I May Have Lost My Mind

Playing in the rain...

2009-05-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

I had one of those rides today that was nearly sublime.

When I was a kid, my mom once had a big meeting with a bunch of other wives from the squadron. They brought their kids...all various ages. The kids were told to skedaddle outside and play... and NOT to disturb the moms.

So, we did. We played, all ages of visitors, all the neighborhood kids...ALL of us. Skaters, big wheelers, skate boarders, bike riders, skippers, runners...boys girls...everyone. I remember we had some elaborate game with rules that allowed the little kids to play along with the big kids. Then, it started to rain. It was late spring or early summer...the rain was heavy, but no thunder. And then it POURED. We played. For some reason, though, NONE of the moms called for us to come inside. I remember being rather surprised by that. We kept playing. Finally, we got called in and halted in the garage. There would be no puddling in mom's house, after all.

Fast forward to today.

My training "job" today was to get a 90 min long run in. I did. Not very fast, but nice and steady. I felt good the whole way through. I started in a light mist that got a little heavier, but not much, and finished just as the watch was beeping for the 2nd 45 minute interval (I did a 45 min out and back to see if I could even or negative split).

I came in, scarfed some food down, changed my clothes and went out to meet the out of town cyclists that are here for the AMBA rides. I'd told them I'd lead the ride today if they wanted. We've had so much rain lately, that the spray chalk and arrows were mostly washed away. So, since I'd marked the last half of the route, I could lead if they didn't feel good about the cue sheets.

It rained....
lightly....then moderately...
then... WOOSH! Torrential downpour.

At one point, the rain was managing to sneak in under the brim of my hat, and rain down the inside of my glasses. I was DRENCHED! All I could do was laugh at one point. It actually was pretty liberating.

Yesterday, I got 30 miles on the trainer, today, 40 on the road. That's the longest weekend riding I've ever had. Sorta liked it.

When mean is good

2009-03-09T08:35:00.001-07:00

My shin is being mean to me, this is bad. It's been annoying me for a few months, and I finally went to have it looked at. It took CS saying, "no running 'til you're cleared by the doc," to get me in there, though.

Now, I'm in this weird limbo place. The trouble with going to the doctor for this sort of thing (in my opinion) is that when you're at the doctor and he's pushing on your leg, it doesn't really "hurt." Know what I mean?

I keep describing what I feel when I run as "tight" as opposed to "pain," per se. BUT, I was informed that "tight" is pain, and that my pain tolerance is influencing the accuracy of my reporting. ugh!

Races have been paid for.
Condos have been paid for.
I really want to do well and be successful and finish "on my feet and healthy" for these races.

I do NOT want to stop running, but stopping running (for now) seems to be the only thing that's gonna resolve the "tightness" issue.

Crap!

The general concensus now is that CS has to be mean due to my hard headedness and underreporting of discomfort. I initially said that I wouldn't be the one to tell him that, but I finally did. The coming weeks are NOT going to be fun, that's for sure.

POWER!!

2009-02-27T16:18:00.000-08:00

Today was my first Friday workout with the master's group. Normally, I swim with them on Sundays but CS is changing my schedule. OK, he's enforcing my schedule! Anyway, apparently, Fridays are Power Days with the group. I did drills that I've never heard of, and discovered that.... I have very little power. Seriously. One drill required us to kick while lying on our backs with our hands pointing to the ceiling. The first time we did it....
straight.
to.
the.
bottom.
Yup.... And, to make matters worse, I started to laugh..... while on the bottom. Just a note to those reading, laughing, while on your back and underwater... doesn't really work. Ok, it doesn't work AT ALL. Good thing there were lane lines on either side of me to help me get to the end of the lane.

Power day seemed fun.

There was a non-power option, but today I decided to suck it up and swim with power. I might end up doing the non-power day option in the future, because it fits better with my schedule most weeks. But, every once in awhile... it's fun.

Hurt comes in small packages

2009-02-26T17:12:00.000-08:00

So, this morning my main swim set was 1000 yds, with every fourth lap being head up, ala "lifeguard" stroke. This was way harder than I thought it would be. I didn't get sore the way I do from working hard on sprint sets. Rather, I got heavy and slow. It was odd.

Once I got home, I took my normal Thursday morning power nap, during which I slept oh so wrong and managed to crick my neck into knots. oy! So, now, I sit in front of "The Secret Life of Bees" with my neckease around my shoulders...hoping I'll be able to get to sleep comfortably tonight.

Smack down!

2009-02-13T06:54:00.000-08:00

It's an interesting feeling when you realize that you were smacked down by your coach. Here's the thing, it was the first real "I'm an athlete" feeling I've had. And, it wasn't in a stereotypical gruff, caustic coach kind of way. It was the simple, honest truth. Granted, it was likely spoken in haste, but it was what it was. Ya gotta love that. And, in the end, there was also a phone call this morning with a gracious apology for something that didn't even bother me at the time. That's class.

When you fly with the eagles...

