shoes: sneakers, all the time. Not a factor.
And then I realized that I wasn't jogging to work. I was going at the same effort as I used to use when running to school and wherever. I might be going faster (I would expect so!) but at the same level of discomfort.
So I decided that, this morning, I was no longer a panicking teen trying to get to Homeform before I would be marked Late. I took my time and didn't try to bolt from the house. And it was a breeze.
It really is all about pacing.
That all being said, I'm not running any more today, knock wood (to spare myself a 1.5ish mile sprint in scrubs to work this afternoon). I'm tired, the dog is tired. a short walk seemed to be enough for him. Now he's napping, and so will I.
looking forward to Sunday
Today was kind of a blur....I guess I'm focusing on Sunday's Army Run, so have got a bit of taper sluggishness going on. My legs felt sort of leaden and so my mind was jumping to all sorts of misconclusions. lol
Anyway, I jogged about 5 miles with the dog, and then speedwork polished off about 8. The jogging was a slog, but the speedwork went really well.
It was 2X 2K at race pace. There was nobody else running at what felt like a reasonable pace for me, so I just tried to remember what a good 1/2 pace felt like. I was a little faster than I'd expected, but it was nice and cool. And I definitely locked into a certain level of effort:
9:37 (7:44ish/mile)
9:36 (7:43ish/mile)
I was at 7:43-44 when Garmin spat out the mile split within each, too.
I'll go out at least a bit slower, of course....according to the race equivalency calculators I've looked at, that wouldn't be too far off my potential race pace, but I haven't been training for a 1/2. However, I figure that, if the weather is good and I don't go out too fast, I should be able to get in under 8:00/mile. I've run two 1/2s at 8:10/mile. High time to lose the 8.
The weather looks iffy right now...sunny with a high of 19. That route will cook up like kippers given half the chance, so I'm hoping that things will get overcast at least. Fingers crossed!
Ultimately, though, I'll be thinking of my husband when I run this thing, not only because I haven't seen him for 3 months and that's only a 1/4 of the way through, but also because he'll have far worse weather to contend with when he attempts to do his own version of the race, in Iraq. And, of course, he has so many other things to deal with too...not to trivialize those at all, but I have been focusing on the race as a sort of distraction, and I suspect he has too, time and circumstances permitting. There are many months to think about other things; in the meantime, we get to share the race somewhat. I was trying to think of a way to dedicate each mile to him. The simplest way would be to think of them as thus:
June 2008
July
Aug, etc...all the way to June 2009. The faster I can gut through each of those puppies, the sooner he comes home. yeah! I'll probably end up doing this.
Anyway, I jogged about 5 miles with the dog, and then speedwork polished off about 8. The jogging was a slog, but the speedwork went really well.
It was 2X 2K at race pace. There was nobody else running at what felt like a reasonable pace for me, so I just tried to remember what a good 1/2 pace felt like. I was a little faster than I'd expected, but it was nice and cool. And I definitely locked into a certain level of effort:
9:37 (7:44ish/mile)
9:36 (7:43ish/mile)
I was at 7:43-44 when Garmin spat out the mile split within each, too.
I'll go out at least a bit slower, of course....according to the race equivalency calculators I've looked at, that wouldn't be too far off my potential race pace, but I haven't been training for a 1/2. However, I figure that, if the weather is good and I don't go out too fast, I should be able to get in under 8:00/mile. I've run two 1/2s at 8:10/mile. High time to lose the 8.
The weather looks iffy right now...sunny with a high of 19. That route will cook up like kippers given half the chance, so I'm hoping that things will get overcast at least. Fingers crossed!
Ultimately, though, I'll be thinking of my husband when I run this thing, not only because I haven't seen him for 3 months and that's only a 1/4 of the way through, but also because he'll have far worse weather to contend with when he attempts to do his own version of the race, in Iraq. And, of course, he has so many other things to deal with too...not to trivialize those at all, but I have been focusing on the race as a sort of distraction, and I suspect he has too, time and circumstances permitting. There are many months to think about other things; in the meantime, we get to share the race somewhat. I was trying to think of a way to dedicate each mile to him. The simplest way would be to think of them as thus:
June 2008
July
Aug, etc...all the way to June 2009. The faster I can gut through each of those puppies, the sooner he comes home. yeah! I'll probably end up doing this.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
loosening up
The weird behind-the-knee issue is diminishing. I did yoga last night and will go to a class tonight.
I still have to work on my other major issue: getting enough sleep! My schedule is a bit jacked up, what with the split shift thing I have going...yes, split shift is draining, but I like having the time to run in daylight, and this will be especially precious come winter. Ideally, I would have a good solid evening shift job and sleep in a bit more, but until such a job comes my way (probably 2.59 months before I'm due to move again), I'll have to spread the joy around a bit more. lol
At any rate, the dog and I jogged about 5.78 miles today. It was a nice easy run, and I loosened up a bit both physically and emotionally. We also met someone else on the route who recognized me (and not the dog this time, lol). It's funny how a few seconds of seeing a familiar face can elevate one's mood considerably.
I will try to run with the dog tomorrow, if there's time before speedwork.
I still have to work on my other major issue: getting enough sleep! My schedule is a bit jacked up, what with the split shift thing I have going...yes, split shift is draining, but I like having the time to run in daylight, and this will be especially precious come winter. Ideally, I would have a good solid evening shift job and sleep in a bit more, but until such a job comes my way (probably 2.59 months before I'm due to move again), I'll have to spread the joy around a bit more. lol
At any rate, the dog and I jogged about 5.78 miles today. It was a nice easy run, and I loosened up a bit both physically and emotionally. We also met someone else on the route who recognized me (and not the dog this time, lol). It's funny how a few seconds of seeing a familiar face can elevate one's mood considerably.
