Mommy To Marathoner

Back in the U.S.A.!!

2006-08-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

We made it back to the U.S. in mid-June, after an unbelievable trip down under - the highlight of which was snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, but there were many other wonderful adventures. I was able to keep up a good three-day-a-week running schedule (with increasing long runs on the weekends), plus did lots of walking and hiking. I lost a total of about 8 pounds, and have managed to keep it off since we've been back. And I ran in a 5K in the city we were living in (Wollongong, about an hour south of Sydney). I had hoped to break 30:00, but with two long hills and a wicked head wind in the last mile (which was right along the beach), I just missed, and had to settle for 30:33. But it was still a lot of fun!
The running schedule I'd been following was from Galloway's book, Running: A Year Round Plan. Its main components for the most basic schedule, which I followed, are walking breaks during all runs; and running 3 days a week - a cadence workout for 30 minutes one day; a hill workout for 30 minutes another day; and a long run on the weekend. This worked extremely well for my schedule with work and kids, and I felt like the walking breaks made even the long runs not take a huge toll on my body.
So, I started training for the Adirondack Half-Marathon, which is in mid-September. A couple of weeks ago I did a 10.5-mile long run that was WONDERFUL, so I was feeling great about how the training was going. Unfortunately, a couple of days later, I started feeling a pain at the top of my foot, just behind the middle and fourth toes. Having had a stress fracture once when I was in graduate school, I suspected that's what it was, and stopped running until I could get checked out. This Wednesday I got an X-ray and saw a podiatrist. He also thinks it is probably a stress fracture, although it is not showing up on X-ray yet. So, no running until I see him again in 3 weeks (we leave for vacation on Tuesday for 2 weeks). Which means my half-marathon hopes are probably shot. But at least I can bike! I'll just have to pick another goal in the more distant future for the running. And I need to re-evaluate the Galloway schedule. My podiatrist thinks it would be better for me to run more days a week (4), do a long run every week (Galloway has you switch to every other week once you get above 7 or 8 miles), and not increase the long runs by as much (Galloway has you increase by 1.5 miles once you get above 7-8).
At least I've got a lot of time to think about such things during my 2-week, non-running vacation...
Hope the rest of you are managing to stay injury-free!

Running Upside Down

2006-02-06T01:18:00.000-08:00

The family and I made it safely to Australia - been here almost two weeks now! - and it is AWESOME! In addition to the jet lag, the weather has been quite a lot to adjust to - today it was 88 degrees and humid, and that's not atypical for what we've been experiencing here.
But let me tell you, things around here are SOOO conducive to exercising and eating right! Tons of paths for biking and running, and fresh, whole foods everywhere you look. And portion sizes at restaurants are actually reasonable, instead of 4 times what a healthy person should eat. Every weekday morning I've been running or walking in the Botanic Gardens that are just around the corner from our house. On the weekends, I take a longer run on an awesome path I found that is packed sand, shaded, and runs between a lagoon and the beach. And I'm eating fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, etc. - hardly any processed foods since we've been here. If I don't get fitter and lose some weight while we're here, it will be no one's fault but my own!
My husband and I are doing a blog of our adventures here for friends and family back home (lots of personal details, so I'm not linking to it here), so that's where most of my blogging time is going right now. But I'm trying to check on all of you when I get the chance. Hopefully that will happen more often in the days to come!
G-day!

Stating the Obvious

2005-12-13T10:15:00.000-08:00

I seem to be taking a break from blogging. With the holidays going on, preparations for our Australia trip, etc., I have found myself with precious little time to blog or comment on blogs, though I still read them when I get the chance.
I also have gone through a period of low motivation - for both eating right and exercising. I have been doing both, but sporadically. Something about this time of year, with the cold weather, dark days, and no races immediately on the horizon = I can't find my friend Mo. It has been heartening to see that others are going through the same thing, and encouraging to read the blogs of those who have managed to overcome this natural decline.
So the last few days I've been better about eating and exercising, and am hoping to keep it up through the holidays (including the cookie exchange I'm going to on Sunday, for which I need to bake 6 dozen cookies - yikes!). We leave for Australia on January 22nd, and suddenly I'll need to be in shorts (including running shorts!) and bathing suits again (for the beach!). Now if that isn't motivation, what is?!
Happy holidays to my fellow bloggers!

