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 :)

Ipod Question

Has anyone ever run Chicago? If so, how much is the 'no ipod' rule enforced?

I only ask, because in the Pig, there was a rule, but no one followed it. After much discussion on my blog I decided to take mine with me, and I was fine. I don't remember the exact Pig wording, but the Chicago rule sounds much more intimidating:

No Electronic Devices: The use by participants of video or audio cassette recorders or players, TVs, CD of DVD players, radio transmitters or receivers, ipods, cell phones, computers or any similar devices in the competition area shall not be permitted. Failure to follow these official rules, as may be amended, will result in immediate disqualification, loss of prize money (including bonus prize money, if any), and ejection from the race course.

I don't really want to be ejected from the race.

And I want my medal.

I'm actually okay with not running with my ipod. When I did my 20 miler I actually only listened to it for a few miles. BUT, if this is just some arbitrary rule like it was in the Pig I am going to be MAD if I don't have my ipod. I was planning on bringing my little shuffle with me and just shoving it in my skirt pocket just in case. I know I am a big baby when it comes to running with music, but really, it does make it a lot easier for me. Especially since there is a point in the marathon towards the end (so I've heard) that it is very difficult for people to get to, so there is almost no crowd support.

I can sing in my head of course, but it's not the same.

New Running Music

I know I have done this kind of post before but that was back in March. I am super music involved, so you KNOW I am not listening to the same music now that I was back then.

Here are ten of my running favorites currently in the mix:

Everything's Just Wonderful - Lily Allen
Don't Stop Me Now - Queen or the Vandals (I like both versions)
On the Radio - Regina Spektor
O.P.P. - Naughty By Nature
Grace Kelly - Mika
Laura - Scissor Sisters
Don't Stand So Close to Me - the Police
My Moon My Man - Feist
Rehab - Amy Winehouse

It's funny which songs end up being good running songs. I thought the "Dark Side of the Moon" album by Pink Floyd would be a great one to run to. But last week I tried it out on my long run and HATED it. I felt like I was dragging the whole way. I think I like stuff (at least recently) with a really good beat.

Hurrah! and Ptttt!

So...the bad first. Last night Bill and I went for a three-mile run. My schedule says that I should do a three mile run on Sunday and have a rest day on Monday, but since I went to a bachelorette party on Saturday and was up all night I decided to switch things up. Anyway, we were probably not even a mile into our run and my left calf started straining. It felt really really tight. No big deal, I stopped to stretch it out...this happens a lot when I run and then I stretch and am fine. Nope. Not yesterday. So we walked the rest of the way home. I felt bad for cutting our workout short, but I had no idea how long we were running tonight, only that we were doing a negative split so I didn't want to push it. We went home and took our dog on a walk and that seemed to help losen it up. So I'm hoping it will be okay tonight.

Another pttt is that I may have to work late tonight and therefore may not even be doing a group run. I hope that is not the case.

However I am excited because I finally got some new CDs in the mail. I am excited to have new music to run to. I was getting sick of my old playlist. I got Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, Lily Allen's Alright Still... and Mika's Life in Cartoon Motion. I am most excited about the Lily Allen CD. I guess I am being musically affected by my stay in London :)

Be-yoo-ti-ful!

Wow! It was so nice out yesterday! Perfect running weather! I always feel like a tool when I mention weather in my blog, but it has seriously been terrible here. It rains every day and has been pretty cold too. So when its nice out, it is SUCH a rare thing.

Bill and I did a nice easy 2.68 miles (I thought we had done more, but checking afterwards on mapmyrun.com, found out the real distance. Whoops). I felt pretty good too. Which is good, because the day before felt really really hard, even though it was only 2 miles. Maybe the lesson is to not take days off. When I take a day off, it seems really hard to get back into it. Well, maybe I can take a DAY off, but not three days off.

I don't even run with my ipod. It seems pointless when you are only out there for twenty something minutes. I just sing songs in my head. Yesterday it was the song from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (I think it is called "March of the Swivelheads"), you know, in the end where he is running through people's lawns to beat his parents home? (Hmmm, sorry for the Ferris Bueller spoiler, for anyone who has not seen the movie :) Anyway, I was singing that I think because I was weaving in and out of all the people on the sidewalk to run. Maybe with all of the weaving I really did do 3 miles yesterday!

Self-praise and Shadowboxing

OK, OK, I finked out. We had the option of doing 11 or 13 miles today, and even though I was feeling pretty good, I did the 11-miler. However, I FELT GREAT! And I kept thinking about how cool it was that 11 miles makes me feel great, not exhausted, not in immense pain. I was laughing with one of the girls from the group because we were reminiscing about how just a few weeks ago 9 miles was the longest we had run. 9 miles is nothing now!

So, Shadowboxing...

I first noticed that I shadowbox when I was running the Heart Mini-Marathon. It is every time that the Black Eyed Peas' "Pump It" comes on my shuffle. I know I go on and on about this song like it is my job, but it really really gets me going. So yes, I shadowbox to this song. And mouth the words. But only the refrain...the "PUMP IT" part. I might even grunt a little bit. Anyway, I'm sure it looks really funny. I have even tried to stop, but I can't help it. I am probably the only weirdo runner that does stuff like that. I think it's because I always wanted to be in musical theatre. I am overly dramatic.

AND...one more thing. I am sitting here and Bill (my husband) is watching me and asked if I felt like Doogie Howser. NO, I do NOT feel like Doogie Howser, Bill.

Killer Running Music

Music is sooooo essential to me having a good run. I have no idea what I am going to do during the marathon since headphones are banned. Here are my favorites for my runs:

• Baba O'Reilly – The Who
• Lucas with the Lid Off – Lucas
• Pump It – The Black-Eyed Peas
• Ding Dong Daddy (On the D Car Line) – Cherry Poppin Daddies
• Run Like Hell – Pink Floyd
• Swing Set – Jurassic 5
• Movies of Myself – Rufus Wainwright
• Sowing the Seeds of Love – Tears for Fears
• Birthday – The Beatles
• Every Little Thing She Does is Magic – The Police
• Space Dementia – Muse
• Hook – Blues Traveller
• I'm Just a Girl – No Doubt
• Pressure – Billy Joel
• Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy – Queen
• Fight Test – The Flaming Lips
• Get Him Back – Fiona Apple
• Porcelain – Moby
• Champagne Supernova – Oasis
• Raspberry Beret – Prince
• Benny and the Jets – Elton John
• The Way We Get By – Spoon
• The Irony of It All – The Streets
• Streets Have No Name – U2
• Selling the Drama – Live
• Mr. Brightside – The Killers
• Rock Me Now - Metric

I mean, how can you listen to Baba O'Reilly and not want to run? It's almost Pavlovian for me. I told my dad one time "How could you not run in the 70's, the music was so conducive to it?" I also am really digging "Sowing the Seeds of Love" right now. I know. I am weird.