Believe it or not -- I actually got my butt outside yesterday to do my long run! Usually I have no motivation to do this and push it off until Sunday. This week I was motivated by three things: the fact that if I ran on Saturday instead of Sunday I would get a bonus point in my motivation plan for doing 5 workouts this week, the fact that I could have a super lazy day on Sunday with no plans if I ran on Saturday instead, and the fact that I could pig out on bad food with little guilt at the board game party I was hosting later that night. Besides that though, I really had a hard time wanting to get out there.
It was a rather uneventful run except for the fact that in the first six miles I had this immense urge to pee and was pretty sure the public bathrooms were closed. I realized this as I ran by the Boathouse and noticed a white piece of paper on the door (which I assumed said they were closed for the season). Not really sure what to do about this since I had a whole 12 miles to do. When I got to 72nd street, completing my first loop I figured I could run across the transverse to see if Bethesda Fountain bathrooms were open or wait until I finished the lower loop and cross to the Bethesda Fountain on the east side. I really didn't want to add on the extra .5 miles it would take to do this if I opted to go right then, but I felt like I didn't really have a choice. So I ran to the plaza only to find a big sign saying they were closed for the season and I should try the Boathouse. Grrrrrr. So I ran another .2 or so miles and once again noticed the sign. Freakout! But before a total meltdown I decided I should probably get closer and READ the sign before I assumed what it said. And lo and behold, it was only telling me to keep the door closed because the restrooms were heated. YES!
Now I had another dilemma. Do I do the lower loop? Backwards or forwards? I didn't think I could add on anything to my 12 miles because my legs were already feeling tired. And I HATE the lower loop. I will do anything to avoid it. So I ran back and forth on the transverse until I got to 7 miles. Crazy boring, I know, but better than that lower loop. I don't even know why I hate it that much. It's fairly flat compared to the rest of the park, it's definitely very scenic, and it is only 1.6 miles.
Anyway, this meant that I had miscalculated and at the end of my run I still had .21 miles to go. I know, I know, just skip it, right? But no, I didn't feel like I could say I ran 12 miles unless I actually did. So I ran down .1 miles across the transverse and .1 miles back (again avoiding the lower loop completely.)
Afterwards I felt SO SORE...like running a half marathon sore. This is kind of crazy since I was keeping kind of an easy pace (according to my watch 10:42, but that was wrong since I kind of forgot to stop the watch during the whole bathroom debaucle.)
At any rate, I feel like I'm totally in for it now. So I did what I have been avoiding for a month and a half...I signed up for my first post-pregnancy marathon: the Flying Pig.
It makes me nervous to think about committing to this, but here I am!
Showing posts with label long runs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label long runs. Show all posts
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Saturday Sixteen
This weekend I had my big 16-miler, which has actually been my longest run all season. When I started walking to practice it was pouring and I was happy! It has been nothing but hot, humid and altogether unpleasant for the past week or so, and I was happy we were running in the rain instead of the unbearable heat and humidity that was predicted.
It was also the last weekend for Summer Streets :( so we were once again doing the Park Avenue run (and then across Manhattan to the West Side Highway (yuck) and finishing with a five mile loop in the park.
Since it was a lot cooler out because of the rain I took out my run a lot faster than I meant to. I can't believe I did this, because I was running exactly between the 9 minute pace group and the 10 minute pace group and was going for a 9:30 pace. But I felt great! (When will I learn? :)
(The pace for my first few miles were 8:41, 8:29, 8:07).
As we reached the bottom of Manhattan to cut across Chambers, the rain stopped. I didn't mind though because it wasn't exactly sunny out. But then the sun did come out and you know how people say "you could cut the air with a knife?" Now I know what they were talking about!
Luckily, I had succeeded in cutting my pace back to around a nine minute mile. (For a little while.) The girl I was running with kept saying we could slow down if I wanted, and I kept saying I was totally for that, but neither of us seemed able to do it. (Next few miles 9:09, 8:57, 9:00, 8:44, 8:48).
We stopped for water and I felt dizzy (uh oh). I was also very very tired. My arms were feeling very heavy. The humidity was definitely getting to me. I was glad I had lots of electrolytes with me. In fact, I went through my entire belt full of Gatorade before we got back to Central Park. I figured that was okay though, since there were so many water fountains there.
Rebecca and I DEFINITELY felt like we had done more than 11 miles at this point, and were both dreading the next 5 miles. We said it felt like the last five miles of a marathon, so we knew we had to just run with our guts at this point.
Unfortunately, my guts did NOT like Harlem Hill, which was at the end of my run (since I decided to end my run on my street, unlike everyone else who went back to the start). I ended up walking a fair amount until I felt better and ended up with a 2:29 (which averages out to a 9:20 pace).
I felt so tired and drained, but I was happy with my time. Now only if I can reverse the order and do a negative split next time, I'll be great!
It was also the last weekend for Summer Streets :( so we were once again doing the Park Avenue run (and then across Manhattan to the West Side Highway (yuck) and finishing with a five mile loop in the park.
Since it was a lot cooler out because of the rain I took out my run a lot faster than I meant to. I can't believe I did this, because I was running exactly between the 9 minute pace group and the 10 minute pace group and was going for a 9:30 pace. But I felt great! (When will I learn? :)
(The pace for my first few miles were 8:41, 8:29, 8:07).
As we reached the bottom of Manhattan to cut across Chambers, the rain stopped. I didn't mind though because it wasn't exactly sunny out. But then the sun did come out and you know how people say "you could cut the air with a knife?" Now I know what they were talking about!
Luckily, I had succeeded in cutting my pace back to around a nine minute mile. (For a little while.) The girl I was running with kept saying we could slow down if I wanted, and I kept saying I was totally for that, but neither of us seemed able to do it. (Next few miles 9:09, 8:57, 9:00, 8:44, 8:48).
We stopped for water and I felt dizzy (uh oh). I was also very very tired. My arms were feeling very heavy. The humidity was definitely getting to me. I was glad I had lots of electrolytes with me. In fact, I went through my entire belt full of Gatorade before we got back to Central Park. I figured that was okay though, since there were so many water fountains there.
Rebecca and I DEFINITELY felt like we had done more than 11 miles at this point, and were both dreading the next 5 miles. We said it felt like the last five miles of a marathon, so we knew we had to just run with our guts at this point.
Unfortunately, my guts did NOT like Harlem Hill, which was at the end of my run (since I decided to end my run on my street, unlike everyone else who went back to the start). I ended up walking a fair amount until I felt better and ended up with a 2:29 (which averages out to a 9:20 pace).
I felt so tired and drained, but I was happy with my time. Now only if I can reverse the order and do a negative split next time, I'll be great!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Late Posting
I have been bad, and not posting lately. It has been a bit crazy, and I haven't been doing so well on my running schedule this week due to work and travelling.
But on Valentine's Day, Bill and I DID start the morning with a nice, romantic, 15 mile run. Haha.
I was not looking forward to running nearly 3 loops of Central Park, so I decided that we should run the West Side Highway bike/jog trail. I forgot how much I hate running it until we were running. Ok. Ok. It wasn't as bad as it was in the summer, but it still is pretty boring.
Here is why I hate it:
1. It is flat the entire way (much like Eastern) with NO turns (much like Eastern) so it is BORING.
2. It is right next to the Hudson, so there is tons of exhaust from boats and helicopters.
3. It is right next to the West Side Highway so there is tons of exhaust from trucks and cars.
4. The sun beats down on you since there is no shade, so it's HOT.
5. Even though running down the west side of Manhattan sounds like it would be beautiful and scenic, it really isn't.
The cool this is that if you think about it, it is kind of cool to run all the way from the Upper West Side alllllll the way to the bottom tip of Manhattan. At least, that is how far Bill and I made it before we had to turn around.
I was so hitting the wall after we turned around. And it was agonizing, because you can tell EXACTLY where you are on the trail (because it is marked every mile and also because you see the streets going by..."We are only at 42nd!!!! We have 57 freaking blocks to go!!!").
Despite all of that, we finished our 15 miles with a 2:22 (about a 9:28 pace). I felt like I was dying at the end and doing like 11 minute miles, but apparently I wasn't.
I think I am getting fast.