I will try to run with the dog tomorrow, if there's time before speedwork.
Monday, September 15, 2008
nice running weather
'Nice' is so bland and overused, but I mean it in a heartfelt way. The weather today was really nice for running, not sunny, not too humid or warm...it was pretty near perfect. I wore a long-sleeved shirt so that I wouldn't feel too comfortable and speed up too much, but it was still very easy to drift into a faster pace.
I didn't want to do that. I was supposed to do this run yesterday, but it was very humid and I was tired. The army run is in 6 days and I don't want to strain myself, but I did want to get the last long run in beforehand and then carbload afterwards.
Anyway, the dog and I jogged 10.94 miles at least, which is a new distance record for him! Someone recognized him and called his name while we were walking after the run, and asked how he was doing--I should have told them of his triumph. However, at the time, I hadn't realized how far we'd run, not until I checked on www.runningmap.com back at home. This is a vestige of my summer resolution: to enjoy running rather than worry about pace. Therefore, the Garmin usually stays home. It has been a win-win situation so far, as I'm still able to push myself during speedwork; in fact, I feel like I have more stamina and energy for harder workouts. We'll see if this approach gets me to Boston, but I don't think I'll return to monitoring pace during easy runs any time soon. In fact, I'm hoping that I'll eventually feel comfortable gauging effort during speedwork to drop the Garmin then too, and then perhaps with races, which I'll then perhaps forgo altogether and lope off into the sunset instead....
Anyway, my right hip flexor was sore this morning, but it loosened up during the run, and passed on the tightness to something else on the back/inner side of my right knee (okay, posterior-medial)...like the distal end of a sartorius muscle. Yes, I've had to hit the anatomy book recently (www.getbodysmart.com is more fun, btw)...but I think that could be the main culprit, and that would account for the hip issue too because the same muscle could be to blame for both locales. It's incidentally the longest muscle in the body, too, so I've really hit the A-list here. lol
Anyway, what this really means, whether that muscle or another or several are to blame, is more stretching, more stick, more yoga....I don't seem to get injured, knock wood, but I'm always managing little glitches here and there. This just might be taper nerves.
I didn't want to do that. I was supposed to do this run yesterday, but it was very humid and I was tired. The army run is in 6 days and I don't want to strain myself, but I did want to get the last long run in beforehand and then carbload afterwards.
Anyway, the dog and I jogged 10.94 miles at least, which is a new distance record for him! Someone recognized him and called his name while we were walking after the run, and asked how he was doing--I should have told them of his triumph. However, at the time, I hadn't realized how far we'd run, not until I checked on www.runningmap.com back at home. This is a vestige of my summer resolution: to enjoy running rather than worry about pace. Therefore, the Garmin usually stays home. It has been a win-win situation so far, as I'm still able to push myself during speedwork; in fact, I feel like I have more stamina and energy for harder workouts. We'll see if this approach gets me to Boston, but I don't think I'll return to monitoring pace during easy runs any time soon. In fact, I'm hoping that I'll eventually feel comfortable gauging effort during speedwork to drop the Garmin then too, and then perhaps with races, which I'll then perhaps forgo altogether and lope off into the sunset instead....
Anyway, my right hip flexor was sore this morning, but it loosened up during the run, and passed on the tightness to something else on the back/inner side of my right knee (okay, posterior-medial)...like the distal end of a sartorius muscle. Yes, I've had to hit the anatomy book recently (www.getbodysmart.com is more fun, btw)...but I think that could be the main culprit, and that would account for the hip issue too because the same muscle could be to blame for both locales. It's incidentally the longest muscle in the body, too, so I've really hit the A-list here. lol
Anyway, what this really means, whether that muscle or another or several are to blame, is more stretching, more stick, more yoga....I don't seem to get injured, knock wood, but I'm always managing little glitches here and there. This just might be taper nerves.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
another non-running day
I did, however, catch up on sleep and do some yin yoga.
And I can say that I'm tapering for the Army 1/2. Hopefully the weather will cooperate because, though I feel a little general tightness still, I think I'm in good shape for a PB.
And I can say that I'm tapering for the Army 1/2. Hopefully the weather will cooperate because, though I feel a little general tightness still, I think I'm in good shape for a PB.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
a good omen
The dog and I jogged about 5.4 miles today. This was a bonus. My exam was supposed to be three hours long, but it was all multiple choice and a lot of the questions, if not all of them, were on the tests beforehand. I had a good grade going into the exam and have been studying...I got through the thing in about a 1/2 hour. there were a few questions that I wasn't sure about, but most of them were pretty clear and I didn't have to think about them much. I went over my answers, and then I was starting to second guess myself on the uncertain questions, so it was time to go. It really felt funny leaving that early but there's only so much time required for 100 multiple choice questions. And, no, the pages weren't double-sided. We'll see how I did.
Anyway, I got home more than two hours earlier than expected...I have to work this evening, but there was time to run, plus blog, plus nap (coming up after this!)
It was quite moist but overcast and not hot, so it was a relaxing run. I was stiff, not so much from yesterday as from the whole week in general. I didn't loosen up as much as I would have liked, but it was better than nothing. Fortunately, I won't be working as much this week, nor will I have an exam, so I can catch up on sleep and yoga. I'll try to go to yin yoga tomorrow...I haven't been to any classes for over a week, and though I've done some poses at home, it hasn't been enough.
Anyway, I got home more than two hours earlier than expected...I have to work this evening, but there was time to run, plus blog, plus nap (coming up after this!)