Yes, I'm a Slacker

2005-09-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

I’ve been terrible about keeping up this blog lately, in part because I feel like I don’t have anything new to say and in part because I haven’t had enough time to do much reading and commenting on others’ blogs. But I thought I’d check in and count myself among the living.
I feel like such a slacker with so many other bloggers taking on new races and challenges at this time of year – Lara’s half-marathon, Susan training for one, Jon training for a marathon, Jack running his second, Mia keeping up a running schedule with a freakin’ NEWBORN?! The list goes on…And I have dropped any racing plans, and am just focusing on exercising for fitness and enjoyment – including some running, but also walk/jog workouts and hiking – with the family, with friends, etc. I am really enjoying myself, and finding it easier to keep in control of my eating than when I’m ramped up on a pre-race running schedule. The racing bug will no doubt hit again, and I fully expect to be starting a more formal training program for running in the spring, but for now I’m treating my running as a good friend that understands if I only call a few times a week instead of almost every day. ;-)
I mentioned in my last post that we’re going to Australia in February – my husband is leading a study group there, and we’ll be living right on the coast in New South Wales for 4-1/2 months. So we’ll be leaving the dead of winter in central New York and going to a place where it will be summer. Should be a great adventure! And I’ve already learned of a running club there, called the Kembla Joggers, that sounds like a great group and also sponsors some races, training runs, etc. So that is enough to keep me motivated to at least maintain a semblance of running conditioning without actually training for a race in the near future.
Happy running and racing to everyone! I’m enjoying the vicarious experience of reading about all your training and racing adventures.

Back to the routine...

2005-09-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

The kids, hubby, and I are all back to our normal school/work schedules, and things are busy but going well. We've been having some unbelievably beautiful weather around here, and fall - my favorite season in central NY - is in the air.
I have decided that the half-marathon ain't gonna happen for me, and I'm okay with that. In the last couple weeks before school started, we had tons of family activities together, and lots of other things going on, and I was starting to get super-stressed about trying to get my long runs in (I had gone up to 8 miles). Then I realized that it made no sense for my RECREATION to become yet another source of stress for me! In addition to the fact that I wanted to spend as much time as possible with the kiddos before they headed back to their full school schedules. Those long runs, and recovery from them, sure do take up a good chunk of a day, at least for me! And I realize I could still run the race, and probably still finish even with what I've done so far, but I don't have any need to prove that to myself, and I'd rather run a race like that when it can seem like a real achievement rather than just something to struggle through so I can say I did it. When I ran a half-marathon before getting pregnant with my daughter, I had really trained well for it over a period of months and was in excellent physical condition, and I felt so great about it - I want to feel the same way the next time I run one!
Part of what threw off my running schedule over the last couple of months was the fact that, since my daughter switched to her "big girl" bed, she comes in to get me in the middle of the night and wants me to sleep the rest of the night with her (luckily, we got her a full-size bed!). I know I should be a hard-ass about it, and make her sleep by herself, but damn, I know how fast their growing up goes by, and it won't be too long before she doesn't want to be seen with me, let alone have me sleep half the night with her! So my early-morning runs went by the wayside for awhile, but I am now able to sneak out early without waking her up and still get them in. Those early-morning runs really help me keep consistent with my schedule, so I'm very psyched to be getting back to them.
I'm re-evaluating what I should be doing with my running at this point. Despite doing a lot more running this year, my weight has stayed roughly the same, so I'm at the point of wanting to use my running more as a fitness/weight loss tool instead of just an end in itself. I'm considering heart-rate monitor training toward this goal, as well as walking breaks during my long runs and walking on days I don't run. If I find that all doesn't keep me focused enough, I'll pick a race somewhere out in the distance and start training for it. And I hope by this time next year to be training for at least a half-marathon, if not a marathon! We head to Australia in February for 4-1/2 months, so I'll have a short winter this year!
Loved reading about the New Haven RBF meetup on various blogs - sounds like a blast!

Still here...

2005-08-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

But still finding little time to blog read or post. In the past 2-3 weeks I've had 2 trips to D.C. for work (I ran on the mall - my old stomping grounds! - during the second trip), a family camping trip, and many other work- and family-related things going on. We're off on another short camping trip this week, then my husband and I start teaching for the semester the following week (he's a full-time prof., I teach one course per semester as an adjunct prof. in addition to my other part-time telecommuting job), then the kiddos are back to their normal preschool/school schedule the week after Labor Day. I am not getting in all the runs that I'd like to for my half-marathon training, but still trying to keep up a semblance of a running schedule. The next couple of weeks will tell whether it's realistic for me to do the HM or not. I hope so!