I was aiming for a 9:50 pace, which is what the McMillan running calculator says is at the upper range of what I should be training at for my long runs. It FELT like a 9:50. So I guess that's good! We'll see about this week. I have a feeling I might be a little slower due to my less-than-stellar ability to stick to my workout plan this week. :)
But on Valentine's Day, Bill and I DID start the morning with a nice, romantic, 15 mile run. Haha.
I was not looking forward to running nearly 3 loops of Central Park, so I decided that we should run the West Side Highway bike/jog trail. I forgot how much I hate running it until we were running. Ok. Ok. It wasn't as bad as it was in the summer, but it still is pretty boring.
Here is why I hate it:
1. It is flat the entire way (much like Eastern) with NO turns (much like Eastern) so it is BORING.
2. It is right next to the Hudson, so there is tons of exhaust from boats and helicopters.
3. It is right next to the West Side Highway so there is tons of exhaust from trucks and cars.
4. The sun beats down on you since there is no shade, so it's HOT.
5. Even though running down the west side of Manhattan sounds like it would be beautiful and scenic, it really isn't.
The cool this is that if you think about it, it is kind of cool to run all the way from the Upper West Side alllllll the way to the bottom tip of Manhattan. At least, that is how far Bill and I made it before we had to turn around.
I was so hitting the wall after we turned around. And it was agonizing, because you can tell EXACTLY where you are on the trail (because it is marked every mile and also because you see the streets going by..."We are only at 42nd!!!! We have 57 freaking blocks to go!!!").
Despite all of that, we finished our 15 miles with a 2:22 (about a 9:28 pace). I felt like I was dying at the end and doing like 11 minute miles, but apparently I wasn't.
I think I am getting fast.
I was aiming for a 9:50 pace, which is what the McMillan running calculator says is at the upper range of what I should be training at for my long runs. It FELT like a 9:50. So I guess that's good! We'll see about this week. I have a feeling I might be a little slower due to my less-than-stellar ability to stick to my workout plan this week. :)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Long Run
Saturday was my first "official" long run. (I figure that 6 miles is not really considered a long run). Luckily, it was with friends and that made the time just fly by and the pain seem non-existent. My goal on my long runs this season is going to be nice and easy...getting in the miles comfortably and building endurance, not speed. This is what the goal was supposed to be last marathon season, but I never listened to Coach Ramon when it came to that, and just ran all of my long runs at a medium to medium-fast clip. But everything I have read about marathon training plans is that your long run is NOT the time to do this...those are what your medium runs are for during the week. So that is one thing I am tweaking with my training (more on that in a later post).
I met Gina at the park for a slippery 2.5 miles (okay, Garmin says 2.56, but I swear it is really 2.7 miles...) around the full bridal path loop. There were times when it was so icy that I lost my footing. Luckily I never lost it enough to actually fall down.
Did I also mention that it was fah-reezing out? 11 degrees, but luckily not very windy. I was wearing tights underneath pants, a tank under a long sleeve tech shirt under my sugoi speedster under my jacket, a pair of glove/mittens, my fleece headband, and I had my hood pulled up (with ponytail sticking out of the ponytail port, of course). I told Gina that people were laughing at me on the way to the park. She pointed out that even the crazy guys you see on the coldest days running the loop in shorts were not out today. True. And what does the dry-cleaning lady know anyway?
The funniest thing that happened was when we were crossing the 102nd street traverse. I felt like something was down around my butt. Suddenly I also felt like my movement was impeded by what could only be my tights sliding down my legs. I cracked up and told Gina "My tights just fell down my –" as I was feeling in the back to pull them up. "Wait! It's my pants! My pants fell down!" And after that, it just kept happening.
We finished our loop and met Bill for the full 6-mile loop (he got a later start with training than I did, so I recommended that he NOT do our 8-9 mile run).
It was nice, and the three of us were all chatty the whole way, which made the time just fly. Plus, I love running with Gina because she keeps me on pace. AND we had matching green garmins that were happily chirping along the entire way. How cute.
Afterwards? I felt like I ran 6 miles, not 8.5 (or 8.7). NICE.
I met Gina at the park for a slippery 2.5 miles (okay, Garmin says 2.56, but I swear it is really 2.7 miles...) around the full bridal path loop. There were times when it was so icy that I lost my footing. Luckily I never lost it enough to actually fall down.
Did I also mention that it was fah-reezing out? 11 degrees, but luckily not very windy. I was wearing tights underneath pants, a tank under a long sleeve tech shirt under my sugoi speedster under my jacket, a pair of glove/mittens, my fleece headband, and I had my hood pulled up (with ponytail sticking out of the ponytail port, of course). I told Gina that people were laughing at me on the way to the park. She pointed out that even the crazy guys you see on the coldest days running the loop in shorts were not out today. True. And what does the dry-cleaning lady know anyway?
The funniest thing that happened was when we were crossing the 102nd street traverse. I felt like something was down around my butt. Suddenly I also felt like my movement was impeded by what could only be my tights sliding down my legs. I cracked up and told Gina "My tights just fell down my –" as I was feeling in the back to pull them up. "Wait! It's my pants! My pants fell down!" And after that, it just kept happening.
We finished our loop and met Bill for the full 6-mile loop (he got a later start with training than I did, so I recommended that he NOT do our 8-9 mile run).
It was nice, and the three of us were all chatty the whole way, which made the time just fly. Plus, I love running with Gina because she keeps me on pace. AND we had matching green garmins that were happily chirping along the entire way. How cute.
Afterwards? I felt like I ran 6 miles, not 8.5 (or 8.7). NICE.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Garmin Runs
Hmmmm. I think my Garmin plays into my obsessive-compulsive tendencies. It was actually making me a little bit crazy this weekend.
This weekend I had two runs...my "long" run on Saturday (which was 6 miles) and a recovery run on Sunday (which was 4 miles SLOW). Both were in Central Park, and both included lots and lots of hills, which I think is a good thing, since I am training for a very hilly marathon.
On Friday I was getting very antsy about my plans to run the Manhattan Grand-Prix Half marathon, which is on the 25th. I felt woefully unprepared. My quads, hamstrings and calves were sore from all of my running during the week. Also I was feeling VERY slowly. According to my Garmin, Bill and my pace from our 30 minute run was about an 11:34...yowsa. I was also thinking I may have overpromised myself that I could do 6 miles.
Then, I talked to Gina, who is running the Miami Half on the same day. She also has been less-than-vigilant about her running workouts. I figured, if she can do it, I can do it.
Then I ran on Saturday, and although it hurt later that evening, while I was running I felt great. I was thinking "Wow. Running is fun. Why do I have such a hard time wanting to do it in the winter if it makes me feel this great? I'll have to remember this!"
BUT (and here's the Garmin obsession thing) while I was running I was obsessively checking my pace. I started with like an 11:23 (kind of made me freak out). On the downhill in the first mile though, I was at a 9:36 (ok, better). Most times I looked at my watch it was somewhere in the 10 or 11 minute pace range. This made me mentally freak out. In my head I was crying "I'm so out of shape!!! I don't FEEL like I'm going that slow!!!" But then I kept trying to say to myself "It's ok. You ARE out of shape. You'll get back to your 9:15s soon enough." On Harlem hill I looked at my pace and it was like 15:46. WHAT?!!! REALLY?! I mean I know it's a big hill, but...
Luckily, this was near the end of my run. I checked my time (56 ish) and was like "Wait a minute, I'm almost finished...if I'm running 11 minute miles on average I should have a LOT more minutes."
I stopped the clock at 58 something for 6.05 miles. That's a 9:35 pace. And my watch said 11:56 in the pace area.
OHHHHHHHHHH.
Duh. 11:56 is the pace that I was walking RIGHT THAT INSTANT.
Then I felt like an idiot because that is probably the same thing that happened the other night when Bill and I were running.
Whew.
I feel better about the half on the 25th now.
Oh yes, and the reason that I don't have accurate splits etc is because I am still trying to figure out how to make my ANT stick work with all of the drivers I had to install on my mac. (Grrrrr). But hopefully I will figure that out soon.
I do find it interesting that my pace is THAT SLOW on Harlem Hill.
This weekend I had two runs...my "long" run on Saturday (which was 6 miles) and a recovery run on Sunday (which was 4 miles SLOW). Both were in Central Park, and both included lots and lots of hills, which I think is a good thing, since I am training for a very hilly marathon.