It was quite moist but overcast and not hot, so it was a relaxing run. I was stiff, not so much from yesterday as from the whole week in general. I didn't loosen up as much as I would have liked, but it was better than nothing. Fortunately, I won't be working as much this week, nor will I have an exam, so I can catch up on sleep and yoga. I'll try to go to yin yoga tomorrow...I haven't been to any classes for over a week, and though I've done some poses at home, it hasn't been enough.
Friday, September 12, 2008
procrastination
I really could have used more than <3 hrs of sleep last night! And I can't even claim it was all studying...I had problems falling asleep. And then I got a pre 6:00 am phone call, and not from my husband (so I couldn't coast on it). Oh, well. The lack of sleep cast a funny tinge to everything. I was reading the paper to one of my clients--we have a running joke about Stephen Harper. I don't even know how it started, but somehow the Globe and Mail makes us crack up over Harper pretty much every day now. Today, it was revealed that Harper loves to play piano, was once terribly distraught over a Grade 3 theory exam that went poorly, and finds that music is something that he has trouble doing 'just on the side' because it's so compelling for him. They even had a photo of him playing piano. I was so tired, I was spacing out a bit, having trouble reading and all, which made it even funnier. I don't know how the heck we are finding humour in all of this, but it's one of the bright points of my morning. We nearly pissed ourselves when they ran a picture of the Jewish New Year card the Harpers sent out. To be fair, we've had a few good laughs over Dion's PR too...
At any rate, this week has been sort of a wash running-wise. However, tomorrow's the big day: EXAM, and then I get to wind down with an 8hr evening shift. And then I'll crash. I sort of doubt I'll make it to the Sunday group run.
Meanwhile, I did speedwork with the group tonight. There was a clammy sort of drizzle going on, which made things heavy, but fortunately the temperature itself was ok. The workout was 2X (10X 30s somewhat hard/30s easy). It went well, in that I'm generally stiff and tired from lack of sleep, so running harder than normal wasn't really all that much worse. I've had other robotic workouts like that too. I can barely run 10:00/mile without breathing hard, and then I clip through the repeats with less discomfort than on a good day, and then the load drops again and it's a slog back home. I think it kind of helps to be out of it sometimes.
I wore my Garmin and have my times/paces, and they were like around 6:20ish/mile, on average, let's say. I'm too tired to procrastinate obsessively.
At any rate, this week has been sort of a wash running-wise. However, tomorrow's the big day: EXAM, and then I get to wind down with an 8hr evening shift. And then I'll crash. I sort of doubt I'll make it to the Sunday group run.
Meanwhile, I did speedwork with the group tonight. There was a clammy sort of drizzle going on, which made things heavy, but fortunately the temperature itself was ok. The workout was 2X (10X 30s somewhat hard/30s easy). It went well, in that I'm generally stiff and tired from lack of sleep, so running harder than normal wasn't really all that much worse. I've had other robotic workouts like that too. I can barely run 10:00/mile without breathing hard, and then I clip through the repeats with less discomfort than on a good day, and then the load drops again and it's a slog back home. I think it kind of helps to be out of it sometimes.
I wore my Garmin and have my times/paces, and they were like around 6:20ish/mile, on average, let's say. I'm too tired to procrastinate obsessively.
a lot of walking
No running today.
Well, I probably did run about a mile, part of it to my morning job, and part of it after a bus after my evening job. My training is obviously not going well if I can't catch a lousy bus. lol.
I have done a heck of a lot of walking though. Some with the dog, some without. A lot of stairs too.
Ok, to veer even more off-topic: how can one man put away 4 large jars of pickles a week? Drinking the juice included!
Tomorrow I will try to run with the dog and get to speedwork in the evening.
Well, I probably did run about a mile, part of it to my morning job, and part of it after a bus after my evening job. My training is obviously not going well if I can't catch a lousy bus. lol.
I have done a heck of a lot of walking though. Some with the dog, some without. A lot of stairs too.
Ok, to veer even more off-topic: how can one man put away 4 large jars of pickles a week? Drinking the juice included!
Tomorrow I will try to run with the dog and get to speedwork in the evening.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
catching up on sleep....
I ran 12.09 miles today, not counting running to work this morning. I was kind of slow out of the gate, lol, so had to make up for it.
Anyway, I ran several miles with the dog, and then did speedwork with the group. This is an 'easy' week. 'Easy' is comparative, of course. Actually, though, it was nice. 2000M, 5 min rest, 1500M, 4 min rest, 1000M. At 10Kish pace. That was it.
I was too fast, but the weather was decent and there were a few people running at/around my pace, so it was smooth sailing.
pace:
7:12/mile
6:56/mile
7:06/mile
The middle one did feel harder than the rest, but my Garmin was wonky: every time I glanced at it, it seemed to say something like 7:48, so I figured I was just getting sloppy. Next time, I'll trust my body more.
Oh, and there was carnage: most memorably, a bug went up my nose during the 1500M interval. That was disconcerting.
Anyway, I ran several miles with the dog, and then did speedwork with the group. This is an 'easy' week. 'Easy' is comparative, of course. Actually, though, it was nice. 2000M, 5 min rest, 1500M, 4 min rest, 1000M. At 10Kish pace. That was it.
I was too fast, but the weather was decent and there were a few people running at/around my pace, so it was smooth sailing.
pace:
7:12/mile
6:56/mile
7:06/mile
The middle one did feel harder than the rest, but my Garmin was wonky: every time I glanced at it, it seemed to say something like 7:48, so I figured I was just getting sloppy. Next time, I'll trust my body more.
Oh, and there was carnage: most memorably, a bug went up my nose during the 1500M interval. That was disconcerting.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Protein on the run
I forgot to mention the score yesterday: I got two bugs in my eyes while on my monster run. One in each eye. I had to fish them out when I got home. A least one more went into my mouth...there were a bunch of those little flying things out. They don't do anything, not even get out of the way. But they don't taste like anything, either.
