For Philly. The full. This will be another attempt at a BQ. If I don't make it this time, what with a good group to train with and fairly good weather ahead and a work schedule that accomodates training, then BQ and I might go our separate ways for a while. LOL
I think I'm in good shape for another go. I feel a lot better than I did the last two summers, and I've been getting more miles in. My stomach seems steadier, too--that is my weakest link. Fortunately, I know of a certain eggplant parm grinder which will go down nicely without slamming me in the gut the next morning. Even more fortunately, I have run the Philadelphia marathon before, and that will help ease nerves. Knowing that Manayunk will be there in my darkest hour (or so, roughly 20 miles) is a big boost. Now all I need is a few more months of good training, and good weather on race day, and no injuries. Admittedly, I don't have the best job to ensure that. Knock wood knock wood knock wood! I might have to buy another pair of shoes, too, at least for the marathon itself.
Meanwhile...this morning, I had a bit of intestinal turmoil but not much, and then I ran to run club, then almost 2:30 with the group (helped a LOT having company!). I'm still getting used to a slightly quicker pace for my long runs...on my own, I've been running longer but slower. This seems fine, and my pace for speedwork seems fine too, but I need to revv up stamina a bit more. So, my uber-slow long runs are leading to slightly quicker long runs with the group, which will presumably lead to MP workouts or longer tempo runs down the line. will see. Anyway, the run felt a little quick...not hard, just faster than I'm used to for a long run pace, but I settled into it. After a while, I had a stitch, but I switched my breathing to 3-3 and it went away. Got another stitch a while later, but it went away too with a few minutes of 3-3. The problem might have been talking...I probably wasn't breathing deeply enough. That won't stop me from talking, though. ha!
Then I had a break...then I jogged home and then with the dog awhile. Total 22.77 miles. It helped that it was a nice cool-ish and overcast morning, plus I actually fueled during the group run. Had 2 halves of a gel...one at about 1:30, and the other about a 1/2 hr later. Didn't get too sticky in between, so that was good too. And between that run and the dog jog, I had a juice drink. It amazes me how my legs seem to bounce back after sitting for a bit eating and/or drinking. They don't feel totally fresh, but considerably fresher than before, and I'm able to continue without too much fuss or soreness.
Hopefully, I'll make it to yin yoga tonight...there's a lot to stretch out, and that particular class/teacher is really good at making me stay in a productive position for longer. And then I'll try to get to bed early, but will get sucked into the Olympics again.
But that's ok, because it was the Olympics that got me out of bed for the group run today in the first place. If they can do all that, why can't I haul my butt out the door for a jog?
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Friday!
I guess I did not post yesterday...it was a blah run with the dog. Hot, sunny, and humid. 6.75 miles in ??? I didn't want to know.
Anyway, the weather gods took pity on me and gave me some good atmos tonight. This morning was about 6.3 miles with the dog---trying to tire him out, lol--and then this evening was 300M repeats/just over 8 miles total. And it was nicely overcast and cooler than normal! Last week was 200M repeats in the heat&humidity and they were way too fast. This time, I wanted to take them easier. My friend/coach told me that they weren't supposed to be full-out sprints, but more like on the aerobic threshhold. Which, for me, was apparently 1:14-1:11/300M.
Well, it worked pretty well.
1:07
1:10
1:09
1:12
1:11
1:12
1:11
1:08
1:12
The first one seemed reasonable, but I slowed it down. Really wanted to try this new way of doing short repeats. What helped was imagining more of a 2mile pace than a sprint, and keeping things light. Maybe I was a little bit conservative, considering the better weather, but it did feel like a good workout by the end.
It was a good day...the run with the dog wasn't that great, but I got to see some of the Olympics, which was neat. I hope to find the opening ceremonies on Youtube or something...I saw some of them while at one of my jobs, at least, and most of the parade of athletes. I guess I'm sentimental: I felt close to tears at a few points.
At any rate, I feel surprising good for having run 61.73 miles this week. My goal was 60. So I'll take tomorrow off. Sort of. I still have to work. I have a new job as a PSW, and it is a bit strenuous, and starts as 7:00 am sometimes, like tomorrow. LOL. But, hey, the bonus is that I'm fed there (and the food is good) and I wear scrubs. No fuss. I'll set them out tonight and roll into them tomorrow.