On Friday I was getting very antsy about my plans to run the Manhattan Grand-Prix Half marathon, which is on the 25th. I felt woefully unprepared. My quads, hamstrings and calves were sore from all of my running during the week. Also I was feeling VERY slowly. According to my Garmin, Bill and my pace from our 30 minute run was about an 11:34...yowsa. I was also thinking I may have overpromised myself that I could do 6 miles.
Then, I talked to Gina, who is running the Miami Half on the same day. She also has been less-than-vigilant about her running workouts. I figured, if she can do it, I can do it.
Then I ran on Saturday, and although it hurt later that evening, while I was running I felt great. I was thinking "Wow. Running is fun. Why do I have such a hard time wanting to do it in the winter if it makes me feel this great? I'll have to remember this!"
BUT (and here's the Garmin obsession thing) while I was running I was obsessively checking my pace. I started with like an 11:23 (kind of made me freak out). On the downhill in the first mile though, I was at a 9:36 (ok, better). Most times I looked at my watch it was somewhere in the 10 or 11 minute pace range. This made me mentally freak out. In my head I was crying "I'm so out of shape!!! I don't FEEL like I'm going that slow!!!" But then I kept trying to say to myself "It's ok. You ARE out of shape. You'll get back to your 9:15s soon enough." On Harlem hill I looked at my pace and it was like 15:46. WHAT?!!! REALLY?! I mean I know it's a big hill, but...
Luckily, this was near the end of my run. I checked my time (56 ish) and was like "Wait a minute, I'm almost finished...if I'm running 11 minute miles on average I should have a LOT more minutes."
I stopped the clock at 58 something for 6.05 miles. That's a 9:35 pace. And my watch said 11:56 in the pace area.
OHHHHHHHHHH.
Duh. 11:56 is the pace that I was walking RIGHT THAT INSTANT.
Then I felt like an idiot because that is probably the same thing that happened the other night when Bill and I were running.
Whew.
I feel better about the half on the 25th now.
Oh yes, and the reason that I don't have accurate splits etc is because I am still trying to figure out how to make my ANT stick work with all of the drivers I had to install on my mac. (Grrrrr). But hopefully I will figure that out soon.
I do find it interesting that my pace is THAT SLOW on Harlem Hill.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Psych Out
I have come to the conclusion that I psych myself out during my races. This should come as no surprise, because when I used to swim I would do the same thing...I would have a great practice and then choke at the swim meet.
I say this because this weekend I ran the Staten Island Half Marathon. Basically, my group had to do a 12-13 mile run this weekend and Coach Ramon gave us the option of running it in the park or running the Staten Island Half as a training run...meaning that we would actually race it but run it just like any other weekend long mileage run. I chose the SIH because I am SOOOOOOO tired of running in Central Park. I welcomed the change of scenery and (here is the stupid reason) I think all of the shirts from the Grand Prix Half Marathons have been kind of cool. I have the Queens one, and I wanted the SI one.
I think not racing a race is pretty hard to do. I mean, there you are, surrounded by people who ARE racing it and there's all kinds of excitement in the air. It's easy to get caught up in it. It's also difficult because they corral you by pace and my pace is listed as 8:15 (even though that was for a MUCH shorter race). Anyway, I decided to just take it out as a fun run and not worry about it and pay more attention to my breathing than my time (hard to do with a huge clock glaring at you every mile. I discussed my inability to go slow in races before the race with Eric, one of the mentors. I told him I was shooting for 10 minute miles and he said I should just go my regular Saturday pace: 9:30. I thought that was probably a good idea.
My first mile I logged a 9:15.
Mile 2 - 8:54
Mile 3 - 9:02
Mile 4 - 9:17
I have to admit, I wasn't "holding back" like I usually do during races. I felt a little blah and tired. But then, now that I think about it, that was probably okay, because that's how I usually feel for the first few miles of a long run. And I don't focus on "holding back" on those, but on keeping a nice consistent pace.
Mile 5 - 10:04 (this was because I walked through the water stop and ate a Gu. I decided not to try the running/drinking thing this time, because I waste more time recovering from my choking.)
Mile 6 - 9:08
Mile 7 - 9:09 (the Gu must have kicked in by now because I was feeling AWESOME)
Mile 8 - 10:01 (slowed down by another water stop)
Mile 9 - 9:14 (and that was stopping for water AND a Gu)
Mile 10 - 8:53
Mile 11 - 9:16
This mile had a big hill, which kind of sucked since we were so close to the end. To make it worse, this lady next to me was like, mooing or something...really loudly. She was obviously having issues getting up the hill. But even after the hill she kept mooing. I find it really frustrating to be running by people like this because they also psych me out. Because there I am, trying to do my own thing mentally to get me up the hill and even if I am making it through the hill sucessfully it is like their loud breathing etc reminds me that I am on a really tough hill and that I should be struggling too. I tried to get away from her as fast as I could.
Mile 12 - 9:36
It was somewhere in the middle of mile 12 that I decided to look at my total time. I realized that I was super close to a sub 2:00 time. I would basically have to finish my last mile in 7 minutes (ha!). I knew this wasn't possible , but wanted to speed up anyway.
Mile 13 - 8:28
Whoo hoo!
I finished strong, with a 2:01:13 overall (grrrr. If only I had been .13 seconds faster!).
But you know, if I would have been racing that, I probably would have gone slower. I've got to get in the mental game for this marathon.
Oh and one funny little story...
To get to Staten Island, you have to go all the way to the bottom of Manhattan and take the ferry. On the 1 train you actually have to be in the front 5 cars to get off at the last stop. Well, usually the only people that go down that far in Manhattan are tourists (it is by the Statue of Liberty) and residents of Staten Island. Add in a 7:30 am time on a Sunday (most NYers sleep until noon) and all you have is tourists. So when the 1 train was packed with runners like it was rush hour (standing room only, shoulder to shoulder) I think we really really really confused the tourists. They looked VERY overwhelmed. Especially when the huge hall to take the ferry was overcrowded with thousands of runners. I felt sorry for them. But I felt especially sorry for the ones who took the ferry back after the race with all of us runners. I'm sure it was a rather stinky ride.
I say this because this weekend I ran the Staten Island Half Marathon. Basically, my group had to do a 12-13 mile run this weekend and Coach Ramon gave us the option of running it in the park or running the Staten Island Half as a training run...meaning that we would actually race it but run it just like any other weekend long mileage run. I chose the SIH because I am SOOOOOOO tired of running in Central Park. I welcomed the change of scenery and (here is the stupid reason) I think all of the shirts from the Grand Prix Half Marathons have been kind of cool. I have the Queens one, and I wanted the SI one.
I think not racing a race is pretty hard to do. I mean, there you are, surrounded by people who ARE racing it and there's all kinds of excitement in the air. It's easy to get caught up in it. It's also difficult because they corral you by pace and my pace is listed as 8:15 (even though that was for a MUCH shorter race). Anyway, I decided to just take it out as a fun run and not worry about it and pay more attention to my breathing than my time (hard to do with a huge clock glaring at you every mile. I discussed my inability to go slow in races before the race with Eric, one of the mentors. I told him I was shooting for 10 minute miles and he said I should just go my regular Saturday pace: 9:30. I thought that was probably a good idea.
My first mile I logged a 9:15.
Mile 2 - 8:54
Mile 3 - 9:02
Mile 4 - 9:17
I have to admit, I wasn't "holding back" like I usually do during races. I felt a little blah and tired. But then, now that I think about it, that was probably okay, because that's how I usually feel for the first few miles of a long run. And I don't focus on "holding back" on those, but on keeping a nice consistent pace.
Mile 5 - 10:04 (this was because I walked through the water stop and ate a Gu. I decided not to try the running/drinking thing this time, because I waste more time recovering from my choking.)