2009-01-29T10:30:00.000-08:00

My dad used to have this poster that said, "When you fly with the eagles.....you have to get up with the turkeys." Basically, if you play, you pay.

I got caught up with a friend from HS last night... great conversation. Only...I didn't QUITE realize how late it was till it was too late. This morning's 4:00 alarm came awful early.

My mind was fuzzy during the swim workout... that meant that counting laps was a particular challenge. And, the thought of doing the sprint set at the end was simply uber painful. On the other hand, I managed a 1:18 for my final 100 free in the test set, so it wasn't all bad. oof.

God bless the person who invented coca-cola -- sugar, caffeine, and bubbles.....what more could a girl want?

To everything, there is a season...

2009-01-28T03:49:00.001-08:00

January has such a bad rep.
Middle of Winter.
Cold slushy streets and entryways (up North, that is).
Low gray skies.
You get the picture.

But, it's also when you start to see the lighting eastern sky during swim workouts.

Our pool has a glass block wall that faces east. As spring approaches, you can see the sky begin to get lighter as the workout winds down. It's a measure of whether the current set is close to being the last set. It's a tease.

There are some magnificent sunrises that I've seen through that glass block wall. They've started to come back.

Finding my day...

2009-01-21T14:11:00.001-08:00

I've been thinking lately about why I felt good about the half marathon, and didn't feel good about the full marathon.

Let's ignore the fact that the full had a completely blown finish time, and the half had a missed "lark" goal, but not missed main goal.

What it comes down to is control.

More and more, I read about friends who have a race plan, and stay in control, and execute their race plan. They don't let birds, wind, weather, whiny friends, freaky spectators, or..... whatever, get in the way. They maintain control.

They hurt, sure.
They work hard, definitely.
They are in control.

And, ultimately, what set these two races apart from each other is the amount of control I felt. In the full, I never felt as if I was fully under control of my running, my HR, my breathing (to some extent). In the half, though.... I worked VERY hard for a longer period of total time than I did in the full. But, I was in control. I made decisions and they worked.

The struggle in the coming year will be learning how to stay in control in new situations, when the work level is high and the desire to lose control is high.

Redemption - of Sorts

2009-01-18T04:46:00.000-08:00

1st run on this course (and first half, ever) 2:36:29 (11:57s)
2nd run on this course (last year) 2:47:16 (12:46s)
3rd run on this course (today) 2:33:13 (11:41s)

I like this race because:

It’s local, so I can sleep in my own bed and eat my own food and not worry about “checking out” of a hotel room
I’ve run the course and parts of the course dozens upon dozens of times. I’ve ridden the course, too.
It’s CHEAP! On time registration is only $30, if you wait, it goes all the way up to $40. Seriously, if you can make it down here some time, it’s well worth the money, and given enough notice you’ve got a place to stay if you want. There’s no “expo” AT ALL, but really…. Who cares? If you need a midwinter timed run, this is great.

This race is a challenge because:

The terrain is rolling hills, with a few steep ones just for kicks and giggles.
It’s typically in January, just far enough away from most fall marathons that you need to build again, but then again, close enough that you still get the benefit of residual fitness.
It’s usually about a month before my swim meet, so training for them both gets to be interesting.

Today’s race was a challenge because:

Since the marathon, the longest I’ve run is 8 miles.
The weekend I wanted to get a 10-mile run in was spent hacking up a lung in bed.
I’ve been battling shin splints lately.
My confidence got significantly shaken with the poor performance @ Richmond.

So, a week or so ago, one of my graduate students informed me that it said there would be snow on race day. I was sooo not happy to hear that, that I immediately went to weather.com to verify what she said. Sure enough, snow was predicted. Thus began the freaking out. And… that prompted Sherry to ban me from visiting weather.com anymore till after the race. Fortunately for me, our local running group website advertised clear but COLD weather for race day. Turns out, the snow forecast was wrong, and we had gorgeous weather. Temps were 23 degrees at the start, warming to just over freezing by the time I finished. Crystal clear and sunny skies. Yay!

So, I go into this race feeling way undertrained, not 100% healthy, and just a little apprehensive that I won’t be able to hit my “jobs” that CS gave me.

Dinner last night was my new favorite broccoli slaw stuff (OMG, I LOVE IT!!!), and rice & chicken. Thanks Becca for the idea of rice as a pre-race meal!! Then, into the shower to relax and get smooth legs (it’s sort of this race OCD thing I have… must have shaved legs before races) then to lay out the clothes to run in (or the planned ones, at least), into bed to chill and relax and get rested. During dinner, though, I noticed that my hands were shaking when I was holding the fork and such. I noticed it in passing, as something odd and interesting but didn’t think much more about it. Got my last minute admonition from Sheldon, and off to sleep I went. Then, of course, the dream. Yup, Sherry decided (she must have, cause I didn’t decide it) to send her dream fairy to my house.

