Ew! Ew! Ew!

OK. I had a GREAT run tonight. Don't get me wrong, I was hurting a little. I didn't stretch quite as much as I should have so my calves were tight for about 5 miles. It didn't help that most of that time the run was up hill. But after a while I did loosen up.

Bill was running with me and this time he decided to let me keep the pace. For real. That means, he didn't pass me up or anything, he stayed beside or behind me the whole time. It was 8 miles, which was my longest mid-week run and Bill's longest run ever.

I also was at a photoshoot all day eating like crazy (they always have great catered food) so I didn't know how much I was going to actually feel like running. Especially when the photographer brought out this amazing armagnac for us to try (RIGHT before I was going to leave for my run!). I can't pass up liquor, so I had to stay for the toast. Luckily, none of this seemed to affect my run.

I even kicked it up a notch when my power song came on.

The pace? A 9:40. I am definitely ready to kick it up! 4:30, here I come!!!

Oh, and the title? A RAT ran across our path just as we were finishing our run. GROSS. ( I know, that's what I get for living in New York...but seriously, I haven't seen more than 3 rats since I've been here. I was starting to wonder where they had all gone. I just don't want to almost step on one).

New Goal?

So, as I was looking back at my long runs, I realized, maybe a 10:13 pace run is NOT that out-of-the-ordinary for me. At least not in this training season.

I have to wonder why this is though.

I mean, I know I have been working hard, but this is quite an improvement from where I started. It makes me excited though, to think that I may want to revise my goal of a 4:45 marathon. At the same time though, I am wondering if I may be jumping the gun.

I HAVE definitely felt faster on my runs. But it is a comfortable fast...I am certainly pushing myself but not so hard that I can't breathe or continue.

Maybe it is my diet. I am eating healthier AND I have lost 7 pounds since January. I have never lost weight during marathon training. In fact, I have gained about 5-7 pounds during training in the past and then lost it when I stopped. I attributed this to muscle gain/loss, but I am actually getting a lot more muscular (AND a lot leaner...when Bill and I were in the gym last week I looked over to the mirror and had to ask him "Uh, what happened to my pot belly?"). So maybe my new, healthier eating plan is making me run faster. Bill says carrying 7 less pounds would do it too, but then I reminded him that I made up for those pounds with my new water bottle belt.

At any rate, I want to see how my 8-mile run tomorrow goes. If it does go well, I think I'm going to look at a new goal. Maybe a 4:30 marathon (a 10:20 pace).

It's just that that number is so insane for me. Last year at the Pig I finished with a 5:16. 45 minutes difference? That's huge!

Whatever I do, I am definitely running with a pace group again.

Unintentional Fartleks

While I HAVE been being really bad about doing speedwork I don't think that a 14-mile run (not to mention the longest run I've had in this training season so far) is the place to practice something like Fartleks. It was also weird that it was something that happened unintentionally because I was NOT feeling good in the first 7 miles of my run. I had eaten a Kashi granola bar before leaving and it wasn't sitting in my stomach well.

But once again, music was affecting my workout. The first time I noticed it was when a song from Muse came on. Bill is always asking me who he should run to, and I always say Muse. They have such a driving beat that it makes it good music to run to. But I feel like if you ran to their entire album (or albums...depending how long you were running) you would be incredibly tired. They make me pick up my pace. A few songs later it was "Because We Can" which is an amped up, Fat Boy Slim version of a can-can song, that was in Moulin Rouge. In addition to being a fast song, it is also a song that I jazzercised to (yes, embarassingly, I did jazzercise) many years ago. The routine was FAST and I was remembering that and running FAST. Immediately after was a fast Sondre Lerche song and immediately following THAT was Pump It, by the Black-Eyed Peas, which is my power song. I was running FAST through all of these, so I was glad when Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra followed so I could get my pace back right before I went up Great Hill.

The rest of the first half of my run went like this...fast, slow, fast, fast, slow, slow, slow...etc. I felt GREAT when I stopped at 7 miles for a water/GU break.