Mile 6 - 9:08
Mile 7 - 9:09 (the Gu must have kicked in by now because I was feeling AWESOME)
Mile 8 - 10:01 (slowed down by another water stop)
Mile 9 - 9:14 (and that was stopping for water AND a Gu)
Mile 10 - 8:53
Mile 11 - 9:16
This mile had a big hill, which kind of sucked since we were so close to the end. To make it worse, this lady next to me was like, mooing or something...really loudly. She was obviously having issues getting up the hill. But even after the hill she kept mooing. I find it really frustrating to be running by people like this because they also psych me out. Because there I am, trying to do my own thing mentally to get me up the hill and even if I am making it through the hill sucessfully it is like their loud breathing etc reminds me that I am on a really tough hill and that I should be struggling too. I tried to get away from her as fast as I could.
Mile 12 - 9:36
It was somewhere in the middle of mile 12 that I decided to look at my total time. I realized that I was super close to a sub 2:00 time. I would basically have to finish my last mile in 7 minutes (ha!). I knew this wasn't possible , but wanted to speed up anyway.
Mile 13 - 8:28
Whoo hoo!
I finished strong, with a 2:01:13 overall (grrrr. If only I had been .13 seconds faster!).
But you know, if I would have been racing that, I probably would have gone slower. I've got to get in the mental game for this marathon.
Oh and one funny little story...
To get to Staten Island, you have to go all the way to the bottom of Manhattan and take the ferry. On the 1 train you actually have to be in the front 5 cars to get off at the last stop. Well, usually the only people that go down that far in Manhattan are tourists (it is by the Statue of Liberty) and residents of Staten Island. Add in a 7:30 am time on a Sunday (most NYers sleep until noon) and all you have is tourists. So when the 1 train was packed with runners like it was rush hour (standing room only, shoulder to shoulder) I think we really really really confused the tourists. They looked VERY overwhelmed. Especially when the huge hall to take the ferry was overcrowded with thousands of runners. I felt sorry for them. But I felt especially sorry for the ones who took the ferry back after the race with all of us runners. I'm sure it was a rather stinky ride.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Into Brooklyn
Saturday we had a really fun run. I was a little nervous to pick up the mileage again since I haven't really been running all that much. According to my schedule I was supposed to do my 19 miler, but I knew that this probably wasn't a very good idea since I really only ran 3 miles this week and 10 miles last week (btw, both of those were single runs). I decided to shoot for 14-15 but see how I felt along the way.
We started out way downtown in the Winter Gardens (right by the World Trade Center site). We had the option of staying in Manhattan for the entire run, or venturing into Brooklyn. I of course, wanted to venture into Brooklyn. I am always up for a change of scenery AND this would give me some hill work too.
I also decided that if my pace leader was pacing this week I was NOT going to be in her group. Luckily though, she wasn't there. And Ramon was making the coaches pace this week instead of the mentors. This was good because I was really afraid of getting lost in Brooklyn. Manhattan is pretty easy to navigate since it is all on a grid and most of the streets are numbered. But Brooklyn is another story.
What a difference it makes when you're going the right pace! I felt so much better through the entire run. And I truly COULD have added another 4 miles on without much problem (but I stopped anyway. I didn't want to push it too hard).
The run was also a lot of fun. We got to run over the Brooklyn Bridge, which is always great. It was super crowded with people though which was a little frustrating runningwise (I was running in a zigzag a lot of the time to avoid other people). I decided though that you can't get mad at people for wanting to walk/bike/rollerblade/run across the bridge. It is extremely cool and the view is amazing, plus the weather yesterday was great for outdoor activities. Some lady obviously didn't feel the same way. She was out for a leisurely stroll and was talking on her cellphone. I think she was overwhelmed by all of us even though we were being very good and only running one or two across and staying on the right side of the bridge. I was trying to avoid her completely and swerved to the right to do so (just as she swerved to her left) so we met face to face and she threw up her hands and screamed "F*CK!!" in my face, which I thought was a little humorous. I could tell it was her last straw. :)
Anyway, after crossing the bridge we ran through Brooklyn. I had no idea where exactly we were but found it commical how many other people in the group had never been to Brooklyn. We passed the Brooklyn TNT team and our coach yelled "Yeah! Go Brooklyn!" And they hollered back "YEEEEAH!" which made me laugh because it is sort of the stereotypical Brooklyn reaction to something like that (anyone ever see that movie "Newsies"?). Ramon was following the course on his bike because he was super afraid that we were all going to get lost and never find our way back to Manhattan.
We finally got to the Williamsburg bridge and I looked forward. It went STRAIGHT UP. I was like "Oh yeah, this is nice." And the coach said it was good practice for San Francisco (which I am so glad I am not running.) I just tried to enjoy the beautiful view and read all of the graffiti instead of concentrating on the hill.
Crossing Manhattan again through the Lower East Side was NOT pleasant because it smelled like garbage baking in the sun.
But we finally made it to Lafayette to run up Park Avenue for the last time (boo! I hope they do Summer Streets again). I really had time to enjoy it this week since I was on pace instead of flying through the streets tiring myself out. I remembered to stop at the church that everyone was talking about (because they gave out freshly squeezed lemonade...delicious!). By this point though, most of our group had split up. Hardly anyone was running all the way up to 72nd street because most people were not doing 19 miles. I ran all the way up to 63rd with Kelly though and then caught up with some other people from the group to cut across the 72nd Street Transverse.
The rest of the run was on my own since I just decided to head uptown for the last two miles and head home. It was nice to be able to finish right in front of my apartment building.
I had to double check Ramon's mileage count on mapmyrun.com, because I figured there was no way that he could be right (according to my watch). But he was! I did 15 miles in 2:18 which means that I was doing a 9:19 mile the whole way. I was so ecstatic!
I, of course, plugged that into one of those calculators that can predict your marathon times based on your long runs. It says that I can do a 4:14 based on that time. That would be awesome!
So, what did I learn from this? Take it out easy and you will do better than you thought. Yes, every coach I have ever had has told me this, but I am one of those people who has to experience it for myself before I believe it ;)
We started out way downtown in the Winter Gardens (right by the World Trade Center site). We had the option of staying in Manhattan for the entire run, or venturing into Brooklyn. I of course, wanted to venture into Brooklyn. I am always up for a change of scenery AND this would give me some hill work too.
I also decided that if my pace leader was pacing this week I was NOT going to be in her group. Luckily though, she wasn't there. And Ramon was making the coaches pace this week instead of the mentors. This was good because I was really afraid of getting lost in Brooklyn. Manhattan is pretty easy to navigate since it is all on a grid and most of the streets are numbered. But Brooklyn is another story.
What a difference it makes when you're going the right pace! I felt so much better through the entire run. And I truly COULD have added another 4 miles on without much problem (but I stopped anyway. I didn't want to push it too hard).
The run was also a lot of fun. We got to run over the Brooklyn Bridge, which is always great. It was super crowded with people though which was a little frustrating runningwise (I was running in a zigzag a lot of the time to avoid other people). I decided though that you can't get mad at people for wanting to walk/bike/rollerblade/run across the bridge. It is extremely cool and the view is amazing, plus the weather yesterday was great for outdoor activities. Some lady obviously didn't feel the same way. She was out for a leisurely stroll and was talking on her cellphone. I think she was overwhelmed by all of us even though we were being very good and only running one or two across and staying on the right side of the bridge. I was trying to avoid her completely and swerved to the right to do so (just as she swerved to her left) so we met face to face and she threw up her hands and screamed "F*CK!!" in my face, which I thought was a little humorous. I could tell it was her last straw. :)
Anyway, after crossing the bridge we ran through Brooklyn. I had no idea where exactly we were but found it commical how many other people in the group had never been to Brooklyn. We passed the Brooklyn TNT team and our coach yelled "Yeah! Go Brooklyn!" And they hollered back "YEEEEAH!" which made me laugh because it is sort of the stereotypical Brooklyn reaction to something like that (anyone ever see that movie "Newsies"?). Ramon was following the course on his bike because he was super afraid that we were all going to get lost and never find our way back to Manhattan.
We finally got to the Williamsburg bridge and I looked forward. It went STRAIGHT UP. I was like "Oh yeah, this is nice." And the coach said it was good practice for San Francisco (which I am so glad I am not running.) I just tried to enjoy the beautiful view and read all of the graffiti instead of concentrating on the hill.
Crossing Manhattan again through the Lower East Side was NOT pleasant because it smelled like garbage baking in the sun.