Oh, and the funny things about these scrubs...I got XS but they must be unisex because they're still sort of looser than I'd expect. I was crouching, trying to help someone else pull their pants up, and mine were riding lower and lower. Homeostatis at work! (sort of, if one considers the room the innards of an organisms, and optimal condition being 1 person dropping trou. Okay, a bit of a stretch...just like my waistband. ha)
Anyway, the weather gods took pity on me and gave me some good atmos tonight. This morning was about 6.3 miles with the dog---trying to tire him out, lol--and then this evening was 300M repeats/just over 8 miles total. And it was nicely overcast and cooler than normal! Last week was 200M repeats in the heat&humidity and they were way too fast. This time, I wanted to take them easier. My friend/coach told me that they weren't supposed to be full-out sprints, but more like on the aerobic threshhold. Which, for me, was apparently 1:14-1:11/300M.
Well, it worked pretty well.
1:07
1:10
1:09
1:12
1:11
1:12
1:11
1:08
1:12
The first one seemed reasonable, but I slowed it down. Really wanted to try this new way of doing short repeats. What helped was imagining more of a 2mile pace than a sprint, and keeping things light. Maybe I was a little bit conservative, considering the better weather, but it did feel like a good workout by the end.
It was a good day...the run with the dog wasn't that great, but I got to see some of the Olympics, which was neat. I hope to find the opening ceremonies on Youtube or something...I saw some of them while at one of my jobs, at least, and most of the parade of athletes. I guess I'm sentimental: I felt close to tears at a few points.
At any rate, I feel surprising good for having run 61.73 miles this week. My goal was 60. So I'll take tomorrow off. Sort of. I still have to work. I have a new job as a PSW, and it is a bit strenuous, and starts as 7:00 am sometimes, like tomorrow. LOL. But, hey, the bonus is that I'm fed there (and the food is good) and I wear scrubs. No fuss. I'll set them out tonight and roll into them tomorrow.
Oh, and the funny things about these scrubs...I got XS but they must be unisex because they're still sort of looser than I'd expect. I was crouching, trying to help someone else pull their pants up, and mine were riding lower and lower. Homeostatis at work! (sort of, if one considers the room the innards of an organisms, and optimal condition being 1 person dropping trou. Okay, a bit of a stretch...just like my waistband. ha)
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
salvaging
Today wasn't looking good.
Yesterday's 1.5 hr jog went well, and I got to bed at a decent hour....and then I had gut problems. Not messy gut problems, but it felt like things were being stripped raw (if I remember correctly, the stuff lining the intestines is simple collumnar epithelium....just looked it up, SCORE! I've been studying a lot for a test later this week.
Anyway, my guts were on fire and I couldn't go to sleep until past four, and yet I had to wake up at 6 to go to a new job. After that 8-hour learning experience, I was pretty beat. I got home and debated skipping the workout, but I wanted to return the pylons I'd borrowed for Friday's sprints. So I went and coughed up a few 1200 repeats, 5:13, 5:13, 5:07, 5:08, and then one slower one, just because. It was good to do, even if I was tired. I have about 20 more miles this week to get through, and then a somewhat heavy week next week, and then an easy week.
I really have to get some sleep.
Yesterday's 1.5 hr jog went well, and I got to bed at a decent hour....and then I had gut problems. Not messy gut problems, but it felt like things were being stripped raw (if I remember correctly, the stuff lining the intestines is simple collumnar epithelium....just looked it up, SCORE! I've been studying a lot for a test later this week.
Anyway, my guts were on fire and I couldn't go to sleep until past four, and yet I had to wake up at 6 to go to a new job. After that 8-hour learning experience, I was pretty beat. I got home and debated skipping the workout, but I wanted to return the pylons I'd borrowed for Friday's sprints. So I went and coughed up a few 1200 repeats, 5:13, 5:13, 5:07, 5:08, and then one slower one, just because. It was good to do, even if I was tired. I have about 20 more miles this week to get through, and then a somewhat heavy week next week, and then an easy week.
I really have to get some sleep.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Tuesday
Or something. My sense of the week is all whacked up. My weekends aren't really traditional anymore.
