Week 2ish

Some workout notes:

• Last weekend's long run was kind of a bust.  Developed a stitch that wouldn't go away around mile 3.  Spent a lot of time walking and jogging slowly; got to the point where it was bearable but I could still feel it.  I was a little bummed but things had been going so smoothly and sometimes you just need to be reminded that you are not in control; your body has needs and it will tell you whether you like it or not.  On the plus side, I did make it to 7 miles and my time wasn't completely awful.
• My Tuesday workout this week was speed intervals.  5+5 warmup as usual, and then starting at 5.5 mph, alternate 45 seconds of faster running with 30-45 seconds of slower pace (for me, 5mph).  Work up slowly with each interval until you can't do it anymore.  For me this was around 7.2 mph (I kind of did a big burst at the end and slowed down gradually).  The workout this is based on is supposed to alternate walking with running but it's too hard to do that transition gracefully on many treadmills.  I then ran for another 10 minutes at about 5.5 mph and was happy to feel that I had quite a bit of energy left.  Also I was proud of myself for doing this all after a day of work and a choir rehearsal.
• Yesterday I did 8 miles.  I started at 11:30 and slowly worked my way up to 10:30.  This may have been pushing it a bit as around 7.2 miles my breathing got rough and I suddenly felt overworked.  Not sure how much of this has to do with some asthma issues that I'm working out, but I finished the run and feel pretty good today so I'm not too concerned.  I'll just take it a little slower next time.  It's so hard to maintain a slower pace on the treadmill because I find I get so frigging bored (the TVs are too high for me to look at comfortably and I'm enough of a klutz that this could lead to falling and injury), but I think it's good practice for the grueling psychological task of finishing a marathon.
• I was a little lazy about strength last weekend, but then on Wednesday although my arms felt tired, my pushups and crunches improved.

I can feel improvement in everything.  I know the changes won't be quite as dramatic going forward, but just working out consistently and having a plan has put me right back on track after months of laziness.

Yesterday we bought a used Aeropilates machine from craigslist.  I had never heard of these things and I was trying to see if I could score some cheap resistance bands on CL when I came across it.  There seems to be a pretty big range in machines from $300 to $2000, but they are all geared towards doing a Pilates workout in a guided, controlled, comfy way. I saw nothing but rave reviews on all levels of machine, both from beginners and long-time Pilates fans.  I also noticed a lot of people who have back problems and other pain issues got a lot of benefit from it, so I figured it would be a safe way to build up some good whole-body strength.  We haven't tried it yet but I'm pretty psyched.

I have also been thinking a lot about how I got into running, and remembering what it was like to discover my inner long-distance athlete.  It reminds me how far I've come and how much I've learned.  Life is amazing.

Week 1

I'm calling this week 1 even though it's not, because it's Week 1 of me writing about what I did/am doing for the week.

Sunday/Wednesday - Strength:

• Squats, straight-arm raises, shoulder thrust, pull-down, tricep extensions, all with 5 lb weights
• Rows, bicep curls, wide-leg squats, fly, chest press, all with 8 lb weights
• Calf raises, side lunges, modified pushups, crunches, bridges, streeeetch
• When I was in this routine before, I was using mostly 8 and 10 lb weights, so I'd like to at least get back to that before I start changing the routine

Monday - Low impact: Did 50 minutes on elliptical that's not an elliptical at the gym.  "Weight loss" program, level 4 I think, kept heart rate at least 150.

Tuesday - Challenge workout: 5 mins walking, 5 mins warmup at 5mph. 2 mins 4% incline alternating w/ 1 min 0% at 5mph, repeat for 30 mins.  1 extra min at 5mph, then 15 mins at speed up to 6.5 mph (gradual increase with speedy burst at the end).  1 min 5mph and 5 mins walking to cool down.

Thursday - "Easy" run: Not sure I'll make it but if I do, prob 5 min walking, 5 min at 5mph, then 3 miles at least 11:00 min/mile pace.

Saturday - Long run: After 5/5 warmup, 7 miles averaging 11:00 min/mile (start a little slower, gradually speed up).

Out of caution regarding tiring out too fast or pushing my heart too hard, I've been doing the first parts of my runs slower, leading to an unintentional negative split even in long runs.  I think this is probably an overall good thing to get used to because it will feel more natural for me to hold myself back when everyone's bolting at the beginning of the race and I will be used to pouring it on at the end.

The Plan

I thought I should write a little about what I'm doing, mostly because writing things down makes them more official.