But we finally made it to Lafayette to run up Park Avenue for the last time (boo! I hope they do Summer Streets again). I really had time to enjoy it this week since I was on pace instead of flying through the streets tiring myself out. I remembered to stop at the church that everyone was talking about (because they gave out freshly squeezed lemonade...delicious!). By this point though, most of our group had split up. Hardly anyone was running all the way up to 72nd street because most people were not doing 19 miles. I ran all the way up to 63rd with Kelly though and then caught up with some other people from the group to cut across the 72nd Street Transverse.
The rest of the run was on my own since I just decided to head uptown for the last two miles and head home. It was nice to be able to finish right in front of my apartment building.
I had to double check Ramon's mileage count on mapmyrun.com, because I figured there was no way that he could be right (according to my watch). But he was! I did 15 miles in 2:18 which means that I was doing a 9:19 mile the whole way. I was so ecstatic!
I, of course, plugged that into one of those calculators that can predict your marathon times based on your long runs. It says that I can do a 4:14 based on that time. That would be awesome!
So, what did I learn from this? Take it out easy and you will do better than you thought. Yes, every coach I have ever had has told me this, but I am one of those people who has to experience it for myself before I believe it ;)
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Long Run
I was pretty much dreading my long run on Saturday morning. It's not even like Bill and I stayed up late or anything, but I was just so tired and pretty much didn't feel like running. AND I knew that I would have a good excuse since a lot of people wouldn't be there. When the alarm went off I asked Bill "Do I HAVE to run today?" He said I didn't have to run 15 miles, but I should at LEAST run 6. I angrilly got out of bed and said "Well then, I might as well run 15." Which is pretty funny in retrospect. I am a total grouch in the morning.
It was pretty slim attendance. By the time we started our run though, there were about 100 people there. I was so happy, because Ramon said that the runs today were going to be between 8-12 miles. Whoo-hoo! He also told us that we should TAKE IT EASY because it was so humid out. He told us that you don't get faster by taking your long runs out faster. You get faster by pushing yourself on the speed workouts (Tuesdays and sometimes also Thursdays). The long runs are merely to increase endurance.
I actually had a nice run!
We did the full 12 (two loops) at a 10 minute pace. At the end I had enough energy to book it in. I figured that this was good because Ramon said that we should be able to increase our pace by 30 seconds for the last 25% of our run. He also said that we should have enough energy to add on two more miles without too much of a problem. This is the first time that I have felt that way, so I think that maybe I have found my pace!
Tonight we have a pretty tough workout though. I am not looking forward to it. Hill repeats of course, and I didn't really understand EXACTLY what we were doing, but I know it included 2x 2 miles HARD. And he called it a "test" which is never good.
This week is going to suck for my running because I am travelling and it is always hard to keep up on my workouts when I am not at home. I will certainly make an effort, but 15 miles on my own for my long run is not going to be easy. :(
It was pretty slim attendance. By the time we started our run though, there were about 100 people there. I was so happy, because Ramon said that the runs today were going to be between 8-12 miles. Whoo-hoo! He also told us that we should TAKE IT EASY because it was so humid out. He told us that you don't get faster by taking your long runs out faster. You get faster by pushing yourself on the speed workouts (Tuesdays and sometimes also Thursdays). The long runs are merely to increase endurance.
I actually had a nice run!
We did the full 12 (two loops) at a 10 minute pace. At the end I had enough energy to book it in. I figured that this was good because Ramon said that we should be able to increase our pace by 30 seconds for the last 25% of our run. He also said that we should have enough energy to add on two more miles without too much of a problem. This is the first time that I have felt that way, so I think that maybe I have found my pace!
Tonight we have a pretty tough workout though. I am not looking forward to it. Hill repeats of course, and I didn't really understand EXACTLY what we were doing, but I know it included 2x 2 miles HARD. And he called it a "test" which is never good.
This week is going to suck for my running because I am travelling and it is always hard to keep up on my workouts when I am not at home. I will certainly make an effort, but 15 miles on my own for my long run is not going to be easy. :(
Saturday, June 7, 2008
I Must Be Super-Fit
Last week at my clinic, the doctor was saying that if you find that you are sweating more during your workouts than you did before it is a sign that you are getting fitter. It's your body's way of cooling itself off and as you work out more, your body's cooling systems becomes better and more efficient.
At any rate, I was sweating a TON today. It was rather gross. The sun was beating down. I have no idea what the temperature was, but I know that today we got up to 94 degrees.
Also, we were doing loops. I pretty much hate loops, especially on long runs. The loops were 3.1 miles each (we were running on a cross country course. The good thing about this was that there was a significant part of the run that was in the woods (hurrah! shade!). The part where we ran in an open field, which I guess was about a mile, was awful. All kinds of people were playing soccer games and I kept thinking how miserable they must all feel. The loops ended up not being so bad, because you ended up knowing that when you got to the bridge for the second time in the loop, you knew that the rest of the loop was downhill.
I was already out of Gatorade by the end of my second loop. The heat was just killing me. So that clinched it for me. I was doing three loops...not four. (Ramon said my group could do anywhere from 3-4 loops).
The funny thing was that I wasn't feeling any pain or anything. I wasn't feeling physically tired from the run, just the heat. Even now, I am not sore. But I have taken in a LOT more water than usual today.
Luckily, Coach Ramon said that it only takes our bodies about 2 weeks of running in this to get used to it. I mean, not like we would be feeling awesome running in 90 degree weather, but at least so that you don't get so tired and have it affect your run as much. That doesn't sound like too long right now. I'm sure I will disagree all of this week though :)
Oh, btw, I did 9.3 miles but I'm not even looking at my time or figuring out my splits. I figure I have a lot of time to worry about that. I'm just chalking this one up to getting used to the heat.
(Also, something else that I never had to worry about in Cincinnati? Riding back in the subway for 40 minutes, dripping wet with sweat. I bet the other people in my car were just thrilled.)
At any rate, I was sweating a TON today. It was rather gross. The sun was beating down. I have no idea what the temperature was, but I know that today we got up to 94 degrees.
Also, we were doing loops. I pretty much hate loops, especially on long runs. The loops were 3.1 miles each (we were running on a cross country course. The good thing about this was that there was a significant part of the run that was in the woods (hurrah! shade!). The part where we ran in an open field, which I guess was about a mile, was awful. All kinds of people were playing soccer games and I kept thinking how miserable they must all feel. The loops ended up not being so bad, because you ended up knowing that when you got to the bridge for the second time in the loop, you knew that the rest of the loop was downhill.
I was already out of Gatorade by the end of my second loop. The heat was just killing me. So that clinched it for me. I was doing three loops...not four. (Ramon said my group could do anywhere from 3-4 loops).
The funny thing was that I wasn't feeling any pain or anything. I wasn't feeling physically tired from the run, just the heat. Even now, I am not sore. But I have taken in a LOT more water than usual today.
Luckily, Coach Ramon said that it only takes our bodies about 2 weeks of running in this to get used to it. I mean, not like we would be feeling awesome running in 90 degree weather, but at least so that you don't get so tired and have it affect your run as much. That doesn't sound like too long right now. I'm sure I will disagree all of this week though :)
Oh, btw, I did 9.3 miles but I'm not even looking at my time or figuring out my splits. I figure I have a lot of time to worry about that. I'm just chalking this one up to getting used to the heat.
(Also, something else that I never had to worry about in Cincinnati? Riding back in the subway for 40 minutes, dripping wet with sweat. I bet the other people in my car were just thrilled.)
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Wind Is Mean
I don't know what the weather is like in Cincinnati, but here in New York it is CRAZY WINDY. I guess I should have known this when I asked Bill this morning what the temperature was and he said it was '21, but feels like 8'. How do you dress to that?
I decided that I would be okay in my tights, a short sleeve, a long sleeve and a jacket (gloves and headband too of course).
It actually was pretty pleasant. And a 6.2 mile loop around Central Park beats a 5 mile loop around Lunken any day. By the time I actually got down to Columbus Circle I was actually feeling kind of warm and looking forward to the east side of the park where I would be running in the shade.
HA! HA! That's when the wind kicked in. And since Central Park is a big, open space in the middle of the city with no buildings to break the wind it was COLD. Not only that, it was difficult to run. At some places I was actually running but not moving anywhere because the wind was so strong. At other places I had to run sideways. I just kept thinking, 'just a few more blocks and then I get to head west again'.