Anyway, yesterday was a blah hot day. Took the dog but we were on different planets, and then he started to lag and so we took lots of breaks. Total, 4ish miles. I was craving a longer unbroken run, so I went back out in the evening and did some more. total 8.8 miles. My legs were still stiff.
Today, it was blah hot day too. Actually, it felt quite nice, while I was walking about to/from work and so forth, and then the sun came out. Finally got out in the evening and jogged 9.42 miles in about 1:30. It was ok. My legs felt fine until near the end...I was tired in general.
Anyway, yesterday was a blah hot day. Took the dog but we were on different planets, and then he started to lag and so we took lots of breaks. Total, 4ish miles. I was craving a longer unbroken run, so I went back out in the evening and did some more. total 8.8 miles. My legs were still stiff.
Today, it was blah hot day too. Actually, it felt quite nice, while I was walking about to/from work and so forth, and then the sun came out. Finally got out in the evening and jogged 9.42 miles in about 1:30. It was ok. My legs felt fine until near the end...I was tired in general.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Good running weather!
This morning, it was about, oh, somewhere below 20C, overcast, and not humid. Nice!
I ran to the running group, then ran with someone else training for a marathon...we ran just over two hours. Some of the miles were close to marathon pace for me, and I knew that that was a bit fast for a long run. On the other hand, I also know that perhaps I am going too slow in general, plus this run was relatively short and a good wake-up call. At any rate, it was nice. Then I ran home. About 16.2 miles in total.
I am not sure if I'll run all my long runs with the group, but maybe every 1 out of 2 or 3, at least until I'm more used to the pace.
My stomach feels fine, too. Could have been just running too hard in too hot weather. I'll see. If whatever it has stopped, then I'm no worse for wear.
My legs still feel a little trashed, though, so if time and inclination permit, I will try jogging for a while before showing up for sprints next week, and I will try to keep them slower. Maybe if I think 'light' more than 'fast'....
I ran to the running group, then ran with someone else training for a marathon...we ran just over two hours. Some of the miles were close to marathon pace for me, and I knew that that was a bit fast for a long run. On the other hand, I also know that perhaps I am going too slow in general, plus this run was relatively short and a good wake-up call. At any rate, it was nice. Then I ran home. About 16.2 miles in total.
I am not sure if I'll run all my long runs with the group, but maybe every 1 out of 2 or 3, at least until I'm more used to the pace.
My stomach feels fine, too. Could have been just running too hard in too hot weather. I'll see. If whatever it has stopped, then I'm no worse for wear.
My legs still feel a little trashed, though, so if time and inclination permit, I will try jogging for a while before showing up for sprints next week, and I will try to keep them slower. Maybe if I think 'light' more than 'fast'....
Saturday, August 2, 2008
rain!
I think that my speedwork was too fast yesterday. However, the true test will be tomorrow...it's been a while since I've done sprints and I've probably forgotten how it feels the next day. If my long run tomorrow goes fine, then I won't be concerned. If I still feel a little stiff, I'll either rein in next week or run maybe 45-60 minutes before the workout to dampen the pep a little...the latter might be the better option. I did this last spring when it became apparent that my sprints were too fast. It slowed them down a bit and, perhaps more importantly, made the workout fit the goal distance a little more.
So, instead of doing X 200M repeats 10 or so seconds too fast, hammering my legs, and coming back next week a slightly better sprinter, I can jog for an hour beforehand, do the 200m repeats maybe 5 seconds too fast, or less, on slightly tired legs, and come back the next week with a little more fatigue resistance over longer distances. I'm not sure of the exact phys-ed involved, but I have more speed than stamina or endurance, so don't really need to practice the former as much. Last summer, I didn't jog before the sprints, and they were faster, but I tired more easily in general on longer distances. It's really hard to boil things down to one sort of workout, but I think that I am better served by showing up to the sprints slightly worked already.
Anyway, today's run after all that was to be easy. And it was rainy and cool-ish, so the dog was able to hang with me a while. He wasn't totally pumped about the leisurely pace, but that's what it had to be, puppy, and we did about 7.16 miles. It felt nice. Will see how tomorrow feels.