Breakfast 1a was a bowl of Lucky Charms. My not so secret love from my childhood. Of course, we weren’t allowed to have them, but whenever I could get them (at friends’ houses, etc.), I would. I was craving them the other week and got some, and they really helped me control the snacking over the holidays. So, I’m sticking with them.

Fashion: Underarmour thermal tights, thin running socks & smart wool running socks (pink, the both of them), skirt sports bike top as bottom layer, underarmour mock t-neck thermal as first layer, loosefitting zip mock t-top as top layer; Hi vis hat and gloves. I originally planned on wearing a fleece on top of all that, but some friends convinced me not to wear it, and it turned out to be a good thing. Instead of my old washcloth going with me for “nose duty” the gloves had to fill in, and I just shoved my gel flask in my sleeve to carry it since I was giving up my pockets. I was COLD at the start, but used the two or three trips to the car to jog a bit and get the blood going, then did some jumping to get warm while we waited to start.

On the way to the race, about an hour before the start, I had breakfast 1b, a large banana and some water to aid in digestion. Then, about 15 min before the start I sucked down an orange gel. All fueled up!

I saw my tri-friend from the master’s club at the start! She’s just graduating from Vet school here, and is moving to Holland. She was in Holland already but had to come back for some school stuff, so I’m glad we connected. I also got a pic of my friends who swim in the mornings … all of us in our cold weather running gear.

So, my job was to put the HR at 170 and leave it there… allowing for drifts up on the uphills and drifts down on the down hills, not let it go below 166, nor above 175. So, I argued with the watch last night and finally figured out how to make it beep at me when I was outside of those ranges. That put me solidly in the middle of z3 for the race. Sheldon said there was 2:10-2:15 in me (I thought he was high), my pie in the sky goal was 2:30, but anything faster than my fastest would be good, too.

The start is “around the block” which is the middle median place of this strip mall sort of place here in town. Then, down a road, turn left… down another road, turn right, up and back on the bike path, turn left into the neighborhood by the first road, up a street and culdesac, back out the neighborhood, back up the first road, turn left into a neighborhood behind the strip mall and in through the back of the mall to finish on an uphill that’s steep but mercifully short. Lots of rollers, a few steeper places. Shade and sun about even throughout, and great police support over the course of the route.

When I woke up this morning, I felt like I had stage fright. You know the feeling, right? At Mullet Man last spring I told Sherry I wanted to puke… I had it then, too. Today’s wasn’t as bad. But, my hands were still shakey, and my belly just wouldn’t quite settle, although I didn’t feel like I had to puke, it was just full of butterflies. This butterfly feeling didn’t go away until about mile 3 or so. Aid stations were at mile 3.5/8/9.5 (same intersection), and mile 6. I saw a dude taking pictures, so I’ll have to see if they were any good.

After my jumping around to stay warm, my HR at the start was in the high 120s/lo 130s. I didn’t feel like it was racing, though…. And, based on what I’ve done in races this year, a higher HR at the start seems to be what I do. I don’t know whether others see this or not, but it sorta shocked me the first time I saw it.

There’s not a gun… just the race director yelling, “On your marks, get set, GO!” Gotta love those local races. Around the block we go, and set off down the road. I did my best to be near the back and away from the fastholes, but I still got passed by a ton of people. I passed a few in the beginning, but some of them came back later and repassed me. I kept the watch quiet. Right in the zone. The volunteer (a friend) who was working traffic control at one of the intersections said that I looked, “nice and smooth.” Yay! And, he liked my high viz gloves. Bonus! My other job was to stay within myself, and not lollygag, look around, daydream, or lose focus. So, I did. It got to where people would speak to me by name and it would take me 10 or so steps before I’d realize that they’d said something. This was also the first race EVER where I didn’t carry my own water with me. Fuel over fluid! I had my gel flask with 3 gels diluted with water, so I got some fluid that way, but I relied on the water stops for my water. Didn’t do Gatorade there since I had my own calories with me.

Ann (swim coach) was at the first water stop. I ran through it, drank (didn’t choke!), and didn’t dribble too much on me. I didn’t want to freeze my chin with water from the cup. Down the road toward the bike path… lots of rollers again. Pretty uneventful. I did find it hard to keep the HR down, though. The other thing that I’m working on these days is paying attention to RPE. I tend to way underreport my RPE, so it’s a constant thing to monitor so that I can learn how to be more accurate. My RPE was in the “I’m working, but could work like this for a LOOONG time” stage. The downhills were fun… I had to remember not to relax too much on them, but instead just let the recovery happen.

Once I turned on to the bikepath, though, the rollers got more significant. The ups were harder to keep at pace, and for the first time, I felt as if I slowed in order to keep the HR under control. Turns out, I’d been slowing as the race went on, but not by too terribly much. It was just more noticeable on the bike path. You do the path twice, as an out and back. Right near the end, this chick blows by me like she’s got rockets on. She had to hit the portapotty they had there. I figured if I kept my nice even pace, that would be the first person I’d pass. Nope. A mile and a half later, she passes me again, with a friend of hers, but at least she’d left her rockets in the POJ.