By the time I got to the top of the park the wind had changed directions so that I was running into it again. It was crazy.
I was very happy to see 81st street again (where I cut across to Riverside Park to end my run). I was tired of being blown all over the sidewalk.
I couldn't feel my legs at the end of my run because they were THAT COLD!
I clocked a 1:39.18 for 9.03 miles which I thought was actually pretty good because I was A) battling the wind B) stopping at almost every cross street by the park (sometimes for up to 45 seconds) and EVERY street going crosstown once I was out of the park...and C)running the most mileage I've run since October. So I was happy.
I decided that I would be okay in my tights, a short sleeve, a long sleeve and a jacket (gloves and headband too of course).
It actually was pretty pleasant. And a 6.2 mile loop around Central Park beats a 5 mile loop around Lunken any day. By the time I actually got down to Columbus Circle I was actually feeling kind of warm and looking forward to the east side of the park where I would be running in the shade.
HA! HA! That's when the wind kicked in. And since Central Park is a big, open space in the middle of the city with no buildings to break the wind it was COLD. Not only that, it was difficult to run. At some places I was actually running but not moving anywhere because the wind was so strong. At other places I had to run sideways. I just kept thinking, 'just a few more blocks and then I get to head west again'.
By the time I got to the top of the park the wind had changed directions so that I was running into it again. It was crazy.
I was very happy to see 81st street again (where I cut across to Riverside Park to end my run). I was tired of being blown all over the sidewalk.
I couldn't feel my legs at the end of my run because they were THAT COLD!
I clocked a 1:39.18 for 9.03 miles which I thought was actually pretty good because I was A) battling the wind B) stopping at almost every cross street by the park (sometimes for up to 45 seconds) and EVERY street going crosstown once I was out of the park...and C)running the most mileage I've run since October. So I was happy.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Easy Day
Tomorrow I have an easy day and I am so glad, because tonight is our company outing and I want to make sure I can stay out late. I just have to make sure that I watch what I eat so that I don't have problems like last time. Looks like we are hitting Eastern again for a nice 12 miles. I almost feel like, 'what's the point?'. Just kidding. But 12 miles does seem really really light. Especially since we usually do a 10 or 12 mile loop and then add on from there.
What I'm most excited about (runningwise) this weekend though, is the Race for the Cure. It will be a good, fun way to do a recovery run. Plus, the course is completely flat. Last year, my friend Jen and I ran it and it was a lot of fun. Plus, it was just a very very inspirational race. I had just read Why I Wore Lipstick to my Mastectomy for my bookclub, so felt like I had a better understanding of what breast cancer survivors go through. It was really moving when at the beginning of the race, they had all of the survivors march in. There were so many of them!
Plus, I coerced all of my non-running friends to run again. Of course, this includes big plans for IHOP afterwards.
Which is good, because my tapeworm is back and I am eating like crazy. This does not bode well for my parents, who are having a cookout this weekend, but IHOP can be sure it will sure be making money on me.
This time though, its weird, because I am so hungry all the time, but I can't eat that much. I mean, like I will eat a burger and be so full that I can't finish my fries. But then, less than an hour later I am starving like I haven't eaten in an entire day. So I've been grazing like crazy.
Bill thinks its because my metabolism is fast but my stomach is small. Well, and of course all the calories I am now burning on my long runs. At any rate, I am not complaining because I LOVE to eat.
What I'm most excited about (runningwise) this weekend though, is the Race for the Cure. It will be a good, fun way to do a recovery run. Plus, the course is completely flat. Last year, my friend Jen and I ran it and it was a lot of fun. Plus, it was just a very very inspirational race. I had just read Why I Wore Lipstick to my Mastectomy for my bookclub, so felt like I had a better understanding of what breast cancer survivors go through. It was really moving when at the beginning of the race, they had all of the survivors march in. There were so many of them!
Plus, I coerced all of my non-running friends to run again. Of course, this includes big plans for IHOP afterwards.
Which is good, because my tapeworm is back and I am eating like crazy. This does not bode well for my parents, who are having a cookout this weekend, but IHOP can be sure it will sure be making money on me.
This time though, its weird, because I am so hungry all the time, but I can't eat that much. I mean, like I will eat a burger and be so full that I can't finish my fries. But then, less than an hour later I am starving like I haven't eaten in an entire day. So I've been grazing like crazy.
Bill thinks its because my metabolism is fast but my stomach is small. Well, and of course all the calories I am now burning on my long runs. At any rate, I am not complaining because I LOVE to eat.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Despite Eastern...
OK. So we all know how much I hate running on eastern. So I was not exactly ecstatic when for my 18 mile run this weekend 10 of those miles were on Eastern. Luckily, it was not very hot (since there is basically not a lot of shade). The next 8 miles of the run was around the Lunken Airport bike trail. I don’t know which one is worse!
Despite all of this, I was feeling pretty good when I woke up. I met up with my fellow Chicago group (there are about 5 of us in the group that are running Chicago and we are all around the same pace.) Saturday we were light, because of vacations…there were only 3 of us. Anyway, I felt like we were kind of taking it out a little fast. Especially since I REALLY have to get into a groove on Eastern since it is sooooooo BORING. I was a little worried.
Our first mile was 10:16. Our next was 10:11. This was not boding well because we all try to keep our splits between 10:30 and 11:00.
We got back on track with the next one, with a 10:23. I was starting to feel really great. Our first five we finished at 51:00.
After turning around at Montgomery Inn, I felt super powerful. Maybe it was the disgusting Gu that I gagged down.
I broke away from the group. I knew that I would probably poop out in the last few miles, but I wanted to test it. I figured, maybe I CAN run a 10-10:15 minute mile pace the whole time. No better time to test it in a long run. My splits were getting super fast (for me). 10:00. 9:50!!!
Then they started to drop back. I was back to my normal 10:22s and 10:39s. Even a 10:50.
BUT the slowest split I had was 12:00 (that was my 18th mile). So, I KNOW that I can’t really take all of my mileage at 10:00, because I would die at the end. But I do know that if I’m feeling good, its ok to do a few miles at sub 10:30. That made me feel pretty good about my training!
Despite all of this, I was feeling pretty good when I woke up. I met up with my fellow Chicago group (there are about 5 of us in the group that are running Chicago and we are all around the same pace.) Saturday we were light, because of vacations…there were only 3 of us. Anyway, I felt like we were kind of taking it out a little fast. Especially since I REALLY have to get into a groove on Eastern since it is sooooooo BORING. I was a little worried.
Our first mile was 10:16. Our next was 10:11. This was not boding well because we all try to keep our splits between 10:30 and 11:00.
We got back on track with the next one, with a 10:23. I was starting to feel really great. Our first five we finished at 51:00.
After turning around at Montgomery Inn, I felt super powerful. Maybe it was the disgusting Gu that I gagged down.
I broke away from the group. I knew that I would probably poop out in the last few miles, but I wanted to test it. I figured, maybe I CAN run a 10-10:15 minute mile pace the whole time. No better time to test it in a long run. My splits were getting super fast (for me). 10:00. 9:50!!!
Then they started to drop back. I was back to my normal 10:22s and 10:39s. Even a 10:50.
BUT the slowest split I had was 12:00 (that was my 18th mile). So, I KNOW that I can’t really take all of my mileage at 10:00, because I would die at the end. But I do know that if I’m feeling good, its ok to do a few miles at sub 10:30. That made me feel pretty good about my training!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Partying Friday = Yuck
I don't know if I am just getting used to the heat, or if it really wasn't as bad as it usually is...but my run on Saturday was not all that bad heatwise. However, I will NOT party on Friday night before a long run any more.
My friend was celebrating her birthday and I really really tried to party in moderation. I only had two beers at the baseball game we went to. I drank lots of water at the bar afterwards (yeah, the Hofbrauhaus is a LOT less fun if you don't drink). I think it was the greasy food that did me in. For dinner I had a hot dog and an entire basket of waffle fries with nacho cheese. After the first couple, they didn't even taste that great, but that didn't stop me from finishing off the whole basket. Plus, any peanuts I had during the game. And afterwards we ended up staying at the bar until 1:30 instead of the midnight time I had planned.
So four hours of sleep later, I was not feeling so hot.