I was really hoping I could keep it up, but didn't know if I could or not. I tried to keep as much of a positive attitude as I could, even though I had to weave through tourists taking up the sidewalk who wouldn't move (making me run on snow/ice hills next to the sidewalk), and even though my legs were getting tired and even though I was getting hungry. I still did feel really fast, but I was no longer doing Fartleks. At 11 miles I was just interested in keeping pace.

Since this was an especially long run for me I actually ended up running in two parks. From my apartment I ran to Central Park, did the running loop IN the park, ran the outer loop of the park, a quarter mile past my street, over to Riverside Park and back home.

By the time I got to Riverside Park I had another surge of energy (this time not due to my music) so I went with it.

My time? 2:23.13. Uh, that is CRAZY for me. That is a 10:13 pace!!!! Hurrah!
But my legs are so tired now :)

Cheater

Last night I was a cheater and went to the gym instead of running outside. It's not even like it was that much colder than usual or even that the grounds were wet or anything. When I was walking to the subway I was just thinking "I REALLY don't want to run in this." In fact, I really didn't want to run at all, but I knew that I owed myself 40 minutes according to the marathon training schedule.

The last time I went to the gym was about a month ago. I wanted to try out the weight machines. I haven't been back because it wasn't a great experience. It wasn't really a BAD experience, it just wasn't great. I THINK its because some of the lights were out or dying, and I'm one of those people who thinks that bad lighting can actually make you feel bad (one of the reasons I can't shop at Walmart...they actually make the light bad so that you keep moving and get out of there faster).

Anyway, last night was actually quite pleasant. They fixed the lights which made all the difference. PLUS, since it is just a gym for the residents of the building they don't make you wear headphones to listen to the TV (which always annoyed me at the Y because they were always catching on things and making my ipod fall to the ground). In fact, Bill and I were the only ones in there most of the time that we were there.So we, of course, watched the Simpsons while working out.

Since I felt like I was cheating by not actually running outside, I set the elliptical program to the hill interval, which I think is the most difficult. I also set the resistance to 6 (I am usually a wimp and do about 2). It was also nice to wear my running skirt again instead of layers and layers of clothes.

At any rate, it's nice to know that I have a gym in my building. Because when I really really don't feel like working out, it's been all too easy to just skip. But having a nice, free gym just an elevator ride away would make me feel waaaaaay too guilty about doing that.

14 miles this weekend! If the snow keeps up I'll have a beautiful run in Central Park!

It Does a Body Good

So, I really really really hate milk. I have never liked it and my parents (since they knew I needed it because of all of the wonderful things I insisted on eating as a child :) made me drink it when I was little. Bill has encouraged me to drink milk as well, because I don't get nearly as much calcium as I need and we all know that runners need even more.

I've toyed with it as an adult. I bought myself chocolate milk to drink after a run. But after drinking half of the little bottle I just stuck it back in the refrigerator, never to drink it again. Bill would take it out every day like "Are you going to drink this?" and I would promise him that I would and then I would let it expire.

I do the same thing with yogurt.

So after one of my long runs a couple of weeks ago Bill poured me a coffee cup of milk and put it in front of me. I choked it down and chased it with Ginger Ale.

But NOW I drink it after every run. I still don't like it. It is disgusting. But I know I need it too. So that's my step to becoming a healthier runner. I know it isn't a big deal to most people, but it is to me. So I'm patting myself on the back. :)

But DON"T think I'm going to eat yogurt!!! Bill picked up a yogurt in the grocery store and it had reese's pieces in it (which is totally not in his character) I was confused and asked him "Why are you getting that?"
He said "For you." I was like "No way! You think you got me to drink milk and now I'm going to have yogurt? Forget it! I draw the line there. Yogurt is disgusting...unless it's in Mediterranean food." He was like "oh, you're drinking milk now? OK, nevermind then."

One step at a time.

Off the Radar

Whoops. I have been incredibly negligent with my blog. :(

But I figured between work, running, sleeping and sanity my blog unfortunately fell pretty low on the priority list. Besides, when I am creatively drained from work it seems a little hard to form coherent sentences.

