Random Thoughts/Questions

I've had a lot of random things going through my mind the last few days...some running related and some not. I thought I'd just get them down on "paper" and see if any of you had input:

1) What kind of shoes do you wear when your not running? I'm able to wear tennis shoes to work every day (very casual attire), but I simply wear a pair of cheap Avia that I bought at Kohl's or something. I do quite a bit on my feet and some walking. I currently run in New Balance 766, so I do overpronate a little...does this also happen when a person walks?

2) Should I even be contemplating a Fall marathon? I've only been running a little over a year...I've read in a few places that you should wait a few years before attempting such a long distance so that your body can build the strength/structure it needs for those long training runs. I'd like to run one before I'm thirty (2 years!) or pregnant (not even trying, yet).

3) Is it gross that I re-wear my running socks a couple of times before I wash them? Should I even have admitted that here ?? :-) Maybe I should invest (literally, those suckers are expensive!) in a few more pairs...

4) When I focus on keeping my "Column" (ChiRunning) strong , I find myself restricting my breathing.

5) What's your favorite training distance? Racing distance?

Just some things that have been rolling around in my head :-)

Today's run was a struggle; Susan had the same problems that I did, and I'm attributing it to the humidity...it was likely 90%. But, I got it done (despite wanting to quit several times) and my time was faster than Tuesday...I guess the ChiRunning has helped in that regard :-) I'm definitely using different muscles now when I run. I have to exert myself more but the outcome (ie. speed, lack of pain) is better.

Holy crappoly, did I get drenched today! I headed out early this AM to get in my run, and I noticed a very fine mist coming down. I assumed it was just because it was so &^*$ing humid, that the air was saturated. A few minutes into the run, the fine mist turned into large plops of rain...I kept the sunglasses on to keep the water out of my eyes, but it was so warm out (75degrees...at 5:45am!) that they immediately started fogging up.So, I took them off and did my best to keep the rain from washing my contacts away :-) It ended up being a pretty decent run and I was able to focus on my form. I was pushing it a little, and ended the run comfortably tired with *no* aches and pains (finally). I did the first 2.5 miles in 19:34 and finished the second 2.5 miles in 18:58! Now, I really and truly believe that this was a 5mile run...both my car's odometer AND the mapping sites agree :-) So, I started off the day with a smile...even though I had to take off my running clothes in the shower because I was soaked to the bone!

I did a quick search on the best way to dry wet running shoes...most sites suggest wadded up newspaper, changed periodically. Someone else suggested laying them next to the fan on the front of the refrigerator...that's what I did since we don't get a daily newspaper. We'll see if that works to get them dry! Anybody have any other good suggestions?

I *finally* created a Bloglines account...what a difference it makes in checking in on people!

Tomorrow is my yoga class and Thursday is a scheduled 4.5miles. Next week is taper week before my 5mile race...I'm really looking forward to it! Last year it was a 5K/10K, and they decided to combine it into one distance for 2005. It was the first race I ever ran (after being a newbie runner for a little under 3 months) and I was blown away by the post-race festivities...fresh strawberry shortcake and lots of other goodies! It definitely got me hooked on running road races :-)

Okay, hopefully Bush is wrapping up soon...he better not cut into a single minute of "House"! Eventhough they're repeats, we missed most of them this season because "Scrubs" and "The Office" were on at the same time. Really, we're not addicted to TV...really.

I'm certainly glad that today is finished! For most of the weekend, I kept dreading having to go into work today. One of my co-workers was starting a big experiment (I work in research), but she needed a lot of help from me (or rather, I needed to do all of it for her because she doesn't know how to do most of it!). Someone else was supposed to be helping her, but was picked for jury duty, so it all fell into my lap at the last minute. It would have taken me almost all day, plus it was pretty stressful (we work with infectious "stuff"). But, as it turns out, jury duty was postponed and he was there to help! All of my worry/frustration over the weekend was for naught...a good start to the week! Plus, it will be a 3-day weekend coming up...nothing big planned, but *not* having to work is exciting enough for me :-)

Tomorrow I'm up getting up early for a scheduled 4.5 mile run. Today was either a rest or easy run day...I chose a rest day because I don't want to aggravate my piriformis (which I have self-diagnosed as the problem :-)).