Oh, yes, my stomach is still sore. I think it's the heat, but if this keeps up for more than a week or so, I'll probably make a doctor's appointment. I still haven't quite untangled my inner colonic turmoil beyond smoothing it with Bentyl. This has spared me some embarrassment, I'm sure, but started to lose its efficacy after a while, so I tweaked my diet, tapered off the pills and did more yoga/meditation. Things were going well until summer hit again. Now I'm losing weight and appetite. Could be just another flare-up. We'll see....
Meanwhile...I got a lovely email from my husband today. Score! lol. But, really, it's a big boost to hear from him after a gap, especially when things seem to be going well.
So, instead of doing X 200M repeats 10 or so seconds too fast, hammering my legs, and coming back next week a slightly better sprinter, I can jog for an hour beforehand, do the 200m repeats maybe 5 seconds too fast, or less, on slightly tired legs, and come back the next week with a little more fatigue resistance over longer distances. I'm not sure of the exact phys-ed involved, but I have more speed than stamina or endurance, so don't really need to practice the former as much. Last summer, I didn't jog before the sprints, and they were faster, but I tired more easily in general on longer distances. It's really hard to boil things down to one sort of workout, but I think that I am better served by showing up to the sprints slightly worked already.
Anyway, today's run after all that was to be easy. And it was rainy and cool-ish, so the dog was able to hang with me a while. He wasn't totally pumped about the leisurely pace, but that's what it had to be, puppy, and we did about 7.16 miles. It felt nice. Will see how tomorrow feels.
Oh, yes, my stomach is still sore. I think it's the heat, but if this keeps up for more than a week or so, I'll probably make a doctor's appointment. I still haven't quite untangled my inner colonic turmoil beyond smoothing it with Bentyl. This has spared me some embarrassment, I'm sure, but started to lose its efficacy after a while, so I tweaked my diet, tapered off the pills and did more yoga/meditation. Things were going well until summer hit again. Now I'm losing weight and appetite. Could be just another flare-up. We'll see....
Meanwhile...I got a lovely email from my husband today. Score! lol. But, really, it's a big boost to hear from him after a gap, especially when things seem to be going well.
Friday, August 1, 2008
the army marches on its stomach
Thurs: nothing. I didn't feel like running. Wasn't sore or anything, but I didn't feel like running, and usually when that happens, I look at my log and see when the last break was, and if I should be concerned or try to pump up the moto/kick myself out the door...well, it had been 18 days straight, so I figured all was well, I was just tired of changing clothes so often. LOL
Fri: speedwork again, but shorter intervals. I like these. The training program our group has treats them a little differently than what I've done before, though. I'm used to barrelling out and taking a nice slow walk back, roughly 1:30-2:00 for every 200m and about 3-4 min for 400m. The recoveries this time were only 60s, except between sets, and I was still in the old gear, although I was a bit slower than last summer. 38-40 seconds per 200M. This is faster than specified for me, and just too fast to handle the short rest intervals. So I didn't do the maximum specified, but was fairly consistent, at least, I guess. I have to look at the upcoming workouts and feel my way around a better pace.
My stomach hurt at the end, though. Still does a bit, though it hurt this morning, too, so I shouldn't be too surprised. Summer finally is catching up to me gut-wise, but I would like to continue speedwork and stay off the Bentyl. Just another month-ish, just hang in there... I guess this means that all my other runs will stay super easy for the time being. :D
Fri: speedwork again, but shorter intervals. I like these. The training program our group has treats them a little differently than what I've done before, though. I'm used to barrelling out and taking a nice slow walk back, roughly 1:30-2:00 for every 200m and about 3-4 min for 400m. The recoveries this time were only 60s, except between sets, and I was still in the old gear, although I was a bit slower than last summer. 38-40 seconds per 200M. This is faster than specified for me, and just too fast to handle the short rest intervals. So I didn't do the maximum specified, but was fairly consistent, at least, I guess. I have to look at the upcoming workouts and feel my way around a better pace.
My stomach hurt at the end, though. Still does a bit, though it hurt this morning, too, so I shouldn't be too surprised. Summer finally is catching up to me gut-wise, but I would like to continue speedwork and stay off the Bentyl. Just another month-ish, just hang in there... I guess this means that all my other runs will stay super easy for the time being. :D
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