The basic schedule, a week in the life of a marathoner wannabe, goes something like this:

• Sunday - Strength training, full-body
• Monday - Low-impact cardio (bike, elliptical), about 45 mins
• Tuesday - Running workout (hills, speed, etc.), basically I have to push myself in some way, usually end by a mile or so of medium-effort running to shake out the tension
• Wednesday - Strength training, full-body
• Thursday - "Easy run" of around 3 miles.  I've been starting these out pretty easy and then pushing up the intensity for a while at some point.
• Friday - Off, and hypothetically to bed at a reasonable time
• Saturday - Long run, increase by a mile or so per week

All of this is currently being done at the gym (cardio) or at my house (strength).  As I get closer to the race and the weather gets better, I'll probably mix it up with some long bike rides, and hikes, and recovery cardio on Sundays.  As for strength training, I'm following a routine I established last summer, just because I don't have to think too hard about it.  Since I've been a slacker about that stuff for months, it's still difficult and new enough to be useful.  I'll start changing it up in a few weeks.

In addition to all of this, I have a couple of non-race goals.  I want to lose 17 pounds and change my body composition to the "healthy" range.  I am sort of astounded that my body composition appears to be out of whack, but it's a good overall health goal.  I have one of those hand-held thingies coming in the mail and while I realize they're not super accurate, they tend to be consistent so I can at least track the change if not know the exact number.  I know that this is more realistic than the weight loss (most people maintain or gain during endurance training because their bodies keep demanding fuel, and they quite rightly supply), but I am pretty chill about the weight thing.  I'm following a calorie intake that should result in less than a pound of loss per week, which means that I'm eating quite a bit.  I am also keeping better track of what I eat, both substance and balance of carbs/protein/fat.  I have stopped packing a big lunch and instead pack a series of snacks so I eat 100-200 calories/hour all day. 

Right now everything feels awesome.  I always forget how exhilarating the transition from inactive to active is.  Let's see how well I keep it up!

New Year, New Races

Alright, kids. So here's the deal.

Ever since I finished the Nike Women's Marathon, I've been thinking "hey that was an amazing experience that I will never forget, but I sure as hell am never going to repeat it." All I could remember was the pain and the feeling that I was subjecting my body to an enormous strain that was verging on the unhealthy. So over the last couple of years I've focused on shorter races - 5k, 7k, half marathon, and even a 10-mile. Occasionally I'd daydream about doing another marathon, but 99% of said daydreams involved the part where I would cross the finish line. But in the past week or two, something surfaced. The past couple of months have involved the usual descent into winter: increasing intake of unhealthy food coupled with decreasing activity. It's flipping cold here in Minnesota, and holiday foods are delicious. Suddenly I realized that doing another marathon was not only the key to restoring my focus at the very time I need it most, but it was also something I should do again so I could do it right. Because frankly, I shouldn't have done it the last time around.

To be fair: Under the circumstances, I prepared pretty well. I mean, first I was in New York City during the most miserably hot months one can be there, working at an internship that was stressing the crap out of me, living on next to nothing. I had never followed any kind of structured exercise plan and suddenly I was preparing for an endurance event? After New York, I then severed all ties to my running support and went back to law school, which is pretty much like trying to work out while tied to a chair. I finished preparation and went out to San Francisco by myself, ran the race with thousands of strangers, and celebrated alone. By the time I had physically recovered, I kind of lost the overall momentum. And it's no wonder it took so much out of me: I learned how to run, yes, but I didn't prepare my body adequately. I didn't monitor my nutrition, and I didn't work particularly hard at conditioning anything but my running legs.

So now I'm going to do it again. This time, I have pretty solid base already. I have both been there and done that, and I know what to expect. I am registered for a triple 7k (basically a half marathon) round about St. Patty's Day. I am following a pretty strict workout schedule. And I am thinking thinking thinking. And it will be awesome!

Aaaaand I'm Back!

After spending the months between October 2008 and now saying I'd never run another marathon, I just registered for the Minneapolis Marathon taking place in June. Here we go again...

6.3 miles at an 11:30 pace today. after running last night too.
i will do dexter-aa. i will.

Racing Again

It's been a while, I know. But I'm back in action!

The 5k of a couple of weeks ago, along with my ability to stick to a workout schedule, gave me the confidence to do a half marathon yesterday. I know it would be a scenic route (through a park in Dearborn), plus the theme was AWESOME (Martians! http://www.martianmarathon.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1), so I figured that even if I had to walk half of it, it would be worth it.

Kate and I got up at 5am and pulled on some layers. It got down to the 30s on Saturday night, and it was still chilly. We drove to Dearborn and parked the car, then hurried, shivering, to the building where the expo was being held.

I felt a strange combination of excitement and nervousness. I was almost worried by how I wasn't really that concerned with what I was about to do: run a half marathon after almost no training since October. It made me realize how much my mindset has changed over the past year. It was a good feeling, but I was worried that I was too confident.

Finally the race started, and Kate soon left me behind. I intentionally kept a very slow, steady pace. My runs lately have mostly been faster than I intended, and I wanted to be sure I had a fair shot at getting some distance before my muscles gave out. At the halfway mark I started to feel tired, but I kept telling myself "ok just one more mile and then you can walk." Instead of stopping at mile 9, I just ran the whole frigging thing. In 2:44, which gave me a pace of 12:33. Which is faster than I was doing training runs of this distance last fall. What. The. Eff. I'm starting to wonder if taking a long break was exactly what I needed. While I've definitely gotten squishier and heavier than I'd like, clearly my strength is not an issue.

