Splits and Miscellany

I just got back from a run with Mica and it felt hard today! I don't know whether it was another night of no sleep or if it was due to the hard-ish effort I put in yesterday. Or some combination of the two. Regardless, the planned seven miler turned into a 6.7 miler. We took advantage of the warm temperatures and the clear ground to run on the West side of Champaign this morning.

It's warm right now, but who knows how long it will last? It's still February, after all, and Winter can last until May. I've seen a snow shower in May before, so this is not a stretch. I also don't want to get used to changing my running wardrobe if I'm just going to have to change back.

I forgot to list my crazy splits from yesterday and my surprisingly crazy splits from today.

Yesterday:

Mile 1 - 10:00

Mile 2 - 9:43

Mile 3 - 10:11

Mile 4 - 9:48

Mile 5 - 10:03

Mile 6 - 9:59

The average pace was 9:57, according to Joanie Garmin

Today:

Mile 1 - 10:13

Mile 2 - 10:20

Mile 3 - 9:34

Mile 4 - 9:48

Mile 5 - 9:49

Mile 6 - 9:50

Mile 0.7 - 9:21

Average pace was 9:52...so not bad, right? My knee and my foot feel a little janky today, but I've been pretty religious about stretching these days, and I plan on icing my knee when I'm done teaching today. And napping. Naps are highly underrated.

In other news, 'sup with Boston? Not that I had much of a chance to qualify before, but it looks even less likely now. Or rather, it looks even less likely that I would ever qualify AND register. You kinda knew that the qualifying times themselves were going to change, what with last year's record sell-out and all that, but the rolling registration system is interesting. Now you cannot simply qualify. You need to be faster than that.

You have to be more than just competitive with yourself in the end. You have to want to beat the guys or gals in the 3:30 or 3:10 pace group.

None of these things will be a problem for me, luckily, as I will most likely never qualify. Can't say that I would never not want to qualify, but it does not appear to be in the cards for the near future.

Boston is strange anyway. On the one hand, you have the naturally gifted elites (who, I'm sure, love running a lot and get paid to do it, too). On the other hand, you have the rest of the fast people. And then the accompanying attitudes are strange, too. I might never ever qualify for Boston, but that does not mean that I'm not working hard, that I don't have big running dreams, or that I'm not equally devoted to running as the person who "sets the big goal of qualifying for Boston in his or her first/second/fiftieth marathon". I'm not a jogger, and I resent deeply the implication that because it takes me 4 + hours to complete a marathon, that I'm somehow having an easier time of it.

...aaaaaaaaaand I'm off my soapbox now. Enjoy your Friday AND the break in the nasty weather!

Movin' and Stuff

It's been a rather busy and dramatic week! I can't believe it is already Thursday...where did the week go?

A quick recap of the week:

• Monday - sore quads, 3 mile recovery run, BodyBlitz (and if you want to know what BodyBlitz is like, watch the infomercials for The Insanity Workout)
• Tuesday - sore quads, cross training
• Wednesday - sore quads, speed work on the deathmill for a total of 4.82 miles
• Thursday - sore quads, 6 mile marathon pace run

Needless to say, I'm a little worried about the 12 miler scheduled for Sunday. Having sore quads for a week does not exactly make me feel all awesome about my running abilities.

Last night was a rough one for me, and I was afraid it would affect my run this morning. Crazy Neighbor #1 started pounding on my door around 10 PM, only this time asked to come in and talk to me. I've started either ignoring the knocking or yelling at him from the other side. I told him he could not come in and that he should leave me alone.

Well, he didn't. And he decided he'd try to wrench the door open. It wasn't just my apartment that was a target; I could hear him messing with other tenants' doors. This time I yelled that I would call the police. Instead of talking back to me, he started banging on other doors and yelling for "Mary."

No idea who that is.

And then he called the cops himself. It was the most bizarre conversation ever, as I could hear it from the other side of my door. He claimed that "Mary" was his "girl" and that she was being held against her will in the apartment above mine, and was being assaulted.

