The Day that Wasn't

I am feeling an inordinate amount of anxiety and grief over missing my run yesterday.

I know what you're thinking, and alcohol was NOT involved.

I was at a concert with my sister and we didn't get back to my place until late, on top of which, I had two projects to finish that were due yesterday as well. So I got up early and finished my projects, hoping to finish in enough time to get my run on. Didn't happen.

Now I'm struggling to get out the door again. It already feels like the week was a wash! But it can't be a wash! I have to run 15 miles on Sunday! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Okay. Enough of that. Going for a run.

Week from Hell: Part Deux

I wasn't even going to post this morning because I'm so very busy this week. It's the week before Spring break and I haven't gotten nearly enough things done. All of this pressure is entirely self-imposed. Almost.

Anyway, yesterday's long run was kinda womp-womp. The weather was cold and damp. My legs didn't want to move. The pain in my left IT band had fully radiated into my quad. It's a strange sensation because it hasn't stopped me in my tracks, but it doesn't feel good or normal either. I spent a lot of time foam-rolling yesterday. Other than that, I managed to maintain pretty even splits.

So today, I woke up feeling cranky, tired, and nervous for the week ahead. I wanted to bail on the run. Five to seven miles just didn't sound all that appealing or useful when annotated bibliographies, projects, and visiting family members were in sight. Mica and I ran together, and bless her, she kept me moving. And much to my surprise, the splits were positively negative!

Mile 1 - 10:30

Mile 2 - 10:20

Mile 3 - 10:06

Mile 4 - 10:03

Mile 5 - 9:50

Mile 6 - 9:44

Mile 0.12 - 10:21 (Okay...except for this one)

I'm still tired, but at least those splits don't suck. Once again, this is proof that even if I start a run not wanting to do it, I will always finish with some sense of accomplishment. Bring on the day!

Survival Mode

I managed to make it through another week in graduate school. Recent events have me questioning a lot of things. Things that I don't have the energy to type out at this time. Lucky for you, right?

In running news, this has been a rather speedy cutback week for me. Even when I was feeling crappy, I was able to push through and get my speedy on.

As mentioned, I didn't run on Wednesday, so I tried to stay on the upper end of the mileage for all of my runs for the rest of the week. The Hansons plan usually gives me some sort of a range in terms of what I should run. Thursday gave me a range of 5 to 7 miles, so I ran 7 miles, for instance.

Here's what the run looked like:

Mile 1 - 10:15

Mile 2 - 9:43

Mile 3 - 10:04

Mile 4 - 9:57

Mile 5 - 9:55

Mile 6 - 9:53

Mile 7 - 9:56

Mile 0.02 - 8:51

Friday was a little bit of a struggle, but I still ran a fairly speedy 6 miler:

Mile 1 - 10:00

Mile 2 - 9:53

Mile 3 - 9:47

Mile 4 - 9:59

Mile 5 - 10:01

Mile 6 - 9:39

The options for today ranged from 6 to 10 miles. I was hoping to do 10 miles, but the combination of a slight hangover, lack of adequate sleep, and a janky left IT band quickly quashed that notion. Instead, I ran just over seven miles AND spectated in a race! I ran around my 'hood and then ran to campus where the race was being held. It turned out to be a great race to watch because not only was the ever-so-delightful Mica running, but so was her boyfriend, as well as the amazing Jessica, Ryan, and Ryan's roommate Joe. The race, like so many of the local races, I've discovered, was two loops around the quad. The running folks in Champaign are very fond of races that are comprised of loops. There was also a terrible wind coming out of the West. Nevertheless, my friends ran very well! There were even some sizable PR's! So here is a photo journey of race day:

Ryan, happy before running.

The crowd starts to gather. I think the starting line was drawn on the ground. They're pretty low-tech here.

The real star of the day: Bodger.

It looks like the guy behind an unsure-looking Mica is about to elbow her in the head! Don't be fooled by the nonchalant looks of these ladies, they are both about to kick ass.

Bodger looks stunned. Mica looks ready to rumble.

Getting ready to start. Does anyone else see that freakishly tall man amidst the runners? I wonder how he did...

This face either says, "I'm cold" or "I just got dust in my eye."

Isengard...I mean, the bell tower.

Mica, powering through her first lap around the Quad.

The second person from the left, in the white top, is Mica's bf.

STILL rockin' it and looking good whilst doing so.

Mica's bf is actually very speedy. He's also on the right side of the picture.

Ryan is in the middle of the photo. This is lap #2

Jessica is doing three things here: Running fast, posing, and yelling, "This Sucks!!!"

Mica, still hanging on in lap #2.

The guy with the white shirt is the guy that won the race. 17:05 was his official time, I think.

Jessica is on her way to a second place finish in her age group!

Mica, powering through to the finish.

Bodger, taking advantage of my salty legs. Although I was probably sweating alcohol.

Ryan got a door prize after we waited around for over an hour...

I'm so jealous. Jessica's second place prize was a fossil!!!