Last-Minute 5-Mile Race

2005-08-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, almost on the spur of the moment, I decided to run in a 5-mile race here in my hometown. I had originally planned not to do it, since I'd been having calf tightness problems, in addition to the fact that I felt self-conscious about running in front of people I actually KNOW. But the weather was so beautiful heading into the weekend, and my calf was feeling much better after a few days of going down to the track for flat runs, so I said what the heck, and decided to go for it.
As Lara has described in her blog, it was a rolling course, particularly after the first mile. I live in a hillier part of town than this race was on, so the hills were not too bad for me, but I'm sure they were very noticeable to anyone who trains primarily on the flats. Anyway, I went out feeling pretty strong, waving to friends as we went through town, and was a little worried when that first flat mile went by in 10:25 - a sinking fear that I had started out too fast! Somehow, though, it just turned out to be one of those days when I was feeling pretty comfortable, so I was able to keep pushing it for the rest of the race. It was a LOONG straight shot to the finish line at the end of mile 5, and I was completely by myself at that point, but then towards the very end I saw and heard my family and some friends cheering for me, and that helped me finish with a bit of a kick. Overall time was 53:10. I can't seem to find a pace chart that goes higher than 10 minutes per mile pace, and I'm too lazy to do the math, so I'm not sure exactly what that works out to, but overall I was pleased. And my kids were excited to see me do it, and were having races with each other for the rest of the day, so it was nice to see that, too!
It's funny the things non-runners say to you, though. I was wandering around the farmers' market with my family after the race, and had a couple of people come up and ask weird things about the race. The strangest was one older guy who came up and said, "Well, did you win or lose?" I told him I certainly didn't win, and he said, "Well, what place did you come in?" I said I had no idea, that I had just run it for fun, and he looked at me like I was crazy and seemed a bit exasperated. I mean, sheesh! Oh, and speaking of winning and losing, my fast neighbor's husband (otherwise known as my REALLY fast neighbor) finished among the top 5 while pushing their twin toddlers in a babyjogger! He averaged sub-7-min. miles, including retracing his steps once or twice to retrieve one of the boys' dropped water bottles! Some people...
I haven't run since then (trip to D.C. yesterday for work got in the way) but will get out again tomorrow. And tonight or tomorrow I hope to spare a few minutes to catch up on blog-reading!

Laying Low for Awhile

2005-07-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend camping, but I have come to the conclusion that, with the kids home a lot during the summer and some pressing work projects going on - not to mention trying to keep up a running schedule! - I have precious little time to blog and, more distressing, to read and comment on others' blogs. I am trying to fit in the reading when I can, but my time for that is very sporadic. So I think I'm going to be blogging pretty infrequently between at least now and the fall, though hopefully I can pick back up again more regularly then.
I'm working hard on the healthy eating side of things, and also planning out a training schedule for my fall half-marathon. My main obstacle these days is my daughter, who's been waking up by 5:30 or so every morning, making my early morning exercise very difficult to get in! We're experimenting with later bedtimes for her, etc., since I have found that the early morning workouts are what enable me to keep up a running schedule.
Well, the kids are shouting for me again - gotta go!

Goin' Camping

2005-07-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

We're headed off tomorrow to camp with 5 other families for the weekend at a beautiful state park near the Finger Lakes. Don't know how the schedule will pan out, but I'm definitely packing the running clothes - might be my only moments alone! Hope everyone has a great running/racing weekend.

Onward and Downward

2005-07-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

So, this morning I sent in my registration for this half-marathon! It's supposed to be absolutely beautiful, and the family is up for spending a weekend in the Adirondacks - who wouldn't be?! The full marathon course is supposedly wickedly hilly, but the half-marathon is mostly flat with a few hill sections (which I like!).
My main focus now, in addition to the training, is shedding some weight (hence the "downward" part of my title). Inspired in part by wanting to run a bit faster! I'm convinced I'll never be a super-fast runner - I think I have 100% slow-twitch muscles - but I would like to test my limits and find out just how fast I CAN run. I like the idea of pushing myself to my own limits and seeing what I can make my body do.
I have been feeling great since the Boilermaker - no soreness, no extra fatigue - so I don't think I need to wait too long before picking up again in earnest on a training schedule. My first post-race run was scheduled for this morning, but was thwarted by both my early-waking 3-year-old and some wicked thunderstorms that came through. But either later today or tomorrow morning I'll be out there again!

