May 07, 2007

Quick Piggie Update

I'm back from Ohio, and considering how absolutely wrecked, achy, and exhausted I was yesterday afternoon I'm feeling pretty darn good. My quads are a little sore, but I only really notice if I'm going downstairs. My feet have one little blister on them each, but nothing major or disgusting. As a bonus, I am still in possession of all of my toenails and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Clearly, it was a good race. The planets aligned, I had good weather, a good course, the best crowd and volunteer support I could ever imagine... and a new marathon PR down in the sidebar there.

It's nothing record-breaking in the grand scheme of things, but I'm happy with it. I went out, I took it easy, and I ran a nice, even consistent race. With the exception of the water stops (which I walked through), I ran the whole thing.

Full report to come soon, but for now I'm feeling like quite the rock star.

Posted by Dawn at 05:56 PM | Comments (6)

April 30, 2007

How Not To Freak Out Before a Marathon

Taper making you twitchy? I've found the perfect solution:

Schedule a move one week after the marathon.

No, seriously. I've got a marathon in 6 days, and I'm moving in 14. I'm so concerned about the move (and the packing... and more packing... and still more packing) that I've barely even thought about the race. I'm just running whatever's in the plan for the day, and then all of my spare mental energy is on packing and moving (and packing - how can there be so much packing??). In fact, this week I'm making a special effort to remember that I have a marathon this weekend (and thusly things to do like review the course map and tell my parents where/when they'll be able to see me, pick up the rental car on Friday, figure out what time I'm leaving on Sunday, pack for the weekend (gah! more packing!), etc) because I'm afraid I'm going to forget something vital if I don't.

Apparently Moving Freak Outs totally trump Marathon Freak Outs. Who knew?

Posted by Dawn at 08:14 AM | Comments (2)

April 26, 2007

Owwwwwwww

The other week, I was poking around online for triathlon training plans. A quick look at the calendar told me I'd need to get down to training for Accenture as soon as I recovered from the Pig if I was going to have any hope of getting through it, so I wanted to see what plans were out there, what they looked like, and have one ready to go before heading to Cincinnati. Anyhow, as I was poking around the internets, I came across a company that specializes in triathlon training for women. Not only did they have plans available, but they also provided coaching services.

Hmmmm. I looked a little deeper. For only slightly more than I was paying for run coaching last year, I could get multi-sport coaching. Hmmmm. Something to think about.

Then I kept looking... they were local! And ran group workouts! That I could go to! This was tempting. I thought about it for a few days, then went ahead and signed up. Having previously experienced the Power of Coaching, I was all over it, and being able to get in to group workouts sealed the deal for me.

Another bonus to using a local company is that I actually get to work with my coach in person every now and then. Shortly after I registered we got together for lunch and went over my race plans for the summer and my goals for the races. We also set up a time for me to come into the gym where she works and do a CompuTrainer session on the bike - she'd set up a time trial and we'd use that to get an idea of how much power (wattage) I could push on the bike and what my HR training zones should be. She wanted to get it in as soon as possible, but she didn't want to disrupt my taper, and she didn't want to do it right after the marathon, either, since I'd be recovering.... aack! What to do?

I offered to come in this week - I had a couple of hard speed-work-like runs scheduled, and I'd just swap out one of those for the CompuTrainer session. No problem! Excellent. Wednesday was the day.

Yesterday when I woke up, my legs felt great. They weren't sore, they weren't tight, I was all, "Woo-hoo! I have bounced back from the 20-miler, and am ready to get medieval on the bike this evening."

Y'all, I look back at myself and LAUGH. The time trial kicked my butt, took names, and then ate my legs for lunch. The course was a challenging one - not at all flat, but incredibly hilly. As soon as I hit the first climb, I felt every inch of the 20 miles I'd run on Sunday. As soon as I hit 40 minutes and could stop, I damn near fell of the bike - I was tired, my legs were shot, and my butt was completely numb.

BUT! It was a good workout, and my coach got all of the information she needed. And, really, considering I was less than 100%, I did pretty well. She also wants to meet up for a ride on the lakefront once I'm done with my marathon to see if we can work on my bike fit a little bit. She also stretched me out after the workout last night - she said, "I think your IT bands might be a little tight - let me see." Which was followed shortly by, "Wowwwww." Yeah. A smidge tight. But having someone else stretch it out? Was awesome.

So far, working with a local coach, even if it's mostly online? Is awesome.