New Shoe Mondays

Hello, Recovery Monday...have you met New Shoe Monday? No? Well, let me introduce the two of you. Recovery Monday is relatively new to my running scene. Normally, I don't run the day after a long run. However, the Hansons plan has me running most of the week. Today's run was supposed to be 6 miles. Something nice and slow was what I had on my mind.

Perfect for breaking in some new shoes.

Hello, Lovah

You may recall that I did some internet shopping last month and bought new running shoes, just so I would be ready when my current pair finally wore out. Actually, I wasn't sure when that would happen, since I did a fairly terrible job during the later half of last semester in keeping track of my mileage. I had to estimate that I was running about 3 to 4 miles per day, 3 to 4 times per week. Occasionally, I ran more and/or less than that, but like I said, I wasn't exactly excited about writing down my slow progress.

In January, I started training for the Cleveland marathon around MLK Jr. Day. So I looked at my log book, saw that there was about a 3.5 month gap in my records, and went from there. I'm fairly certain that I'm well over 300 miles in my current pair of shoes. Thus, today was the day that I was going to start using the new shoes. Again, I'm lucky it's a cutback week.

Amidst my piles of research. *Sigh*

It definitely felt strange to run in the new guys. I couldn't really tell if it was because my legs were feeling so heavy, or if it was due to the new shoes. I ran to Mica's place and we did about 4 miles together. I then ran home and added my new Mizuno Wave Inspire 7's to the growing pile of shoes near my door.

Boots and trainers, that's how a grad student rolls

Oh, and here are the splits. Was this really a recovery run? I'm going to go with maybe? Maybe.
Mile 1 - 10:19
Mile 2 - 10:03
Mile 3 - 9:54
Mile 4 - 9:44
Mile 5 - 9:53
Mile 6 - 9:44
Mile 0.02 - 9:27

Feeling the Busy

This week has been full of high-mileage, speedy runs, and lots of school work.

Recap of the past three runs:

Friday - I ran with the ever-so-speedy Mica in weather that was pretty meh. I ran a total of 5.16 miles and sadly had take a teensy walk break (sorry, Mica) due to, uhhhh, 'lady problems'. We were rollin' pretty fast anyway. Even without the feeling of my insides rebelling, I probably would have had to walk. But here are the splits:

Mile 1 - 9:51

Mile 2 - 9:36

Mile 3 - 9:38

Mile 4 - 9:33

Mile 5 - 9:19

Mile 0.16 - 8:55

This is a true story. I felt good about the speedy, but I always have that nagging feeling that I'll only be able to run that fast for a short distance. That I'll never be able to sustain the speed for a half or full marathon. C'est la vie, n'est pas?

Saturday was supposed to be 6 to 8 miles total, so I was hoping to hit 7 since it would be half of my total distance for Sunday's long run. We also ran pretty darn fast, but I managed not to be dead weight this time. Take that, Biology!!!

Mile 1 - 10:07

Mile 2 - 9:57

Mile 3 - 9:34

Mile 4 - 9:27

Mile 5 - 9:44

Mile 6 - 9:33

Mile 7 - 9:18

Mile 0.3 - 9:18

That night we were both heading to a fellow TA's birthday party, featuring Korean food. Now, I know this may come as a bit of a shocker, but I usually don't eat Korean food before long runs. I planned to make some pasta so I could eat before I went, and then maybe nibble on mild stuff whilst at the party. Well, I ran out of time so that didn't happen. By the time we arrived at the party, I was starving and abandoned all hopes for a successful long run. I was just hoping to make it through the run without needing to detour for the bathroom more than 5 times.

The food was excellent, of course, full of things that I'd not eaten before. There was even SPICY CHEESE. I ate a lot of rice, so I got the carbs in, and cake, so even more carbs.

And in the end, I was able to successfully get through my 14 miler. Maybe Korean food should be my new pre-long run ritual? The run went well, except for around mile 5 when I nearly face planted in front of the McDonald's on Kirby (I had to stop for the bathroom. You can't win 'em all). I don't know how I was able to save myself from falling down, because my knees and nose were mere inches from the pavement, but I managed to stay upright. I was even able to lay some speed down for the end of the run, which was surprising. I tried to keep a good, slow pace for the first half, and then I told myself that if I was feeling good, I could bump up the pace to my marathon goal pace. So without further ado, here are the splits:

Mile 1 - 10:31

Mile 2 - 10:23

Mile 3 - 10:32

Mile 4 - 10:34

Mile 5 - 10:35

Mile 6 - 10:43

Mile 7 - 10:23

Mile 8 - 10:14

Mile 9 - 10:31

Mile 10 - 10:15

Mile 11 - 10:04

Mile 12 - 9:50

Mile 13 - 9:52

Mile 14 - 9:27

So this week is a cutback week, luckily, because I have a midterm and a couple of annotated bibliographies that I need to work on, so the blogging might be even sparser than usual. I'll also have to forgo speed work this Wednesday, because it's Ash Wednesday. I'll be uttering that ever-so ominous phrase again, luckily it's a cutback week.

It's Thursday, and I'm tentatively calling this week a good one. There are still three more running days this week though, so I'm not going to say I'm back on track 100%.

