Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Ahhhhh, that's better

I took about a week off to give my body a rest and reassess "what the heck am I thinking running a marathon?!"

My goal was to run about 18 miles. I went through a thorough prerun routine to get me phsyched up for the run, arranged to have a friend meet me part way through to hold me accountable to get out there and run, and started on the road around 5 AM. I ran 6 miles, met with my friend for another 6 miles, and then finished the remaining mileage with Bill. It was perhaps one of the best runs I've had in a loooong time. It felt great to be out running again. The body finally worked!

The next day I did a 4-mile walk with Bill. It felt good to get the kinks and stiffness worked out.

I have decided that 80 degrees was the maximum temperature that I will run in. Above that and I have heat issues.

Weekly training mileage: 22 miles
Total monthly mileage for August: 81 miles

Sunday, August 21, 2011

hard week

This was perhaps my worst attempt at running this week. :(

I was hurting from the 15.5 mile run last Sunday and I think it really took a toll on me and ripped up my body. Tuesday I went out for 5 miles. I didn't think I was going to finish, but just kept pushing through all the pain and discomfort. I finally made it to the end. I was hoping for 8 miles, but just couldn't do it. The first mile was a good pace, but then I dropped another minute or more thereafter.

The second run of the week was worse! I was so achy all week and hadn't been getting enough sleep because school started again. Friday after school I got home and wanted to get at least 8 miles in before the weekend. I wanted to take a day off before my big run so I had to get out Friday. The temp didn't seem too bad and I was determined to get this run done! The first mile wasn't awful, but I was really hurting. I think I saw every 1/10 mile go by on the watch. :( By 2 miles I was miserable. I dropped about 90 second from the pace and kept getting slower. I knew I could do so I just kept pushing through. I kept negotiating with myself and the route I would take. By about mile 2.7 I just couldn't do it anymore. I walked the rest of the way home and completed just under 4 miles.

I determined that no matter how high the humidity, 78-80 was my threshold for running. When I got home, I had sweat running down every inch of my body and hurt so incredibly much. I iced my shins and had a shower. ack. It was such a difficult week that I didn't even do my big run. I will try this later or even wait until next weekend. This whole thing had given me a discouraged feeling for a fall marathon. The body just isn't working lately.

Total weekly training mileage: 9 miles

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Garmin & Night Fright

The Garmin watch arrived this week! I had to play with it and change some settings. I then walked around the block to see how it reacted. I think I got it. Tuesday night I tried it on an actual run. Rachael took me on her cross country practice courses. We did about 3 miles and then headed out for another 3. It was a tough run and I confirmed the idea that I am NOT a trail runner! I just don't have that running style/form to be able to be efficient with it. The grass just zaps all energy out of me.

Wednesday morning I got up and wanted to work on speed so I did a fast Ethanol Loop. I started with a 9:07 pace and ended with a 8:25 mile. This was an average 8:59 pace! I was working hard, but in a different way than the previous run. It was a great run and I felt like I could have done the marathon today. I was strong the whole way through!

This morning I got up early and ran to Ellsworth and then caught up with J and did a couple more miles and then picked up another runner and finished the Ethanol Loop. My goal was 14, but I actually did about 15.5 miles. It seemed like a tough run all the way through! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/106116065 About mile 11 the watch beeped saying it was a low battery! WHAT?! Dang! Everything I read said that if the battery dies, you lose all your information and settings. Shoot! We ran home and I stopped the run to plug it in. As soon as I plugged it in, it said I had 20% left. Really?! I think I could have finished the Ethanol Loop without it dying. Oh well, at least I had the first 10.63 miles documented.


OK, now for the Fright Night. I started out about 5:15 AM so it was pitched black out. About mile 1 I saw something move in the ditch. I looked in that direction and saw a deer running. My heart stopped. I saw another deer; I thought they were going to jump up on the road where I was running. Animals are so unpredictable.
When I got to Ellsworth, I turned around and started heading back to Jewell. On my way out of town, I was under the last street light before leaving town back into the black of night. A car zoomed passed me and then slammed on his breaks and pulled off on the shoulder on the other side. He sat there for awhile. I wasn't sure what he was doing because no one got out of the car or anything; it just sat there. Eventually he turned around and started driving slowly back in my direction on the shoulder on the opposite side of the road! When he finally passed me again, he turned around and back on the highway, but going slowly. I was ready to reach for my phone, but he kept going. I don't think I've ever been more concerned that this morning. Glad to have this one done!

Total weekly training mileage: 26 miles

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Pounding the pavement again

After a 10-day hiatus, I'm back to running again. We were on vacation and I decided I would take a break from running so as not to get burned out and set myself up for unrealistic expectations only to get discouraged. So, I told myself it was ok to not run for the 10 days.

During the week I did a 5 and 7 mile run for a total of 12 miles. These were rather difficult runs, but I think it was the heat more than anything else. While it was a tad cooler for the shorter run, I was still really sweaty and hot; it makes me sleep great at night!

If I want to be ready for a fall marathon, I needed to do at least a 12 mile run this weekend. Tonight I got 12 miles in. It was a great run, but really hot and humid again. I did an Ethanol Loop and then joined Bill for the last 7. We were both running strong the whole way, averaging 9-min mile! That is really fast for him and quite fast for me. I felt like I could have done the marathon today; it was a good run. I really needed that confidence booster.

Rachael is still recovering from the marathon with hamstring issues, but is stretching and doing exercises so hopefully she will be back strong this fall. Cross Country starts in a couple days! She's going to the orthopedic doctor on Monday so we should know something then.

While on vacation, Bill saw a great one-day deal on a Garmin and ordered one! It should be here this next week. I can't wait to try it out. It should be nice to get some detail about my run and how my body works on a run. Everyone tells me it's like having a trainer with you the whole time. I hope I feel that way with it because I need someone to keep me going sometimes.

Weekly training mileage: 24 miles