The first 8 miles were torture. I made sure I hydrated at every single water fountain. My stomach did NOT feel good. Then, I got my second wind and completed the first 10 mile loop with no problem except for being super tired. I didn't really want to do six more miles.
But I sucked it up. I think at this point, I was one of maybe 5 runners who were still running. All the fast people were almost done, some people only did 10, and the turnout was pretty low Saturday anyway, because a lot of people went down to Louisville to watch the Iron Man.
So I had a solo run. It was really really difficult to make myself do the whole six miles, because there was a turnaround along the way for 12 and 14. But I did it. I knew I would be mad at myself if I didn't. And I was not going to let partying on Friday be my excuse.
But I am NOT eating crappy food anymore on Fridays. Or, I guess, not getting home until 2am.
Lesson learned.
My friend was celebrating her birthday and I really really tried to party in moderation. I only had two beers at the baseball game we went to. I drank lots of water at the bar afterwards (yeah, the Hofbrauhaus is a LOT less fun if you don't drink). I think it was the greasy food that did me in. For dinner I had a hot dog and an entire basket of waffle fries with nacho cheese. After the first couple, they didn't even taste that great, but that didn't stop me from finishing off the whole basket. Plus, any peanuts I had during the game. And afterwards we ended up staying at the bar until 1:30 instead of the midnight time I had planned.
So four hours of sleep later, I was not feeling so hot.
The first 8 miles were torture. I made sure I hydrated at every single water fountain. My stomach did NOT feel good. Then, I got my second wind and completed the first 10 mile loop with no problem except for being super tired. I didn't really want to do six more miles.
But I sucked it up. I think at this point, I was one of maybe 5 runners who were still running. All the fast people were almost done, some people only did 10, and the turnout was pretty low Saturday anyway, because a lot of people went down to Louisville to watch the Iron Man.
So I had a solo run. It was really really difficult to make myself do the whole six miles, because there was a turnaround along the way for 12 and 14. But I did it. I knew I would be mad at myself if I didn't. And I was not going to let partying on Friday be my excuse.
But I am NOT eating crappy food anymore on Fridays. Or, I guess, not getting home until 2am.
Lesson learned.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Upping the Mileage
This marathon training has gone so fast! I don't remember upping my mileage this much this quickly...but maybe that is because I was just so amazed I was running double digit mileage at the time.
Tomorrow is 15-16 miles for me. It starts at Newport on the Levee and is described as a "pretty flat run". I know exactly what that means: Eastern Avenue. Oh how I love Eastern avenue (see hereand here). I am obviously being sarcastic. That just means I have to get mentally pumped up tonight. AND load up my ipod with really great music. At least I can be guilt free when I go out with my friends tomorrow night to gorge on bad food. :)
I didn't get to run or workout at all last night because I ended up working really late. This is doubly bad because there is nothing open downtown for takeaways and I always end up eating really bad food, and then not being able work it off. It also sucks because running gets rid of all the cortisol I work up inside after a stressful day...and of course days where you have to work late are the most stressful. Oh well, I am going to try and get some good sleep tonight so I can have a kick-butt run tomorrow!
Tomorrow is 15-16 miles for me. It starts at Newport on the Levee and is described as a "pretty flat run". I know exactly what that means: Eastern Avenue. Oh how I love Eastern avenue (see hereand here). I am obviously being sarcastic. That just means I have to get mentally pumped up tonight. AND load up my ipod with really great music. At least I can be guilt free when I go out with my friends tomorrow night to gorge on bad food. :)
I didn't get to run or workout at all last night because I ended up working really late. This is doubly bad because there is nothing open downtown for takeaways and I always end up eating really bad food, and then not being able work it off. It also sucks because running gets rid of all the cortisol I work up inside after a stressful day...and of course days where you have to work late are the most stressful. Oh well, I am going to try and get some good sleep tonight so I can have a kick-butt run tomorrow!
Monday, July 23, 2007
I Totally Renege
I know. I know. I go on and on about how I hate running in Glendale. And how I hate doing loops. But I actually had a really really nice, enjoyable run this weekend. DESPITE the fact that I ended up running up and down one street 4 times in order to get all of my mileage in.
Since I was on the upper end of mileage for the group this weekend I did:
1. a 6.6 mile loop around Glendale (the most BORING part was a street that wrapped around by UPS that seemed to go on forever)
2. a 2.4 mile loop around by the Grande Finale which seemed extremely short
3. a 2.5 mile loop in the neighborhoods of Glendale, by where the Black Squirrel 5k is usually run
4. a 1.2 mile loop along the RR tracks (again!) to get me close to the 13-14 miles I needed to run.
I should have probably done another 1.2 miles to actually get me up to 13.9 instead of 12.7, but really, I could not run that whole RR track thing another time without going insane.
I think the weather makes all the difference. I was beating myself up in my past runs because I was doing between a 11-14 minute mile throughout the runs and walking up some of the hills. I felt totally out of shape and angry with myself. I guess it truly must be the heat/humidity though. Saturday I did 10 minute miles the entire way. That's more like it! It was beautiful out, and not the normal 85+ and humid. So my confidence is restored.
Even better, after the run I rewarded myself by going to pick up the new Harry Potter which I had on reserve so I could read it at the pool all day. Because I am a big believer in the theory that you have to reward yourself. :)
Tonight is an easy 3-mile run, which means my husband will be running with me. (Which also means I have to pick up the pace a bit). Oh well, I need to do speedwork.
Since I was on the upper end of mileage for the group this weekend I did:
1. a 6.6 mile loop around Glendale (the most BORING part was a street that wrapped around by UPS that seemed to go on forever)
2. a 2.4 mile loop around by the Grande Finale which seemed extremely short
3. a 2.5 mile loop in the neighborhoods of Glendale, by where the Black Squirrel 5k is usually run
4. a 1.2 mile loop along the RR tracks (again!) to get me close to the 13-14 miles I needed to run.
I should have probably done another 1.2 miles to actually get me up to 13.9 instead of 12.7, but really, I could not run that whole RR track thing another time without going insane.
I think the weather makes all the difference. I was beating myself up in my past runs because I was doing between a 11-14 minute mile throughout the runs and walking up some of the hills. I felt totally out of shape and angry with myself. I guess it truly must be the heat/humidity though. Saturday I did 10 minute miles the entire way. That's more like it! It was beautiful out, and not the normal 85+ and humid. So my confidence is restored.
Even better, after the run I rewarded myself by going to pick up the new Harry Potter which I had on reserve so I could read it at the pool all day. Because I am a big believer in the theory that you have to reward yourself. :)
Tonight is an easy 3-mile run, which means my husband will be running with me. (Which also means I have to pick up the pace a bit). Oh well, I need to do speedwork.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Evil Shorts
This Saturday I realized why I like running in a skirt so much. We had an 11-miler, and since I've been so spotty at doing the laundry lately, I had to settle for some running shorts instead of my usual running skirt. BIG MISTAKE.
I knew I was in trouble when I felt the swish swish swish of my shorts between my thighs in the first three miles. By mile 5 I was really hurting. I stopped for water somewhere around mile 7 and checked out the damage. At that point I had all of these little like, holes on both of my inner thighs. They were really burning. I was like 'well I just have to suck it up and forget about it'. Which was fine. I mean, it actually worked (mind over matter)...for awhile. Then, because it was so hot, I decided to run through a sprinkler that someone had trickling over the sidewalk. Whoops. Total mistake. I kind of forgot that putting water on chafing marks will only make them burn more.
The ironic thing was that I made sure that I wore a lot of Body Glide since I have had the same problem with my navel ring on my past two long runs. I guess I didn't think about wearing it on my thighs because the skirt has never given me that problem.
I also hate the shorts because unlike all of my other running pants and skirts they were low rise. So when my shirt rode up, (like it always does) it revealed my concave waist going into my convex belly. Yes, in other words a little pot belly. Gross.
Other than that the run was good. Now I just have to deal with the (now) red gashes on my inner thighs. I should buy stock in Neosporin during the running season.