After we turned off the bike path, I saw several people strung out in front of me… run/walking. It was sooo tempting to really chase them down, but I really did try to keep it under control and reign it in. I figured if I ran the whole time, and they ran/walked, EVENTUALLY, I’d catch them.

Into the neighborhood just after mile 8…. Down the street, and into the culdesac. I can see that group of people…. I do manage to pass them. Yay! More water, and back down the first road toward home. The rollers on the way home are harder to handle, because they’re a net uphill to the finish, as opposed to the net downhill that they were in the beginning. But, this is the same road that the 10-mile race was on in the fall so I knew I could manage them if I just didn’t panic.
Chick in the purple was next. I just kept reeling her in. Hah! Passed her when she dropped something. She tried to pass me again, but I passed… (I really like passing people when I can). I’m slow, oh yes, but now, I’m getting to where I can pass SOME people. Turns out, my fitness is improving, because I ran the whole thing. The reason I was able to pass these folks is that they were having to stop to walk.

Chick in Green…. You’re up! Ooo… she was a bit harder to catch. I passed green lady about mile 11 or so…maybe 11.5. She definitely got faster to go after me, and I let her. “Go ahead, burn it all now, I don’t care.” Then, something happened and I just stopped hearing her. Later, I did hear her as she was yelling and cussing about something…. But it wasn’t very nice. I find out later from my student that green lady is some die-hard marathoner person. He he he.
Next… pink fleece lady. She was FAR in front, and I was thinking that I wouldn’t get her, but there was no reason not to keep taking steps after her. Caught her too. She was a better sport about it than green lady, though…. I think she might have just been trying to breathe.
The last 1.1 miles I decided that the zones needed to go, and I needed to steadily increase the pace to the finish. Anyone can suffer for a mile, right? I got super close to catching someone else, but that uphill at the end prevented it. I did finish on her heels, though.

My RPE up till about mile 10 or so was very consistent. My pace wasn’t so consistent, but not so varying that I was upset by it. I kept the watch on the HR view, with the stopwatch in the tiny numbers at the top. The only time I had an idea about pace was when I hit the lap button. I was in MUCH more control this year than last (the precipitation nightmare). This is the first time I’ve ever run the whole course without walking. I’m stronger. I did manage to hit 198 on the HR monitor during the last mile… my poor watch said I was at 100%. Lol My average HRs for each mile were pretty consistent.

Mentally, this was supposed to be a catered training run that I was to run hard the whole way. So, I played a bit with HR on the ups and downs, to see what it felt like, but still stayed where I was supposed to stay.

I don’t know if there was more in me to give throughout the whole distance. Looking back, I don’t remember it HURTING except during the last mile. But, I was definitely WORKING the whole time. My shin splints were non-issues, didn’t even feel them. For that, I’m very thankful. My massage chick, copious amounts of sticking and stretching, plus twice daily icing really helped during the last week.

Annotated Splits:

10:10 (aHR 167; mHR 172) – did I give up the fleece too quick? I’m cold!
10:35 (aHR 172; mHR 176) – Still cold, starting to feel a rhythm.
10:48 (aHR 171; mHR 176) – Belly beginning to settle.
11:38 (aHR 174; mHR 177) – Water just before here, HR jumped a bit while I was drinking)
11:39 (aHR 173; mHR 178) – Smile for the camera!
12:34 (aHR 174; mHR 180) – rollers on the bike path. Starting to get hard to keep the HR @ 170.
11:37 (aHR 173; mHR 179) – back up the bike path rollers.
13:19 (aHR 175; mHR 180) – Had to slow WAY down to get the HR down to the 170 range. Beginning to consider just letting the watch beep high.
12:05 (aHR 176; mHR 182) – First group passed.
11:53 (aHR 178; mHR 185) – Headed home. Begin the net uphill climb.
12:32 (aHR 181; mHR 186) – Bye by Purple and Green women. Feel good? Think about picking it up.
11:57 (aHR 183; mHR 187) – Start to pick it up.
11:13 (aHR 186; mHR 198) – Yup… You picked it up. Breathing this last mile started to get loud. Belly starting to hurt from breathing, lungs complaining.
(last .1 miles) 1:07 (aHR 190; mHR 96) – DONE! The walking to cool down was really hurtful to breathe, I wheezed a ton. I also scared a little kid who was walking after the kids race. But, it went down after about 75 yds or so of walking.

So, my time today is a 3:16 PR, and it’s a 14:03 improvement from last year. I’ll take it!

I want my day!!

2009-01-15T12:02:00.000-08:00

Since the Richmond marathon I've been focusing on getting ready for our local half marathon. Eight weeks of keeping honest with the weekly runs, and continuing to watch what I eat made the holidays fly by. Even when my family was here (the week after Christmas) I managed to get all of my workouts in, minus one or two when we were on the road for a special event.