And speaking of distances, I was getting a little moody towards the end of last week. I don't have any fancy way of measuring my routes, but rely solely on my car's odometer. Just for *fun* I methodically plugged a route into Mapquest (intersection by intersection) and discovered that my 4 mile route was acutally 3.8miles. Now, I'm a sucker for my pace...I'm terrible because I can't convince myself that my training runs should be slower than race pace. It's just me being dumb/stubborn (and probably contributing to my sore hip). So, when I found out that my route was shorter than I thought, I was down because that also means my pace is slower than I expected. And then I realized that ALL my routes were probably shorter than I anticipated!! Needless to say, I was/am pretty unhappy. So, who do I believe: my 2004 Outback's odometer or Mapquest (and Yahoo Maps...I checked it there, too)??

I know there are all sorts of fancy gadgets for this (Garmin, etc.)...but, do I really need to spend that much money on something? Anyways, I'm heading out tomorrow before the heat hits (5:30am) and adding the correct distance to get my *full* 4.5miles. "Gosh!" (from Napoleon Dynamite)

I finished my long run Saturday morning by 8:45am...and it was already pretty steamy! I headed out for 75 minutes, trying to keep myself focused on the ChiRunning form. Felt pretty good for most of the run, though, I did notice that at about 40 minutes into it, I was feeling pretty tired/hot and my form went straight to crap. I started to feel some sensation (not really painful) in my right hip/knees. So, I stopped for a few seconds, stretched out the hamstrings (which I do while my rear faces a tree or hedge...my pink running shorts have an inner liner, but I still feel a little self-concious about showing my booty to passer-bys!). I was able to re-focus a bit and seemed to get my mind back in the game. All in all, the time passed relatively smoothly...hopefully it was the same for the rest of you who had record temps to deal with!

Scorcher!

Tomorrow it's supposed to top out at 95 degrees with humidity...the weatherman said it should feel like it's over 100 degrees :-( On days like that, I miss the summers in Oregon and Montana. Because of the heat, I hope to be up and out the door early for my scheduled 70 minute run. Should go pretty well...I'm taking today as a rest day. My body has been feeling immensely better; no more funny twinges of pain in the knees/hips. Maybe it was just "something working it's way out" (my yoga instructor). In any case, my mood seems to be lifted. I always get pretty down when I feel injured...irrational thoughts of never being able to run again :-) My husband has learned to ignore this obsession of mine!

I hope everyone has a great Friday and a relaxing weekend!

Trip!

Dang I had a rough morning...I was up a little too early (5:20am), but I decided to just get out there and start my planned 4 mile run. I made sure to loosen-up my joints a bit and started at a slower than normal pace. Like I mentioned in the previous post, I'm reading ChiRunning (which I'm loving, by the way), so I was focusing on a lot of things during the run. About 1 mile from home, I'm running into the bright morning sun, completely concentrating on breathing/form/posture/etc when the next thing I know, I'm face first on the sidewalk with my legs flipped-up behind me...my Chi was flowing-out everywhere :-) It was early in the morning, but I'm sure a few people saw me since I was running along a pretty busy road. I layed there, assessed the situation, brushed-off the pebbles from my palms, elbow and knee, and started running again. When I got home, I realized I had a good amount of blood seeping from my knee...my husband was awfully worried. Luckily, everything is just surface abrasions, though they keep weeping. I've been reading conflicting reports on how to treat "road rash;" do I let it dry out and scab over, or should I keep it moist to minimize scarring?? Anybody have any suggestions?

Had a pretty decent run on Saturday: I was out the door before 10am and the sun was shining, but not too hot. The schedule called for 75 minutes and it seemed to go by pretty quickly. I made a concious effort to start-off slow to give my body a good warm-up (I'm not very good about that). I felt a few twinges here and there during the run...they would kind of come and go, and they weren't painful. So, I tried to play with my form a little, seeing what made a difference in the sensations.

Speaking of form, I picked up ChiRunning (my first running book ever!) on Sunday. I'm so eager to sit down and read it, so I can start applying his techniques ASAP. Already my future prospects for joint replacement are not good: my dad had a complete knee replacement at 60, and my mom had both hips done last year (age61). I've already started my "replacement parts fund" :-) So, I'm definitely intrigued by his technique.