Food log:
6 a.m. - Bagel with lowfat cream cheese
10 a.m. - Avocado tomato mango salad
12:15 p.m. - 1/2 PB&J sandwich on wheat bread
12:45 p.m. - String cheese
2 p.m. - Kiwi
5:30 p.m. - Chocolate Chip Trail Blaze Bar
6:30 - 7:30 p.m. - Water & gatorade during workout 8:15 p.m. - BK Spicy Tendercrisp Sandwich, lemonade - hey, it was late, I was exhausted and hungry, and the drive-through was on the way home. It was the tastiest deep fried chicken sandwich I've had in a long while. At least I passed on the fries?

Workout:
Bike: 40-minute hilly time trial with warm-up and cool down. Avg watts: 120, avg HR: 180

Posted by Dawn at 07:57 AM

April 24, 2007

4/24/07

Food log:
7:00 a.m. - Hard-boiled egg on wheat toast with a little bit of mayo
12:00 p.m. - Cheese & veggie sub, salt & vinegar potato chips
12:45 p.m. - Hot chocolate, with whole milk and whipped cream (TMI alert: my digestive system isn't always the biggest fan of full-fat dairy or of chocolate. Putting them together isn't really a good idea, but sometimes I get away with it. Not yesterday. I was just uncomfortable and felt like crap all afternoon. Ugh. Only skim hot chocolate from now on.)
6:00 p.m. - Gummy bears - an impulse buy at the grocery store. Also a mistake. Ugh.
7:30 p.m. - Chicken soft taco with avocado - tasty! I've got enough leftovers to hold me for the next day or two, which makes me incredibly happy.

Workouts:
5:50 a.m. - Intervals: 2 mile warm-up, 4x(3 min @ 10K pace, 2 min recovery), 1.5 mile cool-down. I started out taking it super easy, since my legs were still a little tight from Sunday's long run. After a couple intervals, though, I felt good and pushed it a little harder. Too hard, though, since my legs were sore all day. Oops.

Posted by Dawn at 09:27 PM

April 23, 2007

4/19/07

Food log:
6:00 a.m. - Wheat toast with butter and orange marmalade (just call me Paddington), string cheese
12:00 p.m. - Asian noodle soup with cabbage & chicken dumplings, curry chicken bao, BBQ pork bao, hibiscus iced tea
5:15 p.m. - Tuna melt, avocado tomato mango salad
9:00 p.m. - Chocolate chip Trail Blaze bar

Workouts:
Recovery day! I was supposed to take it easy, which I managed to do at work (score one for the desk job). However, once I got home I was up and down stairs all evening doing laundry, getting boxes, packing boxes, etc, etc.

Posted by Dawn at 09:54 PM | Comments (1)

April 22, 2007

20 Miles: In The Bag

After last week's horrible awful unsuccessful attempt at 20 miles, I decided to do some rescheduling - instead of starting my taper then, I'd do one last long run this weekend (in theory: 20 miles) and then have a two week taper before the race, instead of a three week one. I know quite a few people who have done it and liked it, and since I'm not running The Pig for time, I figured it was worth a shot. Mostly because I really wanted to have a good 20-mile run - not because I thought I needed it physically, but because I needed it mentally.

So on Saturday, I rested. I ate well. I went to bed insanely early so I could get in 8 hours of sleep before getting up at 4 a.m. for breakfast. Then I went out and kicked that 20-miler's butt. Sure, I was sore and tired and the end... but if I'd had to run another 10K? I could have done it. I'm ready for this race, and I feel pretty good about it.

The one thing I'm finding as I do more and more of these long (18+ mile) runs is that it all boils down to hydration for me. Towards the end, I was feeling pretty crappy and I wasn't sure why - I'd been drinking water like a maniac, but everything still felt hurty and crampy. Then I just knew: I wasn't getting enough electrolytes. I stopped at the next gas station, bought a bottle of Gatorade, and once I chugged that thing down? I felt much, much better. It was amazing. (Clearly, I was also still a little dehydrated, since I chugged the thing down in about 5 minutes and didn't feel sloshy, but it was super-warm out and there's only so much fluid one can get down while running.) So another little thing for me to note in my mental training book: water is good, but if I'm going to be out there for 3+ hours, electrolytes are better.

All in all, though, it was a great run. I knocked the distance out, and because it was so warm (57 degrees when I started, and it went up to 75 degrees by the time I was done) I feel much more confident about my ability to handle those conditions should we end up with them on race day. Right now, I feel ready to go down there and rock and roll (we'll see what two weeks of tapering does to that, which is why I'm writing it down now).