I wish I was making this up. So the police arrived, and I poked my head out to see what was going on. One of the cops talked to me for a while and I explained what I had experienced and heard. Needless to say, I called the landlord after my run this morning. Landlord was shocked, but assured me that Crazy Neighbor #1 would be evicted by the end of the month. Allegedly, he was not good about taking his meds. Reassuring, no?

Over the Hurdle

Today was a big day. I'll save you the suspense and just say that I ran just over 10 miles today. I finally made it through the 10 mile barrier that I'd unknowingly set up for myself when I started running again after my injury last year. It was not easy and I had to slow down a few time due to the melty ice on the streets and sidewalks of Champaign. But I finished it, and then a little bit extra, just to assure myself that I can, once again, run over 10 miles at a time. I brought my newly acquired shot bloks with me.

Thank you, Road Runner Sports

The past week has been challenging and full of doubts. As my long run didn't happen the week before, and as I tried to battle my cold, I couldn't help but give in to negative thoughts. Four weeks of training suddenly felt like a wash. No matter how many times I would tell myself that I have to adjust slowly to new running conditions, and that taking time off before an injury became a big deal was the smart move, I still felt unsure.

Sad running log book last week

Like the running girl that I am, my spirits were temporarily bolstered by "stuff".

I needed some new cross-training shoes. Thank you, internet shopping

Bonus: The tab was in French!

I tried out the shoes yesterday at kick boxing class, and they felt pretty good. I know my physical therapist thinks Nike shoes are the devil, but I'm not running in them, I'm cross-training in them. So it should be fine, right?

I also purchased some runderwear, but you don't need to see photos of those. I'll just say, ladies, that Moving Comfort is the way to go. The end.

Still waiting for my new running shoes. They should arrive this week. For now, I'm just going to relax in my Recovery socks.

Stuff on the Run

I ran yesterday and today despite the presence of the Ick still being within me.

Workouts were so-so.

Thursday's run was inside because the Ick still lingers. I figured that running outside, since the temperature refuses to go about freezing, would not be good for my recovery. This meant, however, that I would be confined to the track and the deathmill. As I knew my anxiety about running indoors would only increase, instead of ignoring it, I decided to acknowledge it and move on...I was going to have to run inside anyway, so I might as well make the most of it. At least I can run. I ran a mile on the 'mill, took a water break, ran two more miles, took a water break, and ran another mile before migrating upstairs to do my final two miles on the track. I did do everything at my marathon goal pace of 10:00, but it wasn't exactly continuous running.

Today's run was a five-miler with Mica. We did fine considering the conditions are still far from optimal. Large sections of sidewalk are still covered in a really thick layer of ice. Even the streets still have a lot of black ice lingering on the sides. Joanie Garmin decided to be super fickle today, so my splits look out of control. I'm hoping tomorrow's run will be a bit more successful in terms of consistency. Mica and I are going to do a six-miler tomorrow.

Sunday's long run is still TBD for me. The schedule says five to eight miles, but since I missed last week's 10 miler, I'm tempted to try and get in another mile or so. Next week's long run is supposed to be six to 12 miles, so I want to do at least 11. Ehhhh...we'll see...

I'll settle for clear sinuses at the moment.

Prelude to a Longer Post

Short post, because I'm about to go teach...

I've managed to become an incubus of viral plague, so the long run this past Sunday did not happen. Also because I was starting to feel all janky where I injured myself last year. I figured a slight loss of endurance is well worth not injuring myself again. I'm trying to keep in mind the hard fact that I can rest now and be okay, or I can soldier on like an idiot and then be out for considerably longer. I'll take the extra rest day, thanks. I also had to take Monday off (which was okay, because the Hansons' plan called for zero to six miles anyway). Tuesday was cross-training, which featured me nearly passing out on the cardio equipment. Today I did something unusual...I ran in a pool. This also marked the first time in three years that I appeared in public in a bathing suit.

I've made some interesting purchases too. Pictures to follow. Tomorrow calls for a marathon pace six-miler. Should be interesting, to say the least. The plague has extinguished my desire to eat, which while good for my weight, is bad for marathon training. Need to feed, and soon. Speaking of food, Mica will be running the Cleveland Marathon with me! Well, probably slightly ahead of me, but still, in the same race. This is a goodness, as my father would say.

