Success!

As you can guess from the title, I had a great run this morning. I am not sure what helped in this department and would make an awful scientist because I changed too many variables to know what made this happen. Here are the possible reasons:


1.) I chose to buy school lunch yesterday because it was slim pickings with everyone being sick this week. This could have been disastrous, but to my surprise, I had a delicious spaghetti with meat sauce and phenomenal bread stick. To top it off, we get two drinks so I chose a juice and a chocolate milk. I was ecstatic about the chocolate milk because this meant one less trip to the grocery store for my run. I saved the chocolate milk for a post-run drink.


2.) Because of the aforementioned "slim pickings" at our house, dinner was going to be a crap shoot. Tony suggested picking up pizza. I was open to this idea since 2 of my friends, who are very successful runners, swear by Chicago-style deep dish pizza that is loaded with sodium and heaviness the night before their races. While Little Caesars is no Chicago style pizza, I did try it anyway.


3.) I drank two cups of decaf coffee around 8:30pm in hopes that I can kickstart the digestion even possibly before going to bed. Success.


4.) Check out the temperature this morning:

5.) I altered the pre-run meal slightly. I chose less bagel and added peanut butter to it, followed by 3/4 of a banana. Success.

6.) Extra foam rolling before leaving for the run.

7.) New day and location for the run. Every other week the runs are on Saturdays with the half marathon training group. This doubled the turnout today and for the first 6 miles of my run my 11:00 minute pace group was 10. We actually maintained about a 10:20 pace, but I felt great.

We met at Body n' Sole, one or our sponsors and "the" running store in Central Illinois. This offered a warm place to meet and stretch before taking off, as well as a restroom...success.

The run consisted of a 6 mile "loop" that we did twice. This meandered through neighborhoods in Savoy, but is not part of the race route. I enjoyed the company of the pace leaders, Donna and Mike, as well as the 2 other marathon runners at my pace, Matt and Del. There were 4 girls with us from the half group, but I didn't catch their names, maybe next time. I took a quick rest after the first loop and fueled up with some remarkable Gu that tasted nearly as delicious as chocolate frosting right out of the can. Periodically in the last 4 miles, I snacked on some of the jelly beans since I was feeling light-headed and fatigued throughout much of this. I finished up with my watch reading: 2:08.37 for the 12 miles today.


I am thrilled that I finally had a long run that I can really feel proud of. That is, afterall, why I'm
running, right?!?


So, here goes nothing people, I'll be sending my change of registration Monday morning before the prices go up.

This is why I run

Okay, so I guess for those of you who know me, I eat these along with all other chocolates even if I'm not running or working out. Now, though, it is completely guilt-free. These, by the way, are the best invention ever--brownies with chocolate chips on top (see the back of a Betty Crocker brownie mix for the recipe).

Tonight I had a cold, windy, snowy, and ice-in-the-face kind of run. Ellie joined me for the first 4 miles and contributed to a quick twist of my ankle since she doesn't seem to understand that you really need to stay away from cars. In trying to pull her around to safe ground, I stepped on some uneven spots and got a little twist, but nothing serious.

I pumped out 6 miles to Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and Tom Petty predominantly and am finally getting a feel for the MP3 player. My route was a bit unconventional as I was trying to stay on fairly cleared roads (which as mentioned in a previous post is hard to come by in Champaign). I was surprised to see a few houses with Xmas lights still on, but who am I to judge considering we still have ours hanging from our house. Besides, I am the runner girl who waves around her hand because he "should have put a ring on it."

Besides my burning and very cold cheeks, I feel good right now. I am trying to stay upbeat about the upcoming long run. This time it will be on Saturday and the marathon group will be running with the half-marathon group so there should be a pretty large group out there.

Well, I'm off to enjoy my brownie-chocolate chip cookie thing...oh wait...I already ate it!

At least it was 32 degrees

I've had a rough last couple of days due to a household of sickies. I was not able to make it to yoga yesterday and instead spent at least 3 hours back and forth to the doctor and hospital for the little one's horrible croup cough and a blood test. Thankfully the test results came back clear and for the most part he handled it like a trooper, but boy was he miserable today.

To make a long story short, today consisted of me staying with TJ, while M&M went to daycare, and Tony ended up coming home from work because his illness is still lingering (he even slept through the Bears game on Sunday).

One positive of this set-up was that I was able to get out for a run in the afternoon AND it was even 32 degrees! It did take me at least 20 minutes to get ready because pretty much everything I needed was nowhere to be found--leash for dog, headphones, etc. I spilled my water all over my jacket and down the inside sleeve, not once, but twice. Once I finally got settled, I had a great 4 mile run. The roads are still a bit snowy/slushy, but my traction was decent and the temperature seemed amazing in comparison to what it has been.

I continue to LOVE my SmartWool socks and wish I had more pairs. A friend of mine even sent me a link yesterday for discounted socks from Sierra Trading Post, but with TJ's croup fiasco, I wasn't able to order any more in time.

My spirits are better after this weekends not-so-hot long run. I am going to assume that my body just needs time to adjust to this new endeavor.

Attraversiamo

As a result of the aftermath of my long run, I really am struggling with the concept of actually doing this race. I am enjoying the running and the running itself is going okay. I just can't deal with how my body is after the fact. It is horrendous. For whatever reason, my system just doesn't handle the jostling and what not that my body takes over the course of running for extended periods of time.

I am hopeful that over time my body will just suck it up and get used to this. It better.

In the mean time, I look to words of encouragement as I encounter them throughout my day. I also think about the obstacles so many people have overcome in their lives, and the inspirational stories that come from the people I know and even those whom I don't know that I'm becoming quite obsessive about.