What a Blast!

2005-07-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

If I had to use one word to sum up my Boilermaker experience, it would be: FUN!!! Lots of spectators, lots of great music, enjoying the challenging course, finishing comfortably, and sharing the experience with friends.
My husband stayed home with the kids since we figured things would be too crazy to bring them. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had hoped to see both Lara and another friend of mine from high school who was running the race. As I was driving there EARLY Sunday morning, I started worrying that maybe I wouldn't find either of them, and would be doing the whole thing by myself. But, remarkably, I ran into both of them before the race - it was great to see some friendly faces!
Lara and I were in the same starting corral (the last one!) and chatted while we were waiting for the beginning of the race. She seemed cool as a cucumber - I, on the other hand, was a bit of a Chatty Cathy, so I was hoping I wasn't bothering her too much! I jogged around a little, since I was worried about my tight left calf, but it seemed okay. Once the cannon was fired for the start of the race, it took us a little over 10 minutes to get to the start line. It was funny to be shuffling along towards the start and hear the announcers say the leaders were at mile 1, mile 2...(the winner finished in just over 43 minutes!).
The first few miles just felt like a relaxed training run. That part of the course wasn't too hilly, but there was a very strong headwind - it felt great from the cooling aspect, but definitely slowed down the pace; those miles were all right around 12 minutes for me.
After that, we headed into the hillier 4th mile. When I got on the hills, I really felt like it was worth it to have done so much hill training around where I live - I felt strong, and passed quite a few people. I was conservative on the long downhill in the 5th mile, since I think cruising down that one on the development run is what spanked my calves in the first place. After that, we came down on to more major streets with lots of spectators as well as some sprinklers and showers - those felt SOOO good! There were lots of funny signs that people were holding up, many of them having to do with how many miles were left until FREE BEER. I felt really happy during miles 6-8, and even raised up my hands and waved them back and forth when we passed a radio station truck playing "Celebration," and encouraging everyone to do that.
The 9th full mile was LOOONG, with the sun blazing on us and a long gradual uphill, and that's where I saw a number of people off on the side being treated by medical personnel. But once I got to the last .3, it was downhill from there (both literally and figuratively), and I knew I had done it!
Now, here's the best part: Lara and I had been running together on and off during the race, and alternating who was in front at different times. I had lost track of her for awhile during that last 2 miles or so. Just as I got to about a tenth of a mile from the finish, she pulled up next to me and said something along the lines of "Let's rock and roll!" So we turned it on and went across the finish line together! What an awesome way to end it!
Afterward, I got to meet her husband and son, and her husband took some pictures of us. He is the friendliest guy in the world, and cute, too! I also met up with my high school friend, and we got to spend some time during the post-race party getting caught up on things and discussing the race.
My only complaint about the post-race party was that it was VERY beer-oriented. I like a refreshing beer as much as the next person, but after 9+ miles of running and with my stomach being a tad queasy from the effort, after a few sips of beer I really wanted to find some water. My friend and I walked all around the party area, passing about 15 beer tables, and I could NOT find water! I ended up getting some lemon-lime soda, but it wasn't the same.
Anyway, I came home, took a shower and a rest, and then my family and I went to a neighbors' house for a cookout and volleyball party. A lot of my neighbors were asking me about the race, so that was fun.
I'll plan to be back next year for it! And Lara and I discussed the fact that we knew the RBF-er's were with us, so THANKS!!!

2:00:15:21 and counting!

2005-07-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

The Boilermaker web page has a clock counting down to race start time, and I just copied the time it was showing into my title - it's getting close!
I am feeling okay about things, except that my left calf is a little tight, which I discovered when I went out for a slow 2-mile run early yesterday morning. My calves were VERY tight for a few days after that 10K development run I did a week and a half ago - I think I didn't walk enough when I was done. And the tightness seems to be lingering. So I will be doing some walking and gentle stretching today, and hope that my slow 15-20-minute journey to the start line tomorrow will help loosen things up enough that it won't bother me during the race.
I decided not to really set any time goals for this race; finishing should be enough! And I keep reminding myself that 9.3 MILES IS A LONG WAY! - i.e., I need to be very conservative until well past the first half of the race. And if my calves are yelling at me, I'll be conservative throughout the race, since I want to be able to keep up a running schedule even after it's over!
One thing that's cool is that I'm sharing this experience with one of my oldest friends (one I've known since high school, who lives out of the country but is back in the area for a visit and decided to run the Boilermaker) and one of my newest friends (Lara!). I hope the crowds will allow for me to see both of them at some point!
Best of luck to anyone else racing this weekend!