Anyway, I doubt I'll run today. I'm pretty tired again; sure didn't want to get up for my morning job, and I'm not looking forward to the evening shift, either. Plus, I'll end up walking at least 3 miles today anyway. This means that the dog won't get exercised. He won't miss the rain, though: for a dog who swims and dives, he's quite fussy about sprinkling water. I'll have time to take him for a long run tomorrow.
Anyway, I doubt I'll run today. I'm pretty tired again; sure didn't want to get up for my morning job, and I'm not looking forward to the evening shift, either. Plus, I'll end up walking at least 3 miles today anyway. This means that the dog won't get exercised. He won't miss the rain, though: for a dog who swims and dives, he's quite fussy about sprinkling water. I'll have time to take him for a long run tomorrow.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Salvaging
My run today went really well! I was surprised.
I didn't get much more than 5 hrs of sleep last night after my evening shift. I used to think it was the coffee at work that was keeping me awake, but more and more I think it's the sheer exhilaration of finishing the shift. Not that the work is horrifically bad, especially since I usually get into a good rhythm/autopilot...but finishing is sweet, though!
Anyway, I woke up, dragged myself to another job, and then home. Studied for a few hours, and then had a nap, and then it was time. It was drizzly...it was feeling pretty good. I wasn't feeling good, though, but not especially bad, either.
The dog looked at me with such longing that I had to take him for the first bit. The run, which I'd missed yesterday, was about 28 K...8 k easy, then 10K just below marathon pace, and then 10K at marathon pace. So I figured I'd run around with the dog for about 4 miles, toss him into the house, head over to the Canal, and then cruise for the remainder.
The dog jog was ok, but the clouds parted after a couple of miles and the sun came out and it was so sickly damp, I broke out in an ineffective sweat within minutes and it was dropping off me, even though we were going pretty easy, about 9:30/mile--4.12 miles in about 39 minutes. I got pretty mad about the sun. What lousy timing. I really needed that nap, though.
Fortunately, it clouded up again. Dropped the dog off, choked down a banana and chugged some liquid, and I was off. My first 1.22 miles were slow, @ 9:40-50...I wasn't feeling that good. I had stomach cramps. I'd eaten too quickly, probably. But, hey, this would make the run even better preparation for race day, during which something's bound to go wrong too.
So, dutifully, I picked up the pace.
8:50
8:45
8:40
8:37
8:26
8:17
8:13
8:06
8:11
8:11
8:07
7:52
.46 mile @ 7:51. Run total was about 19.09 miles with the 5ish miles before and the cool down.
The first two miles were sort of sluggish, but I figured I'd take it easy and see what I could do, and I gradually picked it up when I felt better. The only hard point was about after 10 miles or so...I had something tighten up in my right hip flexor, but I tried altering a few things and eventually it loosened up and went away. I've had this problem before--it's a remnant of an old injury, not the injury itself but a compensation one--but it's getting less and less prominent. I guess I should revv up resistance exercises. And I definitely need to stretch, do yoga, and take the stick to my legs more often. I've been getting sloppy with that stuff, and I'm beginning to feel it.
Anyway, I was surprised at how good the run felt. I wasn't pushing it. Near the end, I was starting to slow down at the effort I was going at, if that makes sense, but I tried to hang in there without pushing it too much more. True, the temps were a bit lower than they have been, about 16C as opposed to 20+, and that helped.
At any rate, I'm really glad I got this run out of the way. I was nervous about it. And it was a huge boost to feel how easy marathon pace is, and how I have room to start off more slowly, if need be. I was going faster than MP on average, actually, but it was fine. What was neat too was to see my time for a 1/2 marathon at 1:51:XX...this was including those 1.2ish miles to get to the Canal. This is a few minutes off my 1/2 PB, but I wasn't trying for a 1/2 PB...just trying to feel comfortable at marathon pace. At the same time, though, it made the possibility of going sub 8:00/mile at the Army 1/2 more tangible. That has been my 1/2 goal for about a year, and I haven't managed it yet.
Oh, yes, when I had one more mile to go, I passed a guy and he said I was fast. That was nice. I yelled over my shoulder "I have one more mile to go." He asked out how many, so I told him, and he said "You rock." That was a good boost and made the rest of the run go by pretty quickly.
Interestingly enough, having the banana really helped. I didn't eat or drink anything during the run except for a few mouthfuls at a water fountain. I didn't want to stop or carry anything. Admittedly, I would have brought a gel or two, except that I have run out. And, yet, I felt perfectly fine. I might try bringing a banana to my next long run.
I didn't get much more than 5 hrs of sleep last night after my evening shift. I used to think it was the coffee at work that was keeping me awake, but more and more I think it's the sheer exhilaration of finishing the shift. Not that the work is horrifically bad, especially since I usually get into a good rhythm/autopilot...but finishing is sweet, though!
Anyway, I woke up, dragged myself to another job, and then home. Studied for a few hours, and then had a nap, and then it was time. It was drizzly...it was feeling pretty good. I wasn't feeling good, though, but not especially bad, either.
The dog looked at me with such longing that I had to take him for the first bit. The run, which I'd missed yesterday, was about 28 K...8 k easy, then 10K just below marathon pace, and then 10K at marathon pace. So I figured I'd run around with the dog for about 4 miles, toss him into the house, head over to the Canal, and then cruise for the remainder.
The dog jog was ok, but the clouds parted after a couple of miles and the sun came out and it was so sickly damp, I broke out in an ineffective sweat within minutes and it was dropping off me, even though we were going pretty easy, about 9:30/mile--4.12 miles in about 39 minutes. I got pretty mad about the sun. What lousy timing. I really needed that nap, though.