I felt a little sore Saturday night and sitting on the couch was so uncomfortable; we were watching The Machinist (Christian Bale...definitely a hotty, but not in this movie!!) and just couldn't get comfortable (hip). So, I sat down on the floor and rolled around on a tennis ball for a bit...that seemed to help. Yesterday was a 60minute yoga class. Today, I was going to head down to the work-out room and ride the recumbent bike for a bit, but decided against it when I felt a little stiffness/soreness this AM.

Hope everyone had a good Monday!

Plan of attack

So, I sat down yesterday and figured out a training schedule for the next 3 months. I went back to the same program I used for the half-marathon and added in the optional weeks to extend it until September's 20K. I also modified the week before the 5M race to give myself enough of a taper for that distance. Hopefully the more gradual increase in mileage will prevent the knee problem (over-use?) that struck in early May.

Last night I ran about 40 minutes following my out-and-back route. Normally it takes me almost exactly 20 minutes out, but last night I was there in 19:40 with the return trip even quicker. It did feel like I was pushing it a bit, but I had a lot of frustration that I needed to release (husband was still really ill and not really doing what he should to get better =>take the %&*# Immodium!). I stopped twice to stretch out the hamstrings which have been very tight.

Wednesday's yoga class was centered on hips/hamstrings and it felt terrific to get that work in...I realize now that I did *not* treat my body well after the race. I didn't really re-fuel quickly/adequately nor did I really stretch out the muscles. Then we did that tremendous amount of walking in DC (in my worn-out running shoes) which left my legs/knees sore every night. I've never had a sports massage, but man, that sounds like a great idea right now :-) Unfortunately, I don't really know who to ask for recommendations...

One final thought: scoliosis. Like my mother and grandmother, I have some curvature in my spine (I think it's pretty common in women). So, last year after my first race, I stopped by one of the booths at the post-race festivities. I had one of the free spinal assessments where they make you stand on two scales, one under each foot. One scale was reading 6 pounds higher than the other, meaning that I was putting that much more strain on my body on that side. Also, they assess your alignment by moving a series of horizontal strings to the level of your head, shoulders, and hips. My left shoulder is quite a bit higher than the right, but my right hip is higher than the left (presumably to off-set the curvature in my spine). My mom made my wedding dress and the assymetry of my body drove her nuts when she was trying to fit it. But, back to running...I stopped off at a similar booth this year after the half-marathon. And the assessment was the same (I had wondered if the yoga would help at all) and the guy kind of freaked me out, saying that I was headed for more injuries due to the imbalance. I know he was trying to sell me a "complete assessment," but it did get me thinking that maybe it is something I shouldn't ignore??

Today is a rest day and tomorrow is 75 minutes...that will definitely be my longest run post-race. Hopefully the cool/dry weather will hold one more day! During the run, I'll be thinking of Naomi up in Alaska running her first Marathon!! Best of luck to all those with races this weekend :-)

Back from DC and feeling blue

We had a pretty good time in DC...the weather was insane (90 degrees and pretty humid). We did a lot of walking, which in hindsite, probably wasn't the best thing for any of us. My MIL ended up with "tummy troubles" from the heat, my husband may have a mild/moderate case of dehydration (he stayed home from work today for the first time since I've known him), and my knee is bugging me from all the walking :-( I think it's just a little swollen, but it bothers me because it's located behind my knee: a little internet searching and I see something called a "Baker's cyst"?? My swelling isn't "cyst-like," but more diffuse...anybody have any comments? Today I decided not to run and tomorrow is yoga...we'll see how it feels on Thursday, I guess. Maybe I didn't give myself enough time to recover from the race? I ran about 3.5 miles 2 days after the race, walked a bunch in DC (the monuments/museums are far apart!), and ran both Sunday (5 miles) and Monday (4 miles). Probably jumped back in too soon.