My inspiration for the coming week is from the movie last night, attraversiamo...let's cross over. I'm hoping to cross over this journey into the unknown that I have dreamed about since I was a young girl who saw her dad run every week, but I'm just a little scared.

End of Week 3

On Friday I squeezed in my 3 mile run on the treadmill right away after work. I was a bit pressed for time so I tried to run as fast as I could. I saw my competitive side come through when a guy came on the treadmill next to me and I made sure I maintained a quicker pace than him. I was delighted to find my friend, Jen, at the gym, but unfortunately she was doing strength that day so I decided to give her random thumbs ups and big smiles periodically. I think I confused a few of the other people working out because they thought I was giving them the thumbs up.

Yesterday was a rest day, which consisted of just that. I did make it to the grocery store and picked up Eat, Pray, Love, which turned out to be a cute little number. I think even Tony would say that it wasn't too bad. I made myself some pasta and a salad in an attempt to make my stomach tolerable during the run for today.

Once again, I had another cold morning...

but I am starting to get the hang of dressing for the weather and don't seem to mind the bitter cold as much.

Breakfast today was a blueberry bagel with butter and some watered down Gatorade. That, of course, was enjoyed during a quick check on Facebook.

Here is a not so stealth picture I took in the parking lot to show you where I met the group for the run this morning. I was a little worried when I didn't see Del or Sue Ellyn, but did meet up with Mike, Donna, and Matt who maintained a 10:30-11 minute pace.

We did the same route as the other week, but were to add on as needed to make our mark. The run was pretty good, although around mile 8ish I got a little light-headed and dizzy so I made sure I refueled with some of the energy jelly beans I had in my pocket. My water bottle did end up freezing again at the top, but fortunately that happened a bit further along in the run.

There seemed to be more people running today, which was quite surprising considering how cold it was. The new people I met made the time go by and I truly felt pretty good...until mile 10 when I realized I really was not going to make it much further without using the bathroom.

Our pace must have been a little quicker than the 10:30-11 I was hoping for because my watch read 1:55 including two water stops, a jelly bean stop, as well as a stop at McDonald's. I made it home in time to use the bathroom, but felt pretty horrible for the following 4 hours. My muscles feel okay, but these long runs just aren't agreeing with my stomach. I am trying to do as much research about this as I can, but I am not having much luck. No matter what I seem to try, no change. Maybe I'll have to try the afternoon run again. We shall see.

This week I plan to head back to yoga on Monday and run on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Midweek Report

I really need to come up with more creative titles, but I am just wiped. Yesterday I went back to yoga and did enjoy it. The class was moved to a different room, which happened to be occupied by an intense cardio class right before it. This left the room musty and HOT...I felt as if I was going to be taking one of those hot yoga classes, Hatha Yoga I believe. Fortunately after the fans started circulating some of the stinky air it finally seemed to go away.


The yoga provided a great stretch and a little time to relax, but I still have not gotten much out of the nature references and such. I think I'll continue to give it a go because it seems to help get my body readjusted after a long run.


Tonight I put in 6 miles on the dreaded treadmill. I used to never mind the treadmill, but now that I have been running more, it is like torture. I constantly check my speed and my time. I calculate in my head how much longer I have and it is unbearable. I didn't feel terrific tonight, but enjoyed some pieces of Top Chef and pushed through.


I find I really need my space as I got very irritated when I was joined on both sides of my treadmill by other people running. I start to get a little competitive and eye their distance and speed. Fortunately I significantly outlasted both runners and that actually gave me some motivation for the last part of the run.


I averaged 9:41 for the total run and periodically adjusted the incline to give a little resistance. Tomorrow is a rest day and then I have 3 on Friday and 11 on Sunday. I hope I find some more energy to finish out the week otherwise this is going to be rough.

I had Tony take a picture of me after my run, but somehow when I uploaded it, it seems to be nowhere to be found. Instead, I leave you with my outfit for today at school. This week is Spirit Week and the 2 gals and I really take it to the next level each year to make it as fun as possible for us and the kids. Today was Gold Rush (you were supposed to just where Black/Gold, our school colors), but this was our interpretation of the day. Maybe I'm putting a little too much energy into the day and that is affecting my runs. I'm sure I left a few sparkles on the treadmill today.

Fart What?

Last night I asked Tony if he had ever done a Fartlek. His response was, "Fart what?" I recall hearing my dad use this term ions ago and had heard runners talk about speed work, but I didn't know it was called a Fartlek. I'll have to do some research as to where the term actually comes from.

Today I had to do my first of many Fartlek workouts. It consisted of a one mile warm-up followed by another mile of 20 seconds fast running with a recovery jog/walk and continuing with a final one mile cool-down. I had asked someone in the running group about the best way to do this because if not given a set time for recovery, knowing myself, I would slack even more and convince myself, "Oh, you're not recovered yet." One gentleman in the group who happened to have frozen icicles on his beard (which made it very difficult to focus during our conversation) informed me to just pay attention to my heart rate monitor, needless to say, I don't have a heart rate monitor.

Instead, I just tried to listen to my body and used markers on the street to judge if I should speed up or slow down. That method seemed to work out okay. I think I may have done a little more than the 3 miles the plan calls for and finished in 32.11.

Ellie got to join me on this run and was quite surprised during the middle portion when I was actually running at a pace she enjoyed. She looked back at me as if to ask, "Wow, where did that come from?"

The workout was good and I think I can use Ellie as an indicator of the intensity because she has been lounging around the rest of the day. (Look at those heavy eyelids!)

I am going back to yoga tonight and I hope that it is truly the 60 minutes it is supposed to be because I really want some time to enjoy the rest of my day off (Thanks MLK). I have a 6 miler scheduled for Wednesday, 3 on Friday, and 11 with the running group on Sunday.