Fortunately, it clouded up again. Dropped the dog off, choked down a banana and chugged some liquid, and I was off. My first 1.22 miles were slow, @ 9:40-50...I wasn't feeling that good. I had stomach cramps. I'd eaten too quickly, probably. But, hey, this would make the run even better preparation for race day, during which something's bound to go wrong too.
So, dutifully, I picked up the pace.
8:50
8:45
8:40
8:37
8:26
8:17
8:13
8:06
8:11
8:11
8:07
7:52
.46 mile @ 7:51. Run total was about 19.09 miles with the 5ish miles before and the cool down.
The first two miles were sort of sluggish, but I figured I'd take it easy and see what I could do, and I gradually picked it up when I felt better. The only hard point was about after 10 miles or so...I had something tighten up in my right hip flexor, but I tried altering a few things and eventually it loosened up and went away. I've had this problem before--it's a remnant of an old injury, not the injury itself but a compensation one--but it's getting less and less prominent. I guess I should revv up resistance exercises. And I definitely need to stretch, do yoga, and take the stick to my legs more often. I've been getting sloppy with that stuff, and I'm beginning to feel it.
Anyway, I was surprised at how good the run felt. I wasn't pushing it. Near the end, I was starting to slow down at the effort I was going at, if that makes sense, but I tried to hang in there without pushing it too much more. True, the temps were a bit lower than they have been, about 16C as opposed to 20+, and that helped.
At any rate, I'm really glad I got this run out of the way. I was nervous about it. And it was a huge boost to feel how easy marathon pace is, and how I have room to start off more slowly, if need be. I was going faster than MP on average, actually, but it was fine. What was neat too was to see my time for a 1/2 marathon at 1:51:XX...this was including those 1.2ish miles to get to the Canal. This is a few minutes off my 1/2 PB, but I wasn't trying for a 1/2 PB...just trying to feel comfortable at marathon pace. At the same time, though, it made the possibility of going sub 8:00/mile at the Army 1/2 more tangible. That has been my 1/2 goal for about a year, and I haven't managed it yet.
Oh, yes, when I had one more mile to go, I passed a guy and he said I was fast. That was nice. I yelled over my shoulder "I have one more mile to go." He asked out how many, so I told him, and he said "You rock." That was a good boost and made the rest of the run go by pretty quickly.
Interestingly enough, having the banana really helped. I didn't eat or drink anything during the run except for a few mouthfuls at a water fountain. I didn't want to stop or carry anything. Admittedly, I would have brought a gel or two, except that I have run out. And, yet, I felt perfectly fine. I might try bringing a banana to my next long run.
Coward!
I was all set to join the group for a 28ish K progression run...
And I woke up feeling really crappy. As in, more crappy than I usually feel on Sunday mornings....that bar has been raised pretty high (or low) these past umpteen weeks, but still I sailed right over it. It was craptacular. My limbs weighed 20X more than normal. My throat was sore, too. This usually means that I'll get sick unless I rest.
Plus, I had an 8-hr shift this evening. I would have been totally out of gas.
Gargling with salt water and going back to bed for another 4 hrs was the prudent thing to do. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the run in tomorrow, and I have a good route in mind. The weather should be ok, too.
And I woke up feeling really crappy. As in, more crappy than I usually feel on Sunday mornings....that bar has been raised pretty high (or low) these past umpteen weeks, but still I sailed right over it. It was craptacular. My limbs weighed 20X more than normal. My throat was sore, too. This usually means that I'll get sick unless I rest.
Plus, I had an 8-hr shift this evening. I would have been totally out of gas.
Gargling with salt water and going back to bed for another 4 hrs was the prudent thing to do. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the run in tomorrow, and I have a good route in mind. The weather should be ok, too.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Stiff
I slept enough last night, but I had a new student this morning and I was a bit preoccupied by that. I even dreamt about teaching! So I got up feeling like I needed more sleep.
My run was later in the afternoon, and I was stiff. Fortunately, the weather was on the cool side, 'only' 16 degrees. I left the dog at home, focused on posture and keeping the effort easy, and ran about 6.66 miles in ??? I had a watch, but I didn't look at it when leaving the house or on the run, except near the end.
Tomorrow will be a tough run. I'm a bit apprehensive about it.
Plus I have a busy week ahead of me, starting with an evening shift tomorrow, and ending with an exam. I've been studying regularly, but unfortunately the chapters on the exam are not the ones that interested me the most in the course.
At any rate, I can't believe the Army Run is so soon--just two weeks! I'm excited about it. I've been putting in a lot of miles and while I'm not sick of running--yet--I am sort of tired of the discipline and fatigue, and more and more curious to see if it's paying off. LOL. And, above all, I'll get to share the race with my husband. He's going to run a shadow run in Iraq. We'll get to compare race experiences sometime down the line. It's hard to explain why that will be so nice.
Anyway, this week has been my highest mileage week ever: 68 miles. phew! I don't imagine going much above that.
My run was later in the afternoon, and I was stiff. Fortunately, the weather was on the cool side, 'only' 16 degrees. I left the dog at home, focused on posture and keeping the effort easy, and ran about 6.66 miles in ??? I had a watch, but I didn't look at it when leaving the house or on the run, except near the end.
Tomorrow will be a tough run. I'm a bit apprehensive about it.
Plus I have a busy week ahead of me, starting with an evening shift tomorrow, and ending with an exam. I've been studying regularly, but unfortunately the chapters on the exam are not the ones that interested me the most in the course.