Anyway, I HAVE been running...which is good.

Sunday was another Central Park run and it felt pretty good. I tackled Great Hill again and realized that it isn't all that great. I don't know, I mean it is still a big hill, but I have a difficult time judging hills comparatively. It may not stack up to those incredible Cincinnati hills, but since it is a hill it is worth training on.

The thing I have been having the most trouble with is pacing. Not so much that I am having trouble staying on the same pace...my training with Roncker's taught me how to do that really well. The trouble I'm having is that I want to kick up my pace a little. I've been able to do it on some of my longer runs, but I don't really know what it feels like in comparison to the pace I usually train. I learned pacing in my last marathon training group when we went to the track. That REALLY helped. Unfortunately, I don't have anything like that here. It is easy enough to mark out distances with the city blocks (20 north/south blocks = 1 mile) but the surface is not level AND sometimes you have to stop to let cars pass.

I was looking forward to using my nike+ equipment, but my ipod is having trouble finding my sensor. ..so I really haven't gotten to use it yet.I thought that might help. So until I can get a new one/figure out what is wrong with this one, that idea is out.

So, if anyone has any cool ideas of how I can pick up my pace on my runs without a track so that I can know what it feels like I would be eternally grateful.

Namaste

So, I've ALWAYS had an issue with flexibility and tightness. I was reminded of this again when Bill and I decided to do Yoga tonight. It snowed and then icy rained and then rained which kind of derailed our running plans. Besides, I know I should be stretching...and since my hamstrings have been pretty tight since my Sunday run, I figured that yoga certainly wouldn't hurt.

But every time I do yoga I am embarrassed by my inflexibility. Sitting straight up with my legs in front of me I can only reach right below my knees. :(

And I AM one of the only people that I know that can't relax my muscles. (Seriously, my physical therapist had me lie on my side as he held my leg up and told me to relax...5 times. My response? "I AM relaxing!"

So maybe it was a good thing that my run got snowed out. It woke me up to the fact that I do indeed need to include stretching and flexibility exercises as part of my training regimen. And it did relax me quite a bit, even if it was only that I was laughing at the girl on the DVD or at my dog licking my face as I was trying out downward facing dog. :)

So Much for Sleeping In

So, Saturday night I really didn't get much sleep. But I STILL got up for my 12 miler at 7:30 so that Bill and I could go see the Chinese New Year Parade. Unfortunately, my legs were killing me. I really really debated whether or not to go and then realized that I shouldn't risk it, so I put my pajamas back on and went back to sleep.

So when I woke up again, my legs didn't hurt at all. I was puzzled until I realized that Benvy (our dog) was sleeping where my legs usually are. I guess my awkward position was what was making my legs hurt.

So I promised myself that I would do the 12 miles when I got back from the parade. I even wore my running shirt to the parade to make me more likely to do that when I got back.

But it was soooooooo windy and cold. I really did NOT feel like going back out. I even debated cutting it down to 6 miles and slacking.

But I ended up doing two full loops around Central Park, which comes out to 12.4 miles. It was crazy too. There was a torrential downpour of snow (can there be "torrential snow"?) and so much wind. It was really really crazy. And it was really hard to do the second loop when I really wanted to go home. The kicker was that it was sunny and just a little breezy this morning. Now, (9:50ish) I can hear the wind outside of my apartment because it is so crazy. I was wearing a tech shirt and a fleece AND a coat, two pairs of pants, gloves and my headband and as soon as I stopped I was FREEZING. That was unfortunate too, because I still had about a half mile to walk home.

Luckily, since Bill is so nice he met me at the taco truck (that parks up a block from us and makes tacos every night) and gave me his keys while he got tacos, once he saw how cold I was.

I am also really really sore. I feel like I ran 20 miles instead of 12.4. But despite all the wind and everything, I still logged a 2:08 run! That is a 10:19 pace for those windy miles!!! And that even counts all the times I had to wait at stop lights to cross. I have been logging about 11 minute miles on my long runs. Maybe now I know why my legs hurt so much!