I've Been Tagged!

2005-07-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by both Jack and Lara on this one:

1. What is your favorite long run pace?
Somewhere in the 11:30-12 minute per mile range.

2. What is your favorite (or typical) pre-run meal?
Depending on how long I'm going, either a banana or a whole-wheat bagel with natural peanut butter. And coffee, of course.

3. What was the distance of your first ever, official race? (This isn't a
contest, I'm just curious).
5K. And the thing my husband shakes his head about to this day is that I "hardwared" in that race. There were only 3 women in my age group, and I came in second and got a trophy!

4. Do you typically run in groups or run alone?
Alone.

5. Name one or two NEW running experiences (occurring within the past year),
that you have grown the most from.
1) Early morning running - one of those "nevers" that I'm now enjoying! 2) Writing this blog and using it and other blogs as inspiration for running!

6. What is your least favorite structure to run on/over?
Probably gravel-covered hills.

And since almost everyone I would probably think to tag has already been tagged, I'll leave it at that!

Whole Lotta Tapering Goin' On

2005-07-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I've run exactly once (on Saturday, the 3-mile hilly loop from my house) since the 10K development run last Wednesday. I was planning to run this morning, but was thwarted by my 3-year-old, who just recently moved into her "big girl bed", so can now do things like come into our room at 5 a.m. saying she can't sleep. Luckily, we got her a full-size bed, so I just brought her back to her room and we both fell back asleep. But no run.
My head is still sort of spinning from having that unexpected week out of town, followed by hosting family at our house over the 4th of July weekend (lots of fun, but also lots of planning, cooking, entertaining, etc.). I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water in terms of catching up on day-to-day work and other responsibilities, so I don't want to push things too much with the running.
I was going to worry about it, by my husband was pointing out to me last night that there's really nothing I can do this week that would improve my performance in the Boilermaker, but I COULD screw things up by trying to do too much and being exhausted and/or sick by Sunday. Sounded logical to me! So I'll probably try to get just one more easy run in between now and then, to remind my legs how to move.
In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out a post-Boilermaker training schedule. I like the idea of trying to run a half-marathon in the fall some time, but first want to have some recovery and focus more on the eating side of things. So I'm not sure exactly how to plan my running.
What do YOU do between races?
Happy running!

Running with Lara!

2005-06-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful time last night, meeting Lara and running with her in the 10K development run in Utica! She is just as wonderful and easy to talk to as you would imagine by reading her blog. And we ran the whole way together, which was great and gave us a chance to talk (although, by unspoken agreement, we did have a few "no conversation zones" when we were working hard!). Let me tell you, that girl can FLY on the flats and downhills, and has an amazing finishing kick!
The run itself was just what I was hoping for in terms of Boilermaker prep. The hills were not as steep as what I train on around my house, but they were plentiful and long. And the atmosphere was like that of a race, with lots of people, water stops, mile markers, etc. Since I haven't raced in ages, it was good to get the feel for that again. The weather was wickedly humid - I almost think the first 1/4 mile was the hardest for me, just getting into the groove and getting a good sweat going.
We averaged an 11:38 pace, including a 9:41 pace for the last full mile - we passed quite a number of people in the last mile and a half, and didn't get passed by anyone, so it was really nice to have such a strong finish.
I feel much more confident about the Boilermaker now, and am very much looking forward to seeing and running with Lara again!

Been Away for Awhile...