And after all the build-up and excitement from the half-marathon, I'm starting to feel a little blue. I'm thinking of a 5-miler in 4 weeks, but I feel like I need something a little more...well, challenging? I really want to do the New Haven Road Race so I can meet a bunch of RBFers, but that seems so far away. I also wanted to try the Hartford Marathon, but I don't think it will be in the cards this fall because there will be a week in August when I won't be able to do much running; I'm going back home to spend a few days and the only place to run would be along a two-lane highway (which my mother would probably forbid!). I guess I'm at a loss because I don't have a training plan...no schedule to follow, no long runs to prepare for.

I guess I'll sit down and look over the training program from the 10K and follow that for the 5-miler. Or maybe the half-marathon program for the 20K? I don't know...

Anyways, I appreciate all the comments from my race report :-) The support is amazing...and forgive me for a few days while I catch-up on all your updates; I'll try to get back to commenting in the next few days. Tons of good wishes to all those with races this week!!

Half-Marathon Race Report

Warning: Long and dis-jointed race report! This is my first time trying a full-report, and it seems rather "patchy."
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I awoke after a surprisingly goodnight’s sleep at 5:30am. I snuck into the kitchen to have my usual breakfast of coffee and toasted English muffin with peanut butter…I made sure to chew slowly to avoid an upset tummy. I had laid everything out the night before (iPod shuffle, watch, sunglasses, timing chip, clothing with bib already attached, shoes, socks, extra change of clothing, fruit snacks and jelly beans) so I was able to quickly fix my hair and hop in the car by 6:20am. The ride to the race site was so peaceful…there were very few drivers on the rode (very rare for this area), so I was able to relax and reflect on the upcoming hours.

I arrived around 7am and took a parking spot that I hoped was in the shade. I had finished my large bottle of water, knowing that was it for hydration until the race started. I took advantage of the empty porta-potties…and headed back to sit in the car. I was amazed at the number of people eating the free bagels that close to race time; that would have totally made me ill! After making final preparations with my food/bib adjustment/re-tying shoes at 7:35, I went to wait in line for another potty break and then went looking for my husband and MIL who had driven separately. I found them, gave them my car keys and jogged a little to warm-up until I felt like I needed to get to the starting line. I kind of hung out in the back of the line, realizing again how much I wish I knew someone at the races…

After the gun sounded, it took me about 20sec to cross the starting line. I had a game plan of going out slowly, just kind of seeing how I felt…I crossed the first mile marker at 8:20 (my watch) and my heart kind of sunk. Yet, I knew this was what I needed to do to conserve my energy for the entire race since the day seemed warm already. I was able to enjoy the first half of the race, feeling very comfortable (too comfortable??) and really taking in the scenery/race atmosphere/music (bagpipes! drums!). I hit mile 3 at 7:36…that must’ve been wrong because I know I didn’t increase my speed. A little before mile 5, the course veered off to right and up a giant hill!. I made a comment out loud like “Nice hill! That looks fun!” but no one around me even batted an eye. (I have a tendency to make comments to people during the race…they generally fall on deaf ears) I pumped my arms up the hill, glad to see the top in site. I stayed with this pace (8:20) until about mile 6 or 7 and then I knew that I would be disappointed if I didn’t pick-it up! I felt so strong and full of energy, so I took off…I don’t really remember too much about the second half of the race, but I did take off my shirt and was happy to hand it off the my husband around mile 8.

The day was really heating up, so I made sure to grab water a few times. There were plenty of water/Gatorade stations, so I took a little Gatorade early on (mile 4?) and then another sip around mile 11 (waaaayyy too sweet at this point). They even handed out Gu at a few stops, but I passed it up…I had two packets of fruit snacks and 7 loose jelly beans in my pockets :-) I never touched the fruit snacks, but I did have 4 jelly beans (a pink around mile 8, two greens and a purple at mile 10). I continued to feel really strong and made it to mile 11 before I started to feel a little fatigued. I turned my music up a bit and started singing quietly (I hope!) to myself. I caught up to one guy and kept with him for a bit…I then said to him around mile 12 “see that woman up there, I’m going to pass her.” He said, “Awesome…go for it…I’m going to pass her to!” I kicked it up another notch, leaving him behind, and passed her and continued on to the next runner and then the next runner (I probably passed about 8 people during the last half of the mile). I really had to focus because I was getting pretty fatigued and unhappy. Next thing I know, there is about 1/4mile left and “the guy” comes sailing by me and says “Come on!!” It took me a moment, but I picked it up…and then I passed him saying, “Go, go, go! Faster!” We both took off in a sprint and came barreling across the finish line amid lots of cheering! (Note: I never get my name called as I cross the finish line because I always sprint the last bit). “The guy” finished 1sec ahead of me…and as we’re getting our timing chips removed, he turned and thanked me for helping him get moving for the last mile. It was very sweet :-) They placed finisher medals around our necks and handed us cold bottles of water. I gulped it down and started walking back to where I saw my husband and MIL waiting.