Food:
4:30 a.m. - Wheat toast with peanut butter
7 - 11 a.m. - Water, Gatorade, and Gu during run
11:15 a.m. - Chocolate milk
2:30 p.m. - Huevos rancheros, breakfast potatoes
7:30 p.m. - Chicken, mixed greens, avocado mango tomato salad

Posted by Dawn at 07:45 PM | Comments (2)

April 19, 2007

4/19/07

Food:
8:30 a.m. - Bagel with lowfat cream cheese
12:00 p.m. - Hawaiian pizza (canadian bacon, pineapple)
7:00 p.m. - Green salad with pears, walnuts, gorgonzola, olive oil, balsamic vinegar
8:00 p.m. - Tuna & rice with soy sauce

Workouts:
Run: 6 miles w/4@tempo pace/1:00:31
Avg HR 173/Max HR 196
I had intended for the tempo miles to be right around 10:00, but as far as I can tell they were closer to 9:30. Garmin flipped out, so I don't have accurate split data.

Posted by Dawn at 08:51 PM

April 18, 2007

4/18/07

Mmm... Tasty:
7:00 a.m. - Bagel with lowfat cream cheese
9:30 a.m. - Cherry yogurt
12:30 p.m. - Peanut butter/banana/apple/cranberry sauce sandwich on wheat bread
7:00 p.m. - Chicken flautas, rice, chips & salsa & guacamole, green apple blow-pop

Workouts:
Run: 3 miles/33:01
Avg HR 165/Max HR 177

Posted by Dawn at 07:57 PM

Mmmm... Tasty:
7:15 a.m. - Kashi Go Lean Crunch & skim milk
11:45 a.m. - Chicken & wild rice soup w/crackers and roll, Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Buns cone (yay Free Cone Day!)
5:15 p.m. - Free cone day part 2: Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Therapy sugar cone
6:00 p.m. - Green salad with pears, blue cheese, walnuts, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Chicken breast stuffed with blue cheese, asparagus, and bacon - this did not turn out so well. I only ate half of it, and STILL felt the bacon kicking in my digestive system almost immediately. Never again. Ugh.
8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. - Homebrew club meeting - beer & bar food (pizza, fries, fried zucchini)

Workouts:
Run: 5.9 miles with 12x30 sec @ 5K pace with 1 min recovery. I love this workout, especially first thing in the morning.

Posted by Dawn at 08:17 AM

April 16, 2007

Mmmm... Tasty:
6:00 a.m. - Everything bagel & low-fat cream cheese
10:30 a.m. - Sour Patch Kids
12:30 p.m. - Italian sub
5:00 p.m. - Dragon roll sushi - this was from the local Jewel, and it was mildly disappointing. It didn't include shrimp tempura (although for grocery store sushi that wasn't entirely surprising), but the worst part was this: on most of the roll, the avocado used was way, way underripe. It was just about crunchy. Ewwwww. At least the eel inside was still good, so it wasn't a total loss. Then again, two rolls only cost me $7, so we'll file this under "you get what you pay for."

No exercise today - instead, I started packing for the big move (4 weeks and counting)! One box down, 47 more to go....

Posted by Dawn at 08:07 PM

April 15, 2007

Back on the Bike

Today, I sucked it up, stopped being afraid of the fancy clippy shoes and pedals, and took my bike out for a ride. It was fantastic - my legs were totally beat up from yesterday's run (which is ridiculous - clearly, I really need to not be skipping my weekday runs), so I took it nice and easy. I kept it in a gear where I could spin 80-90 rpm without straining my legs (even though at times that gear was a pretty small one). I made it to and from the lakefront without getting killed (and was even feeling confident enough by the end to take main roads all the way home instead of side streets), and I didn't get stuck in my bike and fall over. It was a short ride - only 10 miles, but it felt great. Now that I've reminded myself that the big fancy bike isn't all that scary, maybe I'll get it out more often.

Energy in:
8:30 a.m. - Banana
10:30 a.m. - Out to brunch! Biscuits & gravy with eggs, Diet Coke
2 p.m. - Jalapeño chicken sausage & whole wheat bun
3 p.m. - Trail blaze chocolate chip energy bars (2) - these things are good. Too good. I need to start freezing them so I don't feel like I have to eat the entire batch (9 of 'em) before they start getting fuzzy (about 10 days)
5 p.m. - Bell's Oberon
7 p.m. - Grilled cheese sandwich, in celebration of National Grilled Cheese Month

Energy out:
Bike: 10 miles/50:51
Avg HR 144/Max HR 168

Posted by Dawn at 06:30 PM

April 14, 2007

Energy In:
5 a.m. - Whole wheat toast w/peanut butter
11 a.m. - Trail Blaze chocoloate chip energy bar
12 p.m. - Jalapeno chicken sausage on whole wheat bun
5 p.m. - Peanut Butter Moo'd from Jamba Juice
6:30 p.m. - Chicken tacos

Energy Out:
Run: 14 miles/3:08:26 - this run was just awful. Everything hurt, I felt sluggish and tired the whole time, and my legs were dead by mile 9. I suppose that's what I get for a) slacking off on the training big time this week and b) eating crap all day on Friday. Note to self: a good dinner will not make up for an entire day of junk food.