After yesterdays's speed work in the park with Mica (who rescued a wiggly puppy), I was busy being a Fashionista. Speed work went alright, except I couldn't get Joanie Garmin to work properly, so I don't know how fast I was actually running. I was trying to run half-mile intervals at 5K pace with a quarter mile recovery jog in between, and a warm-up and cool-down. I don't have the actual time for my splits, so this is what each set looked like with the interval and the jog/walk (I got a cramp on my second set):

Warm-up: 1 mile @ 10:45

Mile 2: 9:33

Mile 3: 10:38

Mile 4: 10:00

Mile .6: 11:56

I swear I was speedy in there somewhere. I'm just not exactly sure where. Now that the weather is getting better *knocks on wood* speed work can be done outside, so I really need to get used to setting the work out on my Garmin before the run, as opposed to when I'm standing outside in the wind shivering.

Today was supposed to be a marathon pace run of anywhere between 5 and 7 miles. I decided 6 sounded good, but I could either stop early or keep going, depending upon how I was feeling. Options are good, I tells ya. Well, judging by my splits, I still have a lot to learn about maintaining my pace.

Mile 1: 9:58

Mile 2: 9:53

Mile 3: 10:13 FAIL

Mile 4: 9:52

Mile 5: 9:53

Mile 6: 9:57

Mile 0.07: 9:54

Please note that none of those splits are at 10:00...they are somewhere in the neighborhood of that pace, which is good, I suppose. I think they are a little on the fast side because it was so windy out today. I just kept feeling that I needed to keep pushing or I would slow down without realizing it. So I pushed harder with each sustained gust. But still...I really need to work on my MP runs since they will allegedly be the pace at which I will run my marathon this year. But then again, I'm not setting a time goal, so I shouldn't really care, right? Right.

When Neighbors attack during Your Cutback Week

You know the phrase, "It's a good thing that this week was a cutback week because..."?

Well this past week was one of those weeks for me.

It was epically failtastic in how it managed to stifle the desire in me to do just about anything productive. Awesome in terms of its ability to exhaust and frustrate, and leave me in a pile of tears and smelly running clothes.

If you look back to last week's post, you will find one in which I tell the story of my crazy neighbor who has been harassing/stalking/annoying me to no end of late. Basically, since that night, I hadn't slept more than about an hour at time. Every noise I heard, every sound of a door to a unit or the building opening, woke me up and set my heart beating so fast that sleep was out of the question.

This has had a cumulative effect on my running. So much so that practically every run this week felt like torture. Monday's run with Mica was fun. I felt surprisingly good considering the nifty-neat storm-filled long run last Sunday. I was looking forward to a cutback week in which I did not cutback too much! That always seems to be a the challenge. Well I should have known that it wouldn't go the way I planned...

In the wee hours of the morning, Crazy Neighbor commenced with the door knocking. I dutifully ignored, but had a hard time going back to sleep for the 2 remaining hours until my alarm went off. The next morning I picked up Mica and we went to the gym for some crossing training.

It all went downhill from there. I will spare you the entire account, as it is long and frankly, I'm sick of talking about it (because I can't seem to do so without shaking uncontrollably). Between Crazy Neighbor trying to break into my apartment, calling the cops three times and reporting that I was being raped, and me sobbing in front of more than one of Champaign's finest, Wednesday's speedwork didn't happen. I hadn't slept at all and we had meetings and class all day long. My friends have been kind enough to chaperone me home to make sure that I actually made it into my apartment. Wednesday night I managed to sleep for a good, solid 4 hours before I woke up in a panic because I thought I heard a knock. Thursday night was more of the same.

Crazy Neighbor was arrested on Wednesday morning for filing a false police report and disturbing the peace. His name is off the mailbox, so I think that means he's gone, but I'm going to check with the landlord on Tuesday when I pay my rent.

I tried to run on Thursday, and it felt like I was dragging dead weight for six miles. My pace couldn't seem to operate at marathon pace. Friday included no running, as I agreed with Mica that to run when you are already feeling overtired and crappy would be to do more damage than good.

Saturday's run was in Naperville and was supposed to be anywhere from 8 to 10 miles. I wanted to do 10 to make up in some way for missing two runs this week. However, due to the packed snow and the still lingering exhaustion, I only made it 8 miles. Today was supposed to be 8 miles as well, but I'm still in Chicago and need to get some work done/go to church before I head back to Champaign. I don't think I'll have time for an 8 miler, but maybe I'll go for four or five when I return, just to see how I feel.

So yeah, it was a bad week, but conveniently located during a cutback week in training. Honestly, I've never felt so scared in my life. I'm very thankful to my friends for either driving me home or walking me home to make sure I was safe. The hard part was how these events affected my fitness so much. I was physically unable to do what I normally do. I couldn't get out the door in time because I was busy watching out of my window or listening inside for the noises of doors closing.

This week holds a 14 miler in store for me on Sunday. I have hopes that this week will be much better. We are only three weeks away from Spring break, which will pose another challenge to my training, but more on that later.

I'm going to take a nap.