So now I'm contemplating registering for the Dexter-Ann Arbor half. Pros: cool medal (http://www.dexterannarborrun.com/halfmarathon.htm), nice run, something to keep me going, part of my fee will get picked up by the grad school program. Cons: 12 min pace minimum or they chase you off the course. Kate thinks I can do it. I think it's hypothetically possible, but finals, graduation, moving, and vacation occur between now and then.....

Back At It

It's been an intense time since my last post, and there has been very little running or physical activity. I've gotten kind of (a lot) out of shape.

But today I ran my first race since December and the results just came up. I'm pretty proud of myself. For the past couple of weeks I've been making an effort to be active at least 5 days a week. Today I ran a 5k in downtown Ann Arbor in 31:56, which is a pace of 10:17. Not too shabby for being out of shape...

Here I go again!

Continuing on

Not sure when I'm going to get to posting about the race, but I think I've become a runner for life.
I'm going to do a half marathon in the spring (probably the Martion Marathon in Dearborn - http://www.martianmarathon.com/), and I'm gearing myself up to be serious about some things in the months until then: losing weight and doing more cross-training.

There is something amazing about having the strength to finish a marathon, and I want to continue feeling that way. At the same time, I think the other demands in my life led me to make some choices about how I proceeded that were less than ideal. Not that I had a whole lot of leeway, but I prioritized what I thought would get me through the run. Now I want to shift a little bit and focus more on maintaining whole-body health. I feel like this is combining the marathon training with some of what I did to lose weight initially back in 2005. I don't think I'll run a full marathon again, but I want to improve everything.

The Sunday a week after the race, I ran 2.21 miles, and did the same route again on Thursday. My Thursday run was in 22:40 - a 10:15 pace. I was definitely pushing it, but it felt good. Today I did 5 miles in 55:38 and didn't feel like I was working hard. I'm going to continue to take shorter runs when I can get to them, and try to get to the gym occasionally. I'll ramp up soon, but right now it's just nice to know that I can still put one foot in front of the other.

I Did It!

I'll write more about the race when I get more caught up with the rest of my life, but for now:

It was a dark and cold day, a little too cold for me. Despite some other sub-optimal conditions, I finished in 5:41 (pace of about 13 min) and aside from some residual soreness in my hamstrings, I'm feeling pretty good.

Race results broken down here: http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/race/nwm08.html#/graph?user=4695

Photos from the official photographers here (though one is of the wrong person...): http://brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=41309&PWD=&BIB=4695

Purple Hair!

Anya dyed her hair purple and it looks AWE-some! I forced her to go outside and let me take some pics to post here.

She flies out to San Fran tomorrow morning super early. Be sure to send your good vibes her way this Sunday!

Less Than One Week!

One of the more illuminating aspects of doing something totally out of your normal lifestyle (like, say, training for a marathon) is you start finding out all kinds of things about your body's weak points.

For a couple of weeks I've been getting headaches after running for a while. I assumed it was something to do with the cold, but they've been getting worse. My worst one was on Saturday. I was supposed to do an easy 6-mile run and quit before I'd finished 5 because my head was hurting so much it was making my teeth ache. It was 75 degrees. I was a little suspicious of the headaches because they're always concentrated in one part of my head, more or less where there are sinus cavities on the right side. I was also getting worried that after all this work, I wouldn't be able to finish the race because of some random headache that appeared out of nowhere.

I finally did a little research and discovered that sinus headaches sometimes manifest as dental pain because there is a sinus cavity underneath your eye that reaches almost to your teeth. To make matters more fun, that particular sinus has to drain upward, meaning that it's very difficult to drain while standing up. I hadn't been feeling congested, so I didn't think sinus problems could be wreaking that much havoc on my head, but when I saw the location and the possibilities for pain it made sense. I have a long history of sinus problems, so I immediately attacked it with a combination of claritin, sudafed, and use of a neti pot. Yesterday I ran 4 miles and not only did I not get a headache, but I could tell that my breathing was much more effective so I wasn't nearly as tired as I'd been during my recent runs. Fingers crossed. I'll pack a lot of medication and hope it continues to work.

I have three more runs before race day: Tuesday, Thursday, and a 20-min run with the team Saturday morning. Homestretch!

Brrrrr!

Anya yelled at me for not posting. So here's a post.

It has gotten chilly here in AA very suddenly. I run in the mornings and always check the temperature before I go out (I think the lowest temp so far has been 26 degrees), but it's super hard after you have just been throwing on a t-shirt and shorts all summer to start to think about weather-appropriate clothing again. Anya went for a run the other day and walked back into