Posted by Dawn at 07:18 PM

February 27, 2007

Ever Expanding Feets

It was just about two years ago that I bought my first pair of Brooks Adrenaline shoes. They were the GTS Vs in a size 7.5, and I loved them immediately. I spend the next year or so running in them and went through 3 pairs, until Brooks upgraded the shoe to the GTS 6.

When I bought my first pair of 6s, I tried them on in a size 7.5 only to find that they felt a bit snug. The guy told me that they'd changed the shape of the toe box slightly, so maybe a size 8 would be better? It was, and I went through another 2 pairs of those shoes.

Then, last week, it was time to buy another pair of shoes, and so I checked out the GTS 7s. I tried on the 8s.... and they were too snug! The 8.5s, on the other hand, fit perfectly.

Are my feet in some sort of ever-expanding state that I only notice when I change shoe models? Is this normal? Or are the folks at Brooks ever-so-sneakily making their shoes smaller and smaller?

Posted by Dawn at 04:22 PM | Comments (3)

February 18, 2007

Snowed In and Frozen Out

The weather has not made this a good week for the running around here, unfortunately. My backup plan was to spend more time in the pool, but for one reason or another I just wasn't able to make it to the club's evening workouts. As a result? I've spent most of this week sitting on my behind and cursing winter.

I am so very ready for springtime. Meanwhile, I'll just cross my fingers and hope this week is better.

Posted by Dawn at 10:51 AM | Comments (1)

February 11, 2007

Well, All Righty Then

Today when I checked the weather before heading out for my long run, I got all excited when I saw that it was 15 degrees outside. 15! Even the wind chill was above zero! That's the warmest it's been around here in weeks! (Although, I use the term "warm" very, very loosely.) I bundled up, although not quite as aggressively as I've needed to lately, and headed out ready to rock and roll.

Then it hit me - 15 is still cold. A 4 degree wind chill? Is also still cold. Ugh. Yuck. Whine. I realized that while the break in the weather was nice, I've just had it with winter. I've had it with fighting the cold. I've had it with being cold. I've had it with having to run the last 2+ miles of my long run directly into the wind that is always, always, always coming out of the west. I am ready to go for a run without my face falling off or my ass turning into a giant ice cube. I am ready for Spring, dammit.

I gave myself a little bit of time to whine, but by the time I'd reached the corner, I sucked it up and got down to the business of my 11 miles. I kept a nice easy pace, I felt good, and before I knew it I was turning off the lake and heading home. Directly into the wind. Ugh.

Happily, the training plan I'm using gives me the option of picking up the pace during the last 20 minutes of my long run if I feel like it. Since I didn't want to spend any more time running into the wind than I had to, I picked it up. A little bit on mile 10, and then I shifted it into high gear on mile 11. I didn't think I was going that fast, but I definitely felt the extra work. I figured it was due more to the fact that I'd been running for over 2 hours at that point than any sort of actual speed.

Until I got home, that is. When I went to log my workout, I checked the splits. That last mile? Was covered in 9:15. I didn't even know what to do with that information, so I just laughed at it. I wasn't sure I could run a mile in 9:15 in my current somewhat out-of-shape state, never mind speed through the final mile of an 11-mile run at that pace. Looks like there may be hope for me after all.

Posted by Dawn at 08:11 PM | Comments (1)

February 08, 2007

Finding My Limit*

I think I have found what my personal limit for running in the cold is: zero degrees.

Yesterday morning, I headed out for a 5+ mile run in 2-degree weather (before windchill). I had a major case of Arctic Ass (TM Dianna) when I was done, but I didn't feel cold or miserable and, to be honest, I quite enjoyed myself. I was all set to do it again this morning, but when I checked the weather, it told me it was -1 out.