In all that time, I've still been a little ticked off at how my race went back in November. Yeah, it was hot... but I've run in hotter weather. Granted, I run in hot weather all the time, and can be prepared for it. This race? Nope. Not ready for it. How could I be? Who expects 63-80 degree temperature swings in one day with a humidity level that remains above 95% the entire time..... IN NOVEMBER??? In Richmond? gak!

So, no,.... as my coach says, I "didn't have my day" that day. I'm still annoyed. I want my day.

Then, I lost my longest long run before the upcoming half to an entire weekend in bed hacking up a lung. Gross. At least the forced rest actually worked. Well, that, and the wonder of the pharmeceutical industry. Gotta love those decongestants!! So, I feel woefully low on miles. I'm probably only about at 95% as it is.... and I want my day! The weather is supposed to be frigid (for us, anyway) but clear. Last year it was "just" cold.... and wet. Check that.... slushy. No, snowy. Or, was it sleeting? Oh yeah..... it was ALL OF THAT. (*Squish squish squish*) went my shoes. So, give me super cold and clear any day over just cool/cold and wet.

At one point, this was going to be a "B+" race. Now... it seems to be slipping, B-....C. I'm not quite sure. I do know that I need to get a handle on what my goals are for the race. Then, I'll have a better idea of what my "jobs" are during the race. I've run the course many times. It's "rolling hills" with nothing hugely steep, but enough to make you wonder why you decided to run it.... especially near the end.

I have lost any semblance of connection with my own personal fitness, and that makes the goal setting process much more difficult. I just don't know what I can do at this point. I almost wonder if I really "get" my body.... because I thought Richmond was going to be great. Hard to be true, but great. And it wasn't. My body just went on vacation, without me.

Right now, I'm tired. I'll rest tomorrow and run on Saturday....but for now, I'm tired. So, is this a "good" sort of tired, and the legs will come through for me on Saturday? Dunno. Is this the kind of tired you get when you're not really rested or tapered? Dunno. I know that I haven't been too terribly tapered for the race. But, was what I got enough? Will missing that last 10 mile run hurt me?

2:36:29.... that's the time "to beat."

Did I mention..... I want my day!

Yanking the Tail of the Tiger

2008-12-12T05:23:00.000-08:00

Ok.....not really a tiger, the coach. But, on a bad day, they could be the same thing. Right? ;)

This week's job for my speed/tempo run was, in a nutshell, a stead run @ half marathon pace plust some faster pickups at the end. No problem!

Then, Coach and I had a conversation during which he said that I need to be running faster during the Wed runs. Ok. No problem. Wait, there's more..... "I want most of your miles to be at 9:30." Ummm...... Houston? We have a problem. THAT pace isn't the half marathon pace that he originally said. He really wanted me to change what I was going to do this week, and finally settled on, a warm up, a series of 1 mile repeats at 9:30 x 2, plus 10:15-10:30. Ok.... No Problem. Well....maybe more of a challenge, but at least I knew exactly what he wanted.

For my friends who care (all two of them) it was a glorious late fall morning, with VERY warm temps and an incoming front bringing wind and rain. Not bad rain (that came later in the day), but enough to be refreshing. Running skirt and short sleeves were the uniform of the day. I like my standard running route, because I've now managed to memorize where the mile posts are. That and it's only got one street with traffic I need to worry about....and usually the timing on that is easy to manage.

The end result of what I managed to do is 9:08, 9:28, 10:41. While an attractive option, there was no puking in public. I ran my fastest mile -- ever! The mile section I used also has some hills, short to be sure, but according to map my run, they're at 3% grade. I don't know what that is in terms of relative steepness, but it's big for around here.

Here's where the tail pulling/confusion sets in.

Coach is confused because I apparently did more than he thought I'd do. I've done that before when he's given me a specific challenge or job, and I did it this time. But, on my normal training runs, I apparently don't always give what he thinks I should or could give. So, his question is... do I kill myself to meet the challenges, or am I just "not putting out" during training runs? Good questions.

Here are my thoughts:

The power of the challenge should not be ignored. There's that Wolf competitiveness that I never knew I inherited.
I truly do my best to give the appropriate effort and results that are called for for each of the workouts I'm given.
I've had consistent confusion of my own for some terminology that's used.... "run at 10k pace," for instance. What the devil IS that??

Good thing it's the "off-season." It's a good time to get picky about "jobs" and terminology in workouts. It's a great time to experiment with effort and results. So, here's the plan....

I need to do a better job of making sure I know what the exact expectations are for each of the workouts. Hopefully, I'll also do a better job of finding out whether I'm giving what I'm supposed to give. The thing is, I like improving and competing against myself. Yeah, sure, running faster in races is cool, too. But, really.... I'm not going to "win" win...ya know? The winners are people who've been running many more years than I have. But, moving up in the field from Back of the Pack to Middle of the Pack would be cool.

At the same time, this likely means that my jobs are going to get more difficult. I suppose I should be careful what I ask for, right?