At any rate, I can't believe the Army Run is so soon--just two weeks! I'm excited about it. I've been putting in a lot of miles and while I'm not sick of running--yet--I am sort of tired of the discipline and fatigue, and more and more curious to see if it's paying off. LOL. And, above all, I'll get to share the race with my husband. He's going to run a shadow run in Iraq. We'll get to compare race experiences sometime down the line. It's hard to explain why that will be so nice.
Anyway, this week has been my highest mileage week ever: 68 miles. phew! I don't imagine going much above that.
Friday, September 5, 2008
fatigue
Well, it looks like I won't make my mileage goal for the week. I won't be too far off it, though, and if the week had been cooler, I might have made it.
This week has been tough, though. I'm again somewhat sleep deprived. It's a combo of studying and drinking too much coffee at my evening shift--I don't usually touch the stuff, but I sometimes need a jolt, and I miscalculate my requirements. Last night was especially poor...I got about four hours of sleep.
It was hard waking up. After my morning shift, I felt like taking a nap, but then I figured I should do at least a few miles with the dog....it was pretty sticky out but we managed 3.6. Then I had a few errands, and then a visit, and then I went to run club. I was dragging even more by this point, and I was late and so missed some of the warm-up. And then I couldn't get into it. Hopefully this doesn't become a habit. Speedwork seemed to be a distant possibility.
But, when it came down to it, something clicked. We had 400M repeats and they were hard, but not as hard as I remember doing them before.
1:27
1:27
1:32
1:27
1:30
1:28
1:29
1:24
1:33
1:30
I was going to do just 8, and pushed it, but then decided to do two more...the 2nd last one was definitely the hardest. All in all, it went ok, and I think I'll be going to bed soon.
Meanwhile...I went back through my log to figure out what I used to do a similar workout in, but I guess all my 400M repeats on track/road predate the start of my log (I had lost an earlier one)...anyway, looking back through those entries made me feel a trifle nostalgic about my runs back in Maryland. Yes, it was usually too hot and humid (even in Oct!) and it's way better having the running club here than running on my own over there, but I had better terrain to run on there. A lot of dirt and gravel (and solitude)...I miss seeing some of the things I saw regularly or occasionally and watching how things changed day to day. I mean more in terms of scat, not the change of seasons. "Oh, this wasn't here yesterday." And there were carcasses too, even deer carcasses, and I would track them as they decomposed and were dragged about by scavengers. It was really quite interesting. A lot of the carnage was concentrated around one particular loop I used to do speedwork on--there were three or four deer carcasses there for whatever reason last fall (it was close to a hunting zone, but the deer probably spooked, and fled, and got hit by traffic). The smell was horrible at first, but after a few weeks it died down.
Here, though, there are many more people to look at instead. It's probably healthier to look at people rather than so many slowly-exposed bones.
I did notice, though, that my mileage was lower about this time last year...that's what I'd figured, but it's neat to see it confirmed.
This week has been tough, though. I'm again somewhat sleep deprived. It's a combo of studying and drinking too much coffee at my evening shift--I don't usually touch the stuff, but I sometimes need a jolt, and I miscalculate my requirements. Last night was especially poor...I got about four hours of sleep.
It was hard waking up. After my morning shift, I felt like taking a nap, but then I figured I should do at least a few miles with the dog....it was pretty sticky out but we managed 3.6. Then I had a few errands, and then a visit, and then I went to run club. I was dragging even more by this point, and I was late and so missed some of the warm-up. And then I couldn't get into it. Hopefully this doesn't become a habit. Speedwork seemed to be a distant possibility.
But, when it came down to it, something clicked. We had 400M repeats and they were hard, but not as hard as I remember doing them before.
1:27
1:27
1:32
1:27
1:30
1:28
1:29
1:24
1:33
1:30
I was going to do just 8, and pushed it, but then decided to do two more...the 2nd last one was definitely the hardest. All in all, it went ok, and I think I'll be going to bed soon.
Meanwhile...I went back through my log to figure out what I used to do a similar workout in, but I guess all my 400M repeats on track/road predate the start of my log (I had lost an earlier one)...anyway, looking back through those entries made me feel a trifle nostalgic about my runs back in Maryland. Yes, it was usually too hot and humid (even in Oct!) and it's way better having the running club here than running on my own over there, but I had better terrain to run on there. A lot of dirt and gravel (and solitude)...I miss seeing some of the things I saw regularly or occasionally and watching how things changed day to day. I mean more in terms of scat, not the change of seasons. "Oh, this wasn't here yesterday." And there were carcasses too, even deer carcasses, and I would track them as they decomposed and were dragged about by scavengers. It was really quite interesting. A lot of the carnage was concentrated around one particular loop I used to do speedwork on--there were three or four deer carcasses there for whatever reason last fall (it was close to a hunting zone, but the deer probably spooked, and fled, and got hit by traffic). The smell was horrible at first, but after a few weeks it died down.
Here, though, there are many more people to look at instead. It's probably healthier to look at people rather than so many slowly-exposed bones.
I did notice, though, that my mileage was lower about this time last year...that's what I'd figured, but it's neat to see it confirmed.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Enough!
No, not another hot weather whinge...although, it was pretty clammy out there today. Still is, but the jog/walk with the dog is done. 4-ish miles. I'm glad we got out before it got too hot. I was pretty stiff but that was to be expected: hard workout yesterday, and I didn't get enough sleep due to studying. I'll have a nap shortly, before my evening shift.
No, the title refers to the deployment. Ok, it's been long enough. LOL. But, yes, I keep walking by these restaurants and hearing about these things that I want to try out, and some of them I will, but I want him to enjoy this stuff too.
Oh, well. I think we're down to 2XX days now....it'll feel better once there's a good thick coat of snow on the ground, because then I'll know we're close to halfway there.