Man, I was pooped! But, we headed over to the post-race booths and I ate 1/2 banana, a little sip of frozen smoothie, and more water. I started to get really chirpy, just kept babbling along. We decided that maybe my MIL should ride with me just in case I started to feel funny for the ride home. Before we left, I took off my shoes and socks, not really thinking much about it. When I looked down, I squealed! I had a black toenail! I showed it to my family, explaining that only “real runners” get black toenails…I must now be a real runner! I even took a picture of it. Ummm…can you say post-race delirium??

Today, I'm still feeling pretty good. I have a little soreness in my upper quads, and I feel a little sleepy. But, with the MIL visiting from out-of-state, we have lots on the agenda, so I need to keep on going! I won't be posting for the next few days because we'll be taking a trip to DC, so here is my early "best of luck" wishes for those of you with upcoming races!! Thanks again for all the good vibes :-)

Stats:
Start: ~71degrees (8:05am)
Finish: ~84degrees (10:00am)

Official time: 1:45:27 (8:03 pace)
Watch time: 1:45:01

Placing:
6th/47 in age division(F25-29)
19th female overall
113th overall

Splits (based on my watch):
Mile 1=8:21
Mile 2=8:25
Mile 3=7:36??
Mile 4=8:20
Mile 5=8:39 (steep hill)
Mile 6=8:18
Mile7/8=16:00 (forgot to hit button)
Mile9/10=15:28 (unmarked)
Mile 11=7:44
Mile 12=7:54 (rolling hills)
Mile 13.1=8:10 (7:25 pace)

Finished!

Just a quick post to say I finished! And man, oh, man...it was toasty!!! It was 84 degrees in the shade about 30 minutes after the race. I'll give a full update later on...after I see what my official time was :-) I'll just say that the first half the race was a lot slower than I wanted, but I picked up the pace at the 5-6mile mark. I spent the second half the race picking-off people...the girl in the tight,tight pink shorts....the girl with the green tank top...the sweaty older man....etc. I think my time was pretty good, but I want to double-check the results before I post it!

It was a lot of fun and I feel pretty fantastic now! I keep admiring my finishers medal, my bloody blisters and my very *first* black toenail<==that may be the best part of the race :-)

Hope everyone had a great day: racing, training, resting, etc. Thanks so much for the good cheers! They really mean a lot to me :-) Expect a longer post sometime tomorrow or Tuesday...

3 days and counting...

Only a few days left before the race and I'm getting pretty excited (with a "hint" of nerves thrown in). I completed my final run on the training program this morning; it left a lot to be desired. Most of my shorter runs have been in the afternoon/evening, and I generally have a good amount of energy. However, the runs on Tuesday and today have been first thing in the morning (due to evening commitments) and I didn't enjoy them one bit! I had heavy legs and no energy...I think I definitely need food in my system before I run. Luckily, I've been eating about 1.5hrs before my long runs, so I think that strategy should work for Sunday...we shall see!

So, besides the lack of energy during today's run, I had my second run-in with abdominal cramping! Ugghh...without going into to much detail, I hope it was simply a case of my body being, umm, "off-schedule." After breakfast/COFFEE, well...I felt better :-) Hope that wasn't TMI. So, instead of running 3miles, I only made it to 2mi before I had to stop from the pain. Just a little extra rest for the legs, I guess :-)

Anyways, thank you for all the good wishes! I think it will go well, but if it doesn't, at least I have a few more races to look forward to this year :-) And in case I don't update before Sunday, all the best to those of you with races this weekend, too!