2005-06-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

From blogging, blog-reading, and basically everything else due to a death in my husband's family (his aunt), for which we drove to Iowa and back for the services. Two days in the car with 2 kids, 3 days in Iowa, 2 days again in the car. We are glad we went, and saw lots of family, but it certainly was exhausting! Luckily I was able to squeeze in both a 5-mile and 10-mile run in the sweltering heat and humidity, so I'm not TOO far off my Boilermaker schedule. And tonight I meet up with Lara to try the 10K development run that covers some of the Boilermaker course. I'm looking forward to lots of fun, lots of hills, and lots of sweat!
I'll be back to my regularly-scheduled blogging and blog-reading as soon as I can convince someone to take my kids for a week... ;-)

Good Running, Bad Eating

2005-06-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

I ran a total of 19 miles last week, and everything went well. After my Big Hill Run on Wednesday, I took two days off. Yesterday I did a really fun 5-mile run near my Mom's house (we visited her for the weekend). The roads near her house are flat, shaded, and low-traffic, and they connect to a great running/biking trail. I clipped off those 5 miles at an average pace of 10:41, and it didn't feel hard at all. Now, if I could only flatten out the Boilermaker route...
On the down side, I'm still struggling with trying to eat lightly enough to lose any weight. I splurged too much over the weekend at my Mom's, which always happens - she keeps lots of sweets around! It's disheartening to see how little the scale has budged since the beginning of the year, even though I am exercising a LOT more regularly. I just need to keep the eating aspect under control - I understand that I'm building muscle, and that accounts somewhat for not losing weight, but I feel my healthiest and best when I'm about 20 pounds lighter than I am now, so I'd really like to start heading in that direction. I think after the Boilermaker, I'll focus on weight loss a bit more for a month or so, just keeping my running at a good maintenance level, before picking another race to shoot for. Hopefully, once I establish the good habits, I can keep them up even when my mileage increases.
Hope everyone had a good running weekend!

Tackling the Hills

2005-06-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

As part of my Boilermaker training, I've been doing quite a bit of hill work, along with some long runs that had built to 8 miles as of last weekend. However, I wanted to have a run that combined distance and lots of hills, just to know I could do it. So I had scheduled a 9-mile hilly run for this weekend, but changed it to this morning since we've decided to go out of town this weekend.
Since I really wanted to focus on distance and hills and not worry too much about pace, I decided to walk for one minute after each mile (good prep for starting running again after walking at water stops, too!). And when I was running up the hills, I just switched the screen on my Garmin to show the grade of the hill but not my pace. Let me say I definitely picked some wicked hills for this one. The hardest was at about the 2 mile point - a hill almost half a mile long (.43 according to the Garmin), and quite steep almost the whole time. Whew! And the worst part was that, just as the real climbing began, the road changed from asphalt to sloppy gravel (it was raining at the time). Luckily it changed back to asphalt before I got to the top, and finishing it on asphalt was MUCH easier; I was surprised at the difference it made. Around the 3-mile point, it started POURING rain, which actually felt good! I headed down a dirt road that goes along some beautiful wooded areas for about half a mile, then turned around. That part was really more like a trail run, since the road was basically mud and rocks. Then I looped around back down the other side of the hill I had come up, went on rolling hills for awhile, and finally up another monster hill back to the area of my house, where I rounded out the run to 9 miles in my neighborhood. Total time was around 1 hr. 56 min. (12:56 average pace).
Though it was a very challenging run, and I'm plenty fatigued now, I really felt TOUGH out there, scrambling up those hills in the pouring rain. Bring it on, I say!
One thing the last two long runs have taught me: I probably need to take in some more nutrition during those runs (and the race). For each, I've only consumed 24 oz. of Gatorade during the run, and I've had a few times when I felt like my leg muscles, especially calves and hamstrings, were on the verge of cramping up. I got some Power Gels today, and will try one of them on my next long one.