No, the title refers to the deployment. Ok, it's been long enough. LOL. But, yes, I keep walking by these restaurants and hearing about these things that I want to try out, and some of them I will, but I want him to enjoy this stuff too.
Oh, well. I think we're down to 2XX days now....it'll feel better once there's a good thick coat of snow on the ground, because then I'll know we're close to halfway there.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
So I looked at the forecast...
And it'll be just about as hot for the next two days. wah wah wah
Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way...
I did check the humidity today, and it was only about 10% more humid, but it really made a difference. Fortunately, my morning shift was cancelled, so I got out early with the dog and we jogged about 7 miles before it got too sticky. This was good....I doubt that we'll get much more than four miles, if that, tomorrow between my shifts and the weather, and Friday might not be much better.
And there was speedwork in the evening! Mile repeats. It was about 29C/32C when we started but fortunately shady where we were. And it dropped about a degree during the workout, I think. What didn't help was the path being pretty crowded, but that's to be expected on a hot day such as today: probably lots of people delayed their exercise until that crucial window when it's cooler but still light. LOL
Anyway, I had to do a fair bit of dodging/weaving around people, but I think I was still fairly consistent. The one thing that irked me about the weaving was having to pass people on roller blades. Dude, you're on wheels! But this is still better than being stuck behind someone on roller blades. Their butts usually seem to be in my face. Not on purpose...little do they know....
Anyhoo~
6:57
7:04
6:59
6:48
6:55
I think my workout yesterday helped a LOT...after the first 2 repeats, I got into that dull state again where discomfort seemed to matter less. I'm trying to figure out how to describe it. It's like going on autopilot, but without slowing down. I accept the discomfort. Man, that sounds too deep. The 4th repeat was faster probably because I was behind some faster people, and I could almost keep up....I knew that they were taking that one easier because they'd talked about it, but it was a bit of a boost to almost keep up with them. I was on my own for the 5th, but that one had that last-one-boost.
Putting these miles in this heat sure helps my confidence. I keep saying that I feel almost like I was before I had my abdominal mishap...well, I think I have recovered fully for sure. The test will be putting a few sub-7 miles together. When I do that, I'll know I've made it. And then it'll be even more exciting: the territory beyond.
Meanwhile, there's still a couple of harder workouts...the week in general is hard. I've done over 45 miles already. Finishing off the mileage won't be hard...doing Sunday's workout will be, though.
Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way...
I did check the humidity today, and it was only about 10% more humid, but it really made a difference. Fortunately, my morning shift was cancelled, so I got out early with the dog and we jogged about 7 miles before it got too sticky. This was good....I doubt that we'll get much more than four miles, if that, tomorrow between my shifts and the weather, and Friday might not be much better.
And there was speedwork in the evening! Mile repeats. It was about 29C/32C when we started but fortunately shady where we were. And it dropped about a degree during the workout, I think. What didn't help was the path being pretty crowded, but that's to be expected on a hot day such as today: probably lots of people delayed their exercise until that crucial window when it's cooler but still light. LOL
Anyway, I had to do a fair bit of dodging/weaving around people, but I think I was still fairly consistent. The one thing that irked me about the weaving was having to pass people on roller blades. Dude, you're on wheels! But this is still better than being stuck behind someone on roller blades. Their butts usually seem to be in my face. Not on purpose...little do they know....
Anyhoo~
6:57
7:04
6:59
6:48
6:55
I think my workout yesterday helped a LOT...after the first 2 repeats, I got into that dull state again where discomfort seemed to matter less. I'm trying to figure out how to describe it. It's like going on autopilot, but without slowing down. I accept the discomfort. Man, that sounds too deep. The 4th repeat was faster probably because I was behind some faster people, and I could almost keep up....I knew that they were taking that one easier because they'd talked about it, but it was a bit of a boost to almost keep up with them. I was on my own for the 5th, but that one had that last-one-boost.
Putting these miles in this heat sure helps my confidence. I keep saying that I feel almost like I was before I had my abdominal mishap...well, I think I have recovered fully for sure. The test will be putting a few sub-7 miles together. When I do that, I'll know I've made it. And then it'll be even more exciting: the territory beyond.
Meanwhile, there's still a couple of harder workouts...the week in general is hard. I've done over 45 miles already. Finishing off the mileage won't be hard...doing Sunday's workout will be, though.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
plunging onto the sword of Summer
It was so hot it was cool.
Admittedly, I'm a hot weather whiner. But it's really about the humidity. I can't hack it unless I'm in flip flops and a sarong and not moving particularly fast. There have been days where it's been only in the low twenties, but sunny and humid, and I wilted.
However, heat without humidity seems ok. I go slower, and sometimes there's that hot breeze/where's the idling bus? thing going on which really does my head in, but other than that, I'm good for about a couple of hours until water doesn't cut it as much anymore....I can still go beyond that, but it's not as comfortable and I start feeling water-logged after a while. I still have to find some salt tablets or something. Anyway, I sweat, but it evaporates and cools me off, and everything's ok. In fact, I have license to go as slow as I need to, and that gets me into a bit of a zone after a while where I'm just skimming along, not doing much....it's kind of nice.
I was able to run this afternoon. Started off around 3 pm and 30C...I think it didn't get hotter than that. It was a bit of a shock, to feel how hot it was, but I decided that that was what it was, and it wouldn't get any worse.
There wasn't much shade on my route but that was expected. The concrete was brighter than I'd anticipated, though--I had a hat, but no sunglasses--so I had to squint. I jogged along, enjoying how coooool the little bits of shade were, here and there--they gave me something to look forward to. I took a break at a water fountain and wet my hat after about 40 minutes/4ish miles. That felt really good; unfortunately, my hat dried out after a couple of miles.