D'Oh!

Yesterday, I decided that appearance was more important than comfort and wore what my boss calls my "ruby slippers" to work. They are these red patent leather peep-toed pumps with a skinny 6-inch heel. They actually are quite comfortable if you are just walking around the office and not much more. I had no problem with them in Cincinnati, where I did mostly driving and very little walking.

Well, I kind of forgot that I had a meeting uptown yesterday...and my boss walks FAST. Plus, although I am usually anchored to my desk all day, yesterday I was running from room to room for various conference calls etc.

When I got home, my feet were killing me so badly that as soon as I was past the doorman I slipped my shoes off and padded down the hallway to my elevator in my stockinged feet. Luckily, someone was holding the door for me and was sympathetic to my problem because he saw me sloooooooooowly walking down the huge hill to get to our building.

My toes were all smashed into an inverted v-shape and as the night progressed my legs really really hurt.
In fact, they still hurt today. It also wasn't fun to wake up in the middle of the night with a horrible charley-horse in my left leg.

I guess I learned my lesson. When you are training for a marathon, comfort and being smart about your feet/legs is more important than looking good.

By the way...did you know that Cole Haan teamed up with Nike Air to create the most comfortable high heels ever? Form AND function!!! Of course, something as wonderful as that also has a price tag that I am not used to for my shoe. Guess I will just have to wait for them to go on Zappos :)

Short Run!

Tonight was just a short run in the park. But it was great, because it is sooooo warm out here! 51 degrees! I was so excited to run without my gloves, headband and jacket.
It is so funny how my short runs seem SO short. I remember when I decided to "train" for the Hyde Park Blast two years ago. I would get up in the morning, run to the end of my street, cut across the park, run to the end of that street and then come home. It seemed really long. In reality, it was only .75 miles (I just checked on mapmyrun.com)!!!

What I'm really excited for this week is my first hill repeats for this training season. Bill and I are going to go up to the Brooklyn Bridge Thursday and do (at least) 4 climbs. We'll see how it goes, but I am totally up to the challenge.

I am also excited to dig into my Runner's World tonight as I watch the Biggest Loser and get inspired :)

My Sweet New Running Mix :)

Yesterday was my ten-miler and it was GREAT. I did a huge loop in Central Park. Last time I had a long run I actually just ran the perimeter of the park. I wasn't sure about all the trails and everything and wanted to get an accurate mileage total. This time I ran around the streets inside the park. It was so much better! Central Park is absolutely beautiful even in the dead of winter.

It did feel like a spring day, though. I was completely overdressed and started shedding clothes in my first mile. It was also really crowded. I think everyone was enjoying the springish weather.

I also felt like it was a good run because I finally got to put some hills in. Along the top of the park and going west there is a HUGE hill that wraps around and around (my favorite kind...jk). I think it is actually called "Great Hill". It reminded me a lot of Erie, going towards the police station.

Also, I had an EXCELLENT new running mix. It helped me get through everything!

Just in case you were wondering, here it is:

Dick is a Killer - A president Bush Mash-up by Rx
Knock Em Out - Lily Allen
Hash Pipe - Weezer
Movies of Myself - Rufus Wainwright
Somebody to Love - Queen
Run for Your Life - The Beatles
The New Year - Death Cab for Cutie
Uptight - Stevie Wonder
Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
Sheep Go to Heaven - Cake
OPP - Naughty By Nature
The Tape - Sondre Lerche
Icky Thump - The White Stripes
Pump It - Black Eyed Peas (of course)
Short Skirt/Long Jacket - Cake
Space Dementia - Muse
She Is - The Fray
Female of the Species - Space
Man, It's So Loud in Here - They Might be Giants
Love Today - Mika
Me Against the Music - Britney Spears
Fidelity - Regina Spektor
Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine - The White Stripes
Get Him Back - Fiona Apple
In The Middle - Jimmy Eat World
Vertigo - U2
Don't Stop Me Now - The Vandals