Okay then. More later. Peace out.

Womp Womp Saturday

There were big plans for today. Big plans, I tells ya! Mica and I were going to go somewhere far away and run a 15K. This would have been my first 15K and would have substituted for Sunday's long run. Both Mica and I were going to tack on a little bit to the beginning of the run to bring the total mileage to 10 miles. This would have also made up for the lack of speed work this week due to the Snowpocalypse.



This was before I woke up and saw this:


Allegedly, it would only be one to two inches. It was much more than that, of course. I wish I had a job were I could afford to be only right about 30% of the time and still be able to keep my job.

Therefore, the race was off, at least for Mica and myself. If it had been closer, then we might still have gone to the race. However, the drive was supposed to take an hour and neither of our cars could handle it. Furthermore, neither of us felt comfortable driving. What if we got stuck at the destination? What if we got in an accident? I'd rather lose the $25 I spent on the entry fee than end my life in a blaze of fire and snow.

So no race, and no Saturday long run. We both then decided to try and get our normal Saturday run in at the gym. I know, it was a stretch to think I could run three miles on the deathmill and then run another three miles (or 15 laps) around the track. Sure enough, it was a fail. I could barely finish my three miles on the deathmill. I only managed two miles on the track and that was with a walk break in between miles. So I did five miles total at a 10:00 pace, but non-consecutively. Le sigh.

I felt kinda bad about all of it, but what can you do? It's the Winter and Champaign can't plow, so you adjust as best you can. I have to keep reminding myself that I don't have any time goals this year. I just want to arrive at the starting line healthy and injury free, and remain that way. I am concerned about my 10 mile long run tomorrow, but I'll deal with it when I get to it.

FYI, the sun is out now.

WTF Weather and NAM

Lots of acronyms in the title today. I promise I will explain, but first, a recap of the last two days.

Tuesday night delivered a shit ton of ice, although not as much as Chicago, but it looks about 10 times worse because Champaign can't get its act together. Therefore, I didn't leave my apartment on Wednesday at all. No speed work. No gym. In fact, I'll be lucky if I can get my car out of the parking lot by Saturday.

I did manage, however, to bust out my stretchy bands and whatnot to get in a teeny workout in my apartment.

Stretchy bands are go!

Multi-tasking. I does it.

And I shoveled a bit and cleaned off my car, which totally counts as exercise. I managed to make it through the day eating cookies and drinking beer. Dinner was a Kir royal and a salad, which I used to off-set the cookies. Done and done.

It is important to hydrate.

I figured today would be much better. The plows would have come through a few times, cars would have tramped down on the streets, and therefore I could go for a run. Knowing full well that the sidewalks would be a disaster, I knew I'd have to do my six miler on the streets solo, since Mica had to go to an early meeting. Therefore, I decided to start my run at 6 AM so there would be less cars on the roads.

It was a very strange run. At times, I felt like I had a really good stride and good form. It seemed effortless, yet it felt like I was at least hitting my pace (since today called for a marathon pace six miler). However, I was not hitting my pace...in fact I much slower. But I couldn't speed up too much because there was still a thick layer of ice on practically everything. I found parts of clear sidewalk once I got on campus, but they didn't last long and usually ended with me stopping suddenly to avoid crashing into a snow drift. The roads were just as bad. And I do believe it actually became colder as my run continued. Well, I'm happy I finished the six miles, but I'm a little concerned with the time. Either way, I needed the run. Since I'm not setting any time goals for my races this year, I shouldn't be worrying. I'm just trying to get my confidence back, and the only way to do it is to, as The Sean would say, develop the mental toughness by just being out there. I'm on my way.

I'm going to go to the gym after class this evening so I can do a little speed work on the deathmill. Not too much because tomorrow I'm supposed to do seven miles. Gulp.

It is also National Ab Month, which started three days ago now but whatever, so I'm doing ab-related stuff everyday. Hence the "NAM". Runner26 got me involved in this a few years ago, and now I'm hooked. Who knows what sort of abdominal shenanigans I'll get into this time?!?!