The next bit was very much the same; after about 4 more miles, I took another drink and wet my hat again, taking turns at the fountain with another runner. I was carrying water--usually I don't bother for runs shorter than 2 hours, but I figured I might as well be safe today. However, my water got plasticky and warm, so I didn't drink much beyond that first mouthful.
A couple of miles later was my 3rd water/wet break, and then I jogged a bit more and then walked the last few blocks to cool off. I forgot to stop my Garmin so I have about 2:05 for 11.23 miles. LOL. Mile 10 was 1:40:XX, so it was a respectable speed considering I didn't stop the timer for the waterbreaks or lights--save for one, my nemesis, which takes at least 3 minutes to change, usually leaving enough time for something to cramp up.
So, it was a surprisingly good run. There were very few other runners out there. Don't blame them.
I figured there were still a few dues to pay for summer. Now that I've offered up my sacrificial sweat or whatever, I will have good weather for my races this fall. Seriously, though, it's going to be this hot tomorrow and we have speedwork. I figured if I lolled about out there today for a couple of hours, it wouldn't feel as hot tomorrow.
At any rate, it was nice and dry and that made all the difference. I ran a LOT in 30+C down South, but it was humid and it was much harder. There, the heat and sun seemed to slam me into the ground. Today, it was just sort of hugging me. It was still light.
The dog stayed home. Fortunately, my morning shift is cancelled tomorrow so we can head out early.
Admittedly, I'm a hot weather whiner. But it's really about the humidity. I can't hack it unless I'm in flip flops and a sarong and not moving particularly fast. There have been days where it's been only in the low twenties, but sunny and humid, and I wilted.
However, heat without humidity seems ok. I go slower, and sometimes there's that hot breeze/where's the idling bus? thing going on which really does my head in, but other than that, I'm good for about a couple of hours until water doesn't cut it as much anymore....I can still go beyond that, but it's not as comfortable and I start feeling water-logged after a while. I still have to find some salt tablets or something. Anyway, I sweat, but it evaporates and cools me off, and everything's ok. In fact, I have license to go as slow as I need to, and that gets me into a bit of a zone after a while where I'm just skimming along, not doing much....it's kind of nice.
I was able to run this afternoon. Started off around 3 pm and 30C...I think it didn't get hotter than that. It was a bit of a shock, to feel how hot it was, but I decided that that was what it was, and it wouldn't get any worse.
There wasn't much shade on my route but that was expected. The concrete was brighter than I'd anticipated, though--I had a hat, but no sunglasses--so I had to squint. I jogged along, enjoying how coooool the little bits of shade were, here and there--they gave me something to look forward to. I took a break at a water fountain and wet my hat after about 40 minutes/4ish miles. That felt really good; unfortunately, my hat dried out after a couple of miles.
The next bit was very much the same; after about 4 more miles, I took another drink and wet my hat again, taking turns at the fountain with another runner. I was carrying water--usually I don't bother for runs shorter than 2 hours, but I figured I might as well be safe today. However, my water got plasticky and warm, so I didn't drink much beyond that first mouthful.
A couple of miles later was my 3rd water/wet break, and then I jogged a bit more and then walked the last few blocks to cool off. I forgot to stop my Garmin so I have about 2:05 for 11.23 miles. LOL. Mile 10 was 1:40:XX, so it was a respectable speed considering I didn't stop the timer for the waterbreaks or lights--save for one, my nemesis, which takes at least 3 minutes to change, usually leaving enough time for something to cramp up.
So, it was a surprisingly good run. There were very few other runners out there. Don't blame them.
I figured there were still a few dues to pay for summer. Now that I've offered up my sacrificial sweat or whatever, I will have good weather for my races this fall. Seriously, though, it's going to be this hot tomorrow and we have speedwork. I figured if I lolled about out there today for a couple of hours, it wouldn't feel as hot tomorrow.
At any rate, it was nice and dry and that made all the difference. I ran a LOT in 30+C down South, but it was humid and it was much harder. There, the heat and sun seemed to slam me into the ground. Today, it was just sort of hugging me. It was still light.
The dog stayed home. Fortunately, my morning shift is cancelled tomorrow so we can head out early.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Long run
It's intriguing how much the Friday sprints torch my legs in a not immediately apparent manner. The fatigue just sort of creeps up after an hour or two. I dragged myself out of bed yesterday, feeling like crud, and trailed the end of the group for awhile. Then they all turned around, except for one other runner. We kept going and discussed many things, including how lovely it is to run on the gravel by the river, and how much it sucks to have to go uphill on the hot concrete in full sun afterwards. Maybe next time I'll bring a cardboard box and just stay by the river. Or maybe I'll buy a boat. LOL
Anyway, it was one of those tougher-than-it-should-be runs. Still, it might have been even tougher, had I tried to run faster at the beginning. I'd decided, though, to run at my own pace this time, and it worked out better. There will be time for faster long runs later on.
Today, Monday, I lay around, studied, slept, and ate. I spent most of the day horizontal and it was lovely. About 1-2 hrs were in the water, but I was such a slug, I put on a lifejacket and just floated. I'm terribly unbuoyant...I can swim, and I can tread water, but I was feeling so very slothful. It was Labour Day, after all. The title itself tired me out.
Anyway, it was one of those tougher-than-it-should-be runs. Still, it might have been even tougher, had I tried to run faster at the beginning. I'd decided, though, to run at my own pace this time, and it worked out better. There will be time for faster long runs later on.
Today, Monday, I lay around, studied, slept, and ate. I spent most of the day horizontal and it was lovely. About 1-2 hrs were in the water, but I was such a slug, I put on a lifejacket and just floated. I'm terribly unbuoyant...I can swim, and I can tread water, but I was feeling so very slothful. It was Labour Day, after all. The title itself tired me out.
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