I died a little inside, since the forecasts had led me to believe it would be at least 4 or 5 degrees. (Also, how sad is it that I'm all, "woo! 5 degrees! Party!") However, after spending nearly a week in hibernation mode, I wanted to get out there. Besides - it was 5:30 in the morning. What else was I going to do? The wind chill wasn't that much colder than yesteray, so I figured I'd be OK. I bundled up, headed out, and was a block from home when I realized it just wasn't going to happen. I was almost warm enough, and probably would have been OK, but my hands were freezing. While my Brooks gloves are pretty warm, they're apparently not quite warm enough for subzero temperatures. D'oh.

Time for Plan B: head home, go to work, then leave early and run in the evening before it got dark out. I figured it would have to be warmer out than it was in the morning, so I deemed the plan good. And it would have been good: I left work at 4, it was sunny and 10 degrees out - not tropical by any means, but not subzero either - perfect weather for a winter run. The only problem was I found out at 3:30 that there was a conference call I had to be on at 5 tonight for work. D'oh. No run for me, which is still bumming me out. Let's all cross our fingers that tomorrow morning sees positive temps and I can get a few more miles in this week.

In happier news, I went and swam with the swim club last night and it was fantastic. I fit right in ability and speed-wise with the Level I people (I was worried I'd be way behind) and the workout was challenging but not overwhelming. I was a little concerned about the fact that it was a 90-minute workout, since I haven't been in the pool for longer than an hour in ages, but that turned out to be a non-issue. I had fun, the people were nice, and I wasn't the only one who had no idea how to do a flip turn. Plus it was, indeed, far easier to get to than my gym, and the schedule is much better. I think this is going to work out very well for me.

Plus, the assistant coach that was there last night? Was way cute. That sort of thing never hurts.

*As soon as I thought of the title for this entry this morning, I immediately thought of StrongBad's "To The Limit" song, and it's been stuck in my head all day. Everybody to the limit!

Posted by Dawn at 06:17 PM | Comments (4)

January 23, 2007

Why I Don't Wear Headphones When I Run

Most of the routes that I run - especially my early-morning runs - take me along main roads. Running through side streets might be more scenic, but in my neighborhood a lot of the side streets dead end after a few blocks, which means I have to keep turning and finding a new way to get my distance in. Main roads, on the other hand, run for miles and miles and I can just zone out and run. With the pre-dawn early-morning running I've been doing lately, staying on the main roads has another benefit: there are far more streetlights on the main roads, so many that they create something of an artificial daylight, which I am a huge fan of.

Anyhow, since I run on the main roads, I normally have the right of way at the intersections with side streets, since the traffic along those side streets has to stop at the stop sign before crossing or turning on to the main road. At 6 a.m., those streets don't normally see a lot of traffic, so I've gotten into the habit of looking for cars as I'm crossing the street. I'm mentally and physically prepared to come to a quick stop in case there's a car trying to roll beyond the crosswalk and into the street. Sometimes I have to stop, but 9 times out of 10 I'm clear to cross the street.

I also don't wear headphones or an iPod when I run (unless I'm inside on the treadmill, in which case the iPod is probably all that's keeping me from bursting into tears). I read an article once, long ago and in a land far far away (I think it was in an issue of Seventeen, if that tells you anything), about a girl that had been attacked because someone had grabbed her while she was out running, and if she hadn't been wearing her headphones she would have heard him approaching from behind and Things Might Have Turned Out Differently. Considering I'm usually out running by myself and I don't mind running in silence? I skip the iPod. It keeps me more focused on myself and my surroundings, and even though I've never had a problem or witnessed any suspicious sketchy dudes while I've been out running, it just seems like the intelligent thing to do. (Plus, most races technically don't allow headphones, so I figure it's sort of silly to train with them.)

Anyhow, this morning I was out running, coming up on an intersection with a side street, when I heard what sounded like something taking off coming from the left. I looked down the street, and there was a car zooming down it at far more than the posted speed limit. I stopped before even stepping off the curb, and let him come to a complete stop before making sure he saw me and crossing the street.

At that moment in time, I was so glad I didn't have music on me while I was running. While I definitely would have seen him coming up even if I hadn't heard him first, with as fast as he was going I'm not sure if he would have seen me or stopped in time. Maybe he would have hit me, maybe he wouldn't, but it would have been a much closer call than I'm really comfortable with. I sometimes feeling like I'm being a little extra paranoid with my Refusal To Run With Music, but today? Today I felt totally justified.

(A quick side note: I'm just saying that, for me, running sans music seems like the best choice. You run with music? Knock yourself out. I'm not going to judge you for it, nor am I going to pretend to know what's best for you. To each their own, yo.)

Posted by Dawn at 09:24 AM | Comments (4)