Deerflies Are The Enemy

2005-06-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

The weather has been unbelievably humid the last few days, so I've gotten a couple of runs in that should be good Boilermaker Prep - 2.5 miles on Saturday morning (11:47 pace, including hills), and 8 miles yesterday (Sunday) morning (11:38 pace, mostly flat).
During my long run, it was in the 80's and 97% humidity. The only saving grace was that it was overcast for most of the run, so I didn't have the hot sun beating directly down on me. But even in the first half mile or so, I was feeling like I was running with a wet washcloth over my face! And around mile 3, when I was on a road that runs alongside a canal, I got swarmed by several deerflies, which was a huge pain in the neck. Luckily I had a hat on, since the head area is what they tend to go for, but it's just a hassle to hear them buzzing around and see them fly in front of you each time they circle around. I went past a field that normally has grazing cows, hoping I'd lose the flies there, but, alas, NO COWS. So I was basically the only fly bait for miles around. It got a little better after about 15 minutes of this, but then I stopped to pick up the large Gatorade bottle (with squirt top) that I had stashed along the side of the road before I began my run. After I took a few sips and started up again, I realized what a genius I was - hey, why don't I slow down and carry a bottle of sugared water, surely THAT will keep the flies away - NOT! I stashed the bottle again (for later pickup) after drinking most of its 24 oz. over the course of a mile, and didn't have too many fly problems after that.
The sun came out during the last couple of miles of the run, and I have to admit I had thoughts along the lines of: 1) What sadist running club schedules a 15K race for JULY?; and 2) what masochist registers for said race?
Overall, though, I'm happy to have that run under my belt, and feel like my training's going reasonably well. During the next few weeks, I'm going to experiment with the best things to wear and eat during the race - nothing new for race day!
Congrats to this weekend's racers!

Yay for Fresh Produce!

2005-06-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a little better keeping the appetite monster under control this week. One thing that helps is all the fresh and delicious (and healthy!) produce around this time of year. My husband and I bought a subscription this year to get weekly produce during the growing season from a local organic farm. It started last week, and we got a box of asparagus, mesclun mix, spinach, carrots, etc. - all delicious. And I get to pick up another box today!
I'm still chugging along on my running schedule, and I really look forward now to my early morning runs. I'm also starting to wear a pedometer during the day, trying to get more than 10,000 steps a day, in addition to my 5 runs/week. I haven't had to really work to get over the 10,000, but it does make me more conscious of decisions like where to park at the grocery store, etc.
One of my good friends is going to become our next-door neighbor (along with her family), in a matter of weeks, so I'm excited about that. She was telling me yesterday that she went out and ran a mile on the local track the other day, because she'd like to be able to go out and walk or run with me sometimes, but doesn't want to bite the dust after a quarter mile. It's funny, because she's quite slim, and if you looked at the two of us, you would probably not guess that I am the one in better physical condition. I need these reminders sometimes that it's more important to focus on fitness than weight!

HHHH Long Run

2005-06-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

Hot, humid, hazy, and (somewhat) hilly. Pretty much sums up my 7-mile long run this morning. As I hoped, it did serve the purpose of probably being good prep for the Boilermaker. But boy, was it hot!
Normally when I do my morning long runs, I head to a nearby town where it is almost perfectly flat, and I go early in the morning. I couldn't do either of those today - the nearby town was having a major antiques festival, meaning lots of traffic, and my husband had an ambulance call this morning (he's a volunteer medic) with a one-hour transport each way to a trauma center, so I didn't get to start my run until right about 10:30. So, I just headed into the village that I live outside of, which is relatively flat, but on the outskirts has some medium hills. Since it was so hot and humid, I decided to choose a course that would allow me to pass by my car a couple of times for water.
Overall, the run went fine, but I probably went a bit too fast. The problem was that I started right in the village, where there were lots of people around heading to church (I'm sure they thought I was a heathen - hey, another H!), and in this town the odds of not seeing someone you know in that situation are almost zero. And for some reason I always run a little faster when I see people I know, or think I'm going to (am I the only one who does this?). Sure enough, I passed by my son's first grade teacher heading to church within about the first 2 minutes. I was feeling strong, and did my first 2 miles at a sub-11:00 pace, which is fast for me. Encountering hills along the way, including a killer one (about 12% grade) at about the half-way point, slowed me down a bit, but I still ended up averaging 11:22 pace for the whole run (just under 1:20 total time). I felt pretty zonked during the last couple of miles, but luckily recovered pretty quickly with some water and a banana I'd brought in the car. But while I was out there, it was hard to imagine pressing even harder, and for longer, in a month for the Boilermaker. I am definitely hoping that 1) I get more used to heat and humidity between now and then; and 2) the crowd support makes a big difference!

I'm official!

2005-06-03T11:09:00.000-07:00

It took a long time (like 10 days) for the Boilermaker folks to update their registration list from those who mailed it in, but I'm finally on the list! Somehow I find that motivating, like if I don't do the race now, it will be embarrassing to have my name as registered but not among the finishers (since I know so many people are tracking my name between the two lists - yeah, right!).
I've been keeping up fine with my schedule for this week - 2 miles on Tuesday (12:15 pace), 3 hilly miles Wednesday (12:31 pace), 2 miles yesterday (11:27 pace). It's supposed to be very hot and humid this weekend, which will be good for my 7-mile long run on Sunday, since apparently conditions for the Boilermaker are often hot and humid. So when I'm suffering out there on Sunday, I'll just keep telling myself it's good prep for the race...
Happy weekend running!