Reality vs. Perception

2008-12-06T16:40:00.001-08:00

I had a 10k race today, our annual Toys for Tots benefit. Super low entry fee, but you bring a toy along "with" as the balance of the fee. Someone always brings bikes, one for boys, one for girls. I like this race for a few reasons.... 1) it's an excuse to peruse the toy aisle of Walmart. Not having kids, and the nieces being so far away, I feel as if I need permission to look at toys. 2) It's in the cold....but not freezing frigid cold. It's also just a few weeks after the fall marathons that I've done so far, so my "residual fitness well" is still quite deep.

The first time I ran this race, I did it in 1:08:29, after my first marathon. That was a smokin' hot time for me at the time. Last year I did it again, but stupidly listened to the teeny-bopper cheerleaders who were manning one of the last corners, and ended up not doing the entire distance, so I don't count that time. This year, the race came after a rather disappointing marathon in Richmond. The unseasonably warm weather for THAT race completely trashed the main goal, and I ended up being happy I finished on my feet and healthy.

The other nice thing about this race is that it's local. I hear about people who travel for 5 and 10k races, and I sorta wonder why they do that. I mean, they're fast, easily running a 5k under 30 minutes, or a 10k in 45.... and they go out of town, or fly/drive...get a hotel room, all that. For a relatively short experience. I figure if I'm going to travel especially for a race, I'm gonna have it be a humdinger of a race. The only 5k I ever "traveled" for was a 5k in Chicago. I was already in the city for a conference and saw the signs for the race on the first day. So, I went down to the onsite registration the afternoon before the race and ran it the next day. Very cool.... very fun.

CS told me to "put out 600,000%" and to "run till you puke" (or something like that). Then, we got a bit of a better set of instructions, that involved "sandwiching" the race. That means, push for the first third, relax just a skosh for the middle third, then push HARD for the last third. I did that for my 10-miler a few months ago and it seemed to work pretty well. So, that's what I set out to do. Only..... there was this thread about pacing on kickrunners that showed up the week before the race, and it got me to thinking. So, I ended up modifying my sandwich method just a tad. I ended up finding a pace for the first mile, and when I checked my watch realized that I'd gone faster than I thought I'd gone. So, I figured it was a pace I could hold for the next mile. Turns out, it was my effort that I held, and not my pace, but it still worked out ok.

I warmed up. This is unusual. But, I'm going to have to remember to do it from now on. The concensus in the forum discussion was that warming up (especially in cold weather) is important. People who didn't do it, then started doing it, had better results. So, I tried it. I did some jogging. I did some quicker running....looking for my earband that suddenly came up missing off of my head. Never did find it.

So, the first mile is a net down hill. I started in a pack of people that were much slower than I wnted to run. For the first time ever, I felt a little hemmed in and had to work to get through/around some folks. Nothing major, but it was a new feeling. Turns out, I was passing a bunch of people in the 5k race, but it was a good thing. Hit the first mile marker thinking that I'd run slower than I wanted, but looked at the watch and saw a satisfying 9:49. Cool! At this point, I figured that the effort I was putting out was good. I knew this course, and I knew there was a hill in the second mile that was long, but not too terribly steep, so I held on. I played cat and mouse with one lady who was run/walking, and that helped me stay steady. My HR was in the high 170s this whole time, but I wasn't having too much trouble breathing, although I was breathing hard.

Second mile marker, 10:41. Nice! It was slower (by a lot) than the first mile, but the hill did slow me down enough that I noticed it while going up it. I tried to remember to keep effort the same, stride length a bit shorter, and to spit in the grass AWAY from the runners behind me. ;) Water was between 2 and 3, and I walked through the stop because I was breathing hard enough that I needed to be sure I drank the water rather than wearing it. Also, while the temperature was cold enough to make running comfortable, it was too cold to be wearing the water!

Miles 3 & 4 have just a single split time, because I couldn't see where the 3rd mile marker was. According to Map My Run, it would have been inside the cemetary, so I wonder if it just didn't get put out due to the location. These were supposed to be the "relax a skosh" miles, but I was still feeling as if I could maintain the effort level from before, so I held on. I turned the corner near mile 4 and thought that the volunteers were nice, and cute! But, I wasn't in a place where talking would be a good idea, and the right/left/right/left pattern was working for me. So, I held on. These two miles came in at 21:19. 10:40s as an average for those miles was slower, turns out, but with the same effort, I was ok with that. It did give me a bit of a boost to push harder after I passed mile 4, though. I didn't want to fall any farther behind.

Mile 5 had some rollers... and 2 girls in front of me who were talking WAY too much for me. Really, I didn't care what they were talking about, just that they were talking, and seemed to not need as much oxygen as I did. I kept getting closer to them on the downhills and flats, then they'd pull away on the up hills. I NEED TO WORK ON HILLS! I never lost sight of them, even though I never did pass them. They definitely served to keep the gas on inside of my head. Mile marker 5 came in at 10:23. So, my pace had picked up, but it felt harder. Yay!