I knew I was in trouble when I felt the swish swish swish of my shorts between my thighs in the first three miles. By mile 5 I was really hurting. I stopped for water somewhere around mile 7 and checked out the damage. At that point I had all of these little like, holes on both of my inner thighs. They were really burning. I was like 'well I just have to suck it up and forget about it'. Which was fine. I mean, it actually worked (mind over matter)...for awhile. Then, because it was so hot, I decided to run through a sprinkler that someone had trickling over the sidewalk. Whoops. Total mistake. I kind of forgot that putting water on chafing marks will only make them burn more.
The ironic thing was that I made sure that I wore a lot of Body Glide since I have had the same problem with my navel ring on my past two long runs. I guess I didn't think about wearing it on my thighs because the skirt has never given me that problem.
I also hate the shorts because unlike all of my other running pants and skirts they were low rise. So when my shirt rode up, (like it always does) it revealed my concave waist going into my convex belly. Yes, in other words a little pot belly. Gross.
Other than that the run was good. Now I just have to deal with the (now) red gashes on my inner thighs. I should buy stock in Neosporin during the running season.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Hurrah for Me!
I did it! I ran the entire 20 miles!
I felt like I wanted to wear a sticker the whole day that said "be nice to me, I ran 20 miles today"...you know, sort of like the ones they give you when you give blood.
The thing that was bad is that it was raining the ENTIRE time. I don't usually mind, but when my running clothes were soaked it started to make me cold. But not until mile 11, so I guess that is good.
I pretty much felt great the whole time. The first 11 was cake! We saw the runners from the Fleet Feet group, who I also think were doing their twenty (although I have heard that they have already done a few 20s). I smiled at all of them and said good job to some of them because I heard through the grapevine that they think the Roncker group is too serious and not nice. :) It is kind of like the Sharks and Jets of running. I am just joking of course. :)
Anyway, I stopped at the restrooms at the 11 mile, forgetting that pulling soaking wet running tights back on is kind of hard to do. That is when I started to get freezing. It probably didn't help that my soaking wet shirt that was under my jacket kept rolling up as well. I put my gloves back on, which I hardly ever use.
By mile 14 I was DEAD. I just kept thinking "all I have left is Eastern, and I am done".
I HATE Eastern. It is the longest, flattest street ever. I just kept thinking I would be faster if I walked. My legs were KILLING me. I did it though. I finished. Now I KNOW that I can do the 26.2. Hurrah!
I felt like I wanted to wear a sticker the whole day that said "be nice to me, I ran 20 miles today"...you know, sort of like the ones they give you when you give blood.
The thing that was bad is that it was raining the ENTIRE time. I don't usually mind, but when my running clothes were soaked it started to make me cold. But not until mile 11, so I guess that is good.
I pretty much felt great the whole time. The first 11 was cake! We saw the runners from the Fleet Feet group, who I also think were doing their twenty (although I have heard that they have already done a few 20s). I smiled at all of them and said good job to some of them because I heard through the grapevine that they think the Roncker group is too serious and not nice. :) It is kind of like the Sharks and Jets of running. I am just joking of course. :)
Anyway, I stopped at the restrooms at the 11 mile, forgetting that pulling soaking wet running tights back on is kind of hard to do. That is when I started to get freezing. It probably didn't help that my soaking wet shirt that was under my jacket kept rolling up as well. I put my gloves back on, which I hardly ever use.
By mile 14 I was DEAD. I just kept thinking "all I have left is Eastern, and I am done".
I HATE Eastern. It is the longest, flattest street ever. I just kept thinking I would be faster if I walked. My legs were KILLING me. I did it though. I finished. Now I KNOW that I can do the 26.2. Hurrah!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Last Night's Run
Last night was my last Tuesday with the group. It made me sad. I am so glad that there is another group starting right up after the marathon. Otherwise I would not know what to do. It is for the Hyde Park Blast which is a really fun 4.1 mile (i have no idea how they came up with the distance) race. My company, Landor is a huge sponsor and we design the shirts, so it is a lot of fun for me personally too.
ANYWAY, back to marathoning. I was not only sad because it was my last Tuesday run with the group, but also because of an email that Coach Joe sent out. He said that every year about 20% of the group do not make it to the marathon because of injury. He listed some of the injureds options and then left us with a quote from the Penguin:"The miracle was not that I finished. The miracle was that I had the courage to start." I just thought how sad I will be if I am one of those injured. It scared me into taking special care of myself.
Like, last night I went ahead and grabbed the 9-mile route before we left. (We had the option of 9 or 7.2). BUT after a few words about taking it easy and staying on the non-injured list, against my will, I did the 7.2.
I am looking forward to the 20 this weekend. We have the option of 18 or 20. I picked the 7.2 last night, so that I will be able to do the 20 Saturday. I am already psyching myself up!
ANYWAY, back to marathoning. I was not only sad because it was my last Tuesday run with the group, but also because of an email that Coach Joe sent out. He said that every year about 20% of the group do not make it to the marathon because of injury. He listed some of the injureds options and then left us with a quote from the Penguin:"The miracle was not that I finished. The miracle was that I had the courage to start." I just thought how sad I will be if I am one of those injured. It scared me into taking special care of myself.
Like, last night I went ahead and grabbed the 9-mile route before we left. (We had the option of 9 or 7.2). BUT after a few words about taking it easy and staying on the non-injured list, against my will, I did the 7.2.
I am looking forward to the 20 this weekend. We have the option of 18 or 20. I picked the 7.2 last night, so that I will be able to do the 20 Saturday. I am already psyching myself up!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Hurrah!
Saturday I ran the farthest I have ever run. Ever. 15 miles! I thought for sure I was going to die, because I remember the 11 miler for me was insane. I didn't think I could make it past the 9th mile. But really, this was not so bad. I don't know if I was just more mentally prepared for it or what. I had some great songs on my ipod to keep me going, which I'm sure helped. I found that when I am really into a song the hills really aren't that bad.
There were also some other marathon groups out doing similar routes...go figure, since we were running a lot of the course. This was very confusing. One group was running the opposite way we were, but the other group had runners going in the same direction we were for some of the route. What made it confusing was when I got to Mariemont. Since there were only two people in front of me, I figured they knew where they were going and followed them. AND Mariemont was really confusing to me anyway. There are all of these weird turns on the route that don't make a lot of sense. The email that went out with the route had the wrong directions and so when Bill (my husband) and I drove the course we got lost too. So nothing really looked that unfamiliar. Well, the girl in front of me and I missed a turn on Settle and continued in a circle. We were following some guy who wasn't in our group. Whoops. I guess it was ok, because we did end up meeting up with the group on Mariemont Square.
When everyone was finished we were all hobbling around like we couldn't walk. Coach Joe said to lie on the floor as close to the wall as you could and to put your legs up against the wall. Apparantly this helps get all the lactic acid buildup out of your legs and helps you recover more quickly. It felt soooooo good to do. Usually when people say that stretches feel good I think they are crazy. This one really did feel good now. And believe it or not, I was not really sore the next day. That doesn't even happen for me on 7 mile runs! Anyway, I felt so much better about this run than my other long runs. So now I'm even kind of sort of looking forward to the 17-18 miles in two weeks!
There were also some other marathon groups out doing similar routes...go figure, since we were running a lot of the course. This was very confusing. One group was running the opposite way we were, but the other group had runners going in the same direction we were for some of the route. What made it confusing was when I got to Mariemont. Since there were only two people in front of me, I figured they knew where they were going and followed them. AND Mariemont was really confusing to me anyway. There are all of these weird turns on the route that don't make a lot of sense. The email that went out with the route had the wrong directions and so when Bill (my husband) and I drove the course we got lost too. So nothing really looked that unfamiliar. Well, the girl in front of me and I missed a turn on Settle and continued in a circle. We were following some guy who wasn't in our group. Whoops. I guess it was ok, because we did end up meeting up with the group on Mariemont Square.
When everyone was finished we were all hobbling around like we couldn't walk. Coach Joe said to lie on the floor as close to the wall as you could and to put your legs up against the wall. Apparantly this helps get all the lactic acid buildup out of your legs and helps you recover more quickly. It felt soooooo good to do. Usually when people say that stretches feel good I think they are crazy. This one really did feel good now. And believe it or not, I was not really sore the next day. That doesn't even happen for me on 7 mile runs! Anyway, I felt so much better about this run than my other long runs. So now I'm even kind of sort of looking forward to the 17-18 miles in two weeks!
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