Good weekend, stiff muscles

2005-05-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

We had a nice weekend just at home, and all 4 of us (me, hubby, 2 kids) spent a lot of time outside weeding and mulching the landscaped area in front of our house. It looks great now, but I must say gardening uses muscles that are a lot different than running! I had a great 6-mile run on the flats on Sunday (11:31 pace), but when I went out for my 2-mile run this morning, my leg muscles were definitely stiff, especially the calf and hamstring areas of my left leg. So I took it slowly (12:15 pace), and did some walking and gentle stretching afterward. I will make sure I'm very attuned to those muscles over the next few days- I do not want to be reckless and get injured!
I've been very happy with the running schedule I've been keeping up lately, but I must say it is also driving my appetite up. I don't want to "diet" in the strict sense of the term while also preparing for a 15K race, but I do need to pay more attention to what I'm consuming - mainly portion size, since most of what I eat is pretty healthy. Back to tracking calories on dietwatch for a few days, just to remind myself of a reasonable intake level...

Unplanned Pace Workout

2005-05-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

This morning I set out to do the 3-mile hilly route on the roads near my house. Just as I was finishing the first mile, which ends up a long but somewhat gradual hill, I saw my neighbor - the "real runner" - coming down her driveway about to start her run. As soon as she saw me, she said, "Do you want to run together?" I started telling her I'm very slow and didn't want to slow her down, but she just said, "Well, let's try it, and we can always split up." So I proceeded to do the last 2 miles of my run with her. While I'm sure it was a slow run for her, it was a significantly faster pace than I usually have on that route. Last week I did the same route at a 12:53 pace, and this morning, including a slow first mile, my average pace was 11:38, including some pretty challenging hills! I figure that, while I wouldn't want to do it every day, a run like that is good prep for the Boilermaker, which has quite the hilly first half.
And I must say, it was fun to have someone to chat with, and made the run go by even faster. I don't live close enough to a running club to do scheduled group runs. There were a couple of times going up hills that I was feeling quite winded, but she would be in the middle of telling me a story, and I didn't want to be rude and drop off, so I stuck with it! She has run the Boilermaker several times, so was able to fill me in on some things about that, too - she said it's pretty crowded, but the support along the way from spectators is great, and the second half of the race feels really good after lots of climbs in the first half.
So overall, running with her was a good experience! It also inspired me more about losing weight - I realized that if I had strapped a 25-lb. backpack on her back, she might have been having the same difficulty on the hills that I was. I won't ever have the type of runner's body that she does, but I know from experience that it certainly is easier to run with a little less extra weight on board!

Lost Long Run

2005-05-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I completed 4 out of 5 of my scheduled runs for my first week of Boilermaker training, but unfortunately the one I missed was my long run scheduled for yesterday (6 miles). We had a busy weekend, with my in-laws visiting and a party for my husband on Friday afternoon, which I had spent a lot of time planning and worrying about, since it was a surprise (luckily, everything went well!). In the middle of the night on Saturday (actually 3 a.m. Sunday), my 3-year-old daughter, who had had mild cold symptoms for a couple of days, woke up having severe difficulty breathing. My husband and I rushed her to the local ER, where she was diagnosed with croup. They gave her a dose of steroids and told us to crack her window open for the rest of the night. She is doing fine now, but between that and getting the in-laws to the airport, my long run fell by the wayside yesterday (at least I made up for it by eating lots of empty calories =:-( - darn sleep deprivation!).
I thought about how to handle missing that run, and decided to just chalk it up to one of those "life intervenes" moments, spend today getting back on track with eating, and proceed with my schedule for the week, culminating in a 6-mile run this coming Sunday. I should still be able to get in the mileage I need for my training schedule.
So my plan is to continue running 5 days a week -including 3 early morning runs on weekdays and a long run on Sundays - with the understanding that sometimes, because of incidents like this, it will be 4 days instead of 5.
I am really starting to look forward to the Boilermaker! I even get to meet a fellow blogger! Keeping my fingers crossed to not get injured in the meantime...