The last 1.2 miles are a net uphill, and the steepest hill of the course. Really, rather torturous for those of us who NEED TO WORK ON HILLS, but probably not all that bad for those reading this who live in,....oh, The Alps region. There was one more water stop just after the 5 mile marker point, and I walked fast through that. Then, push push push..... I will say, that last year, the hills at the end were very painful...this year, they were just hard. I managed to keep the feeling that I was making progress, and that my effort had increased. By this time, my HR was in the low 180s and the breathing was getting harder, but not labored, nor wheezing. I was to the point where I REALLY wanted to slow down but didn't really need to. My finish split was 12:16 which comes out to about 10:13 as a pace.

Total time: 1:04:29....previous PR: 1:08:59. 4:30 better this time around.

If I compare this race to the marathon, I'm struck by the similarities and differences. I'm struck by who similar these races were in perceived effort. BOTH of them saw me working hard. I worked hard to breathe (harder in R'mond, with little success, but still hard here too)....worked harder to move my legs, worked harder to keep my head in the game. I'm also struck by how similar my HR behaved in both races. It was very high in both. The resulting pace for the marathon was VERY much slower....13:55, a 3:33 difference in results as compared to effort.

The major differences between the races are, 1) obviously the length, 2) the weather.... So, the question that will be hanging out in my head for a day or two is this.... am I just that hard-headed that truly perceived effort is the best way to run races? Because, I couldn't have run faster in the marathon...without ending up in an ambulance. But, I was able to run faster today, and my perceived effort was comparable.

I got some revenge on this distance, but there is still room for improvement. It's a confidence booster that I needed given the last event I completed. Plus, there are plenty of local opportunities to beat this time...... and shoot for sub-60 minute 10k next time!

Lessons from children

2008-12-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!
Well, yes, it's late, but that's how holidays go in my family some times. I spent the weekend at my parents' house having fun, doing a whole bunch of nuthin', and playing with the nieces.

Natty's a very grownup 12 yrs old now, and hearing her talk while sounding more and more like an adult is scary sometimes. It's interesting to get her point of view on things...when she's not being a "tween." Georgia's in first grade, a reader now of all things. I think she's finally warming up to school. Charlotte....well, she's four. She's the youngest...the tease in some ways, the ball of energy, the observant one who manages to say the "darndest things," if you know what I mean.

Two weeks ago I completed my second marathon, in Richmond. It was not the race I'd envisioned it would be. Rather, it was a slog fest. High temperatures, soaring humidity, and a bout of asthma that hasn't bothered me for years all conspired to give me the "unplanned" race of the year. I finished a full 1:05 beyond my goal, BUT, I was on my feet and relatively healthy - even counting the massive blister on my right pinky toe. According to several accounts, over 1,000 people who started the race that day didn't even finish. So, all in all...I did ok.

The girls and their parents, plust my parents, all drove down and spectated. We also celebrated my birthday...race day = birthday this year. They got to take home a white kitten (yup, it's deaf), and I got to eat steak for dinner.

So, this weekend, I'm getting ready to go out for a run on Friday morning. Tights, long sleeves, hat, gloves....I'm ready to go. Charlotte inquires.... "Why's Aunt Sara going running AGAIN??" Great.... how do you explain the need to get out and burn some calories, feel the cold, and get that tired/sweaty feeling in you so that you can truly embrace the wonder of Dad's pancakes? "I've got a race next week, and I've got to practice." She thinks about that for a bit... then, "Will this race take you as long as the LAST one we watched?" Ummm..... NO. Nope, not nearly as long (I hope). I explain to her that my upcoming 10k should take me about as long as 2 Blue's Clues episodes. And...that was that.

Later, we finished raking and blowing the leaves into a big pile for the first part of the 2nd annual "Wienie roast" that my dad has decreed will be held each year. Take one dad with an active inner child, give him a leaf blower, a rake, and a bunch of wood, and you get the situation at his house last weekend. Once the leaves were all piled up, kids were let loose on them. His yard sits lower than the sidewalk, with the "hill" between them short and steep. So, at the top of the hill, stands Charlotte...bold and rarin' to go (short, but bold). At the top of her lungs she counts down from 5.... and ends with "BLASTOFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!" as she hurls herself down the hill, across the yard and launches into the pile of leaves. That kid can run! I mean it. Both her feet are off the ground at the same time, her little tiny feet kick back nearly to her tiny little butt, her hair streams out behind her...arms pump....and she flies. There's just no tomorrow for her when she's running like that.

What does a precocious four-year-old child teach me? To run for the fun of it....to "blast off" at the start of races.... to get both feet off the ground and feel the wind in my hair. And, just a little... to admit to being a tiny bit jealous at her ability to run with such natural grace.

Running hot

2008-11-24T16:47:00.000-08:00

When engines run hot, they tend to seize and quit... blow up, even.

When runners run hot, they're running ...well....hot. duhhhh, right?

But, why is it that some runners can run closer to their consistent abilities in varying temperatures while others simply....self-destruct, melt, bail out, go "kablooey"?

I've been thinking about this because recently I ran a race with unseasonably warm temperatures that caused significant difficulties for all of the participants. The 2008 Richmond Marathon was supposed to be a big confidence booster for me in terms of long distance running. Instead, it turned into a pop-quiz on "on-the-fly decision-making skills." I finished, on my feet and healthy. That's better than many.

A friend from kickrunners suggested to me several factors that affect the ability to "put out" in the heat while running.

To some extent, practice. The more experience one has with running in the heat, the better able you are to handle it. Of course, manufacturing practice conditions in the heat is difficult if Mother Nature doesn't cooperate. When she decides to throw a curve ball at you with unseasonable weather you sorta have to rely on whatever you got inside.
Biofeedback. This is my description for his explanation of being able to control the HR at the beginning of races when it wants to spike. Being able to know to start slow enough to let it ramp up slowly. Learning the, "beware going out too fast," lesson is painful, but one that is necessary.
Body composition. Hmmm....big surprise here. Related to this is the whole element of heat acclimation. As my friend said to me... "some people just melt in the heat."

What does all of this mean for me this year?

It means another year of eating clean, and being much more honest about it. That will help keep the body composition in control as well as getting nutrition and fluid on the run under control.

It also means really working hard during those workouts that are intended to PUSH the limits. In other words, start putting out and get used to what that feels like. Find the edge, look over it... taunt it. But, do it in a controlled way so that falling over the edge happens. But, if it does, make sure it happens in a place that will allow for a quick recovery.

The best laid plans

2008-11-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

I've spent the better part of 2008 in Kindergarden. 2008 was my inaugural year of triathlon. The path here is long...so, "lemme sum up."

I started diving in college, on a dare. It was the first truly organized athletic endeavor I'd ever done. I wasn't the best, by far....but I certainly had fun. I had to do aerobics as a part of our conditioning (Jane Fonda tapes!), and lift weights. I managed not to kill myself during those four years, although I'm not quite sure how. I never considered myself an athlete.

Then, I started teaching. During the summers, I worked with the National Youth Sports Program in the pool as a master counselor. Several of the other counselors taught me how to play raquetball. Wow... what a fun sport. I learned to play from three guys who were all bigger me than me, in the doubles format. You learn to be assertive and not be afraid to use your hips when needed. I also continued to teach swimming lessons throughout that period of time. I quit teaching to finish my Master's degree, and kept up with the swimming lessons and raquetball. I never considered myself an athlete.

Once that degree was complete, I figured that I'd like to stop teaching public school and begin teaching college. The only thing I was missing was the appropriate degree. So, I packed my stuff and the cat into my car and drove out to Tempe, AZ for another degree. While in the wonderful SW, I began hiking, played more raquet ball with a great friend who refined my ability to be assertive on the court into something approaching aggressiveness, and bought a bike. But, I also managed to put on some unwanted weight. I'd avoided it as an undergraduate, but it caught up with me in graduate school. I never considered myself an athlete.

Finally, I moved to Alabama. I'd had enough of the regular snows of the north. For the first few years I didn't do much. Then, I got my head back in the game and started working with my trainer. She taught me how to run (that story for another post), and kept me honest during those times of "getting fluffy." I started to swim, then run regularly. I STILL didn't consider myself really to be an athlete.

A good friend from high school announced.... "you're an idiot!" And, I thought about it. I finally started to realize that I might be an athlete.

Master's swim meets became fun.
Local 5 and 10K races became fun.
I did a half marathon or two, and my first marathon in 2005 (San Antonio).

Yeah, I was an athlete.

Then, I got the bright idea to start doing triathlons. Ya see... I was a super slow runner. Really, very slow. But, when I biked, I liked it. And, I was a strong swimmer. So.... triathlon seemed to be a reasonable idea given that I could work on all three sports.

So, I hired a coach. I started working with Sheldon in February of 2008. That's why 2008 was my kindergarden year. I bought a bike trainer and learned to use it. I bought a friend's real bike when she upgraded to a fancy tri-bike. I entered my first triathlon (Mullet Man) - a sprint distance (400 yd swim, 17 mile bike, 4 mile run). I entered my second tri (in the Orlando area) - an Olympic distance (1500 m swim, 25 mile, bike, 10K run).

I finally realized for sure that I am an athlete.... a triathlete.

And, I finally have graduated from Kindergarden. I'm not sure what grade I'll be in this year, but hopefully I learn fast. I've got big races this year to prepare for, and some practical goals to hit as well.

I've got to learn to ride by myself, and not depend on the group.
I've got to learn to hit nutrition during hot runs.
I've got to learn to manage transitions.
I've got to learn to change a tire (although, to give myself credit... I have done it. Just not on the side of the road yet.)

So, this coming year will likely be full of cognitive dissonance, "hurts so good" moments, and random musings and wonderings about all things mechanical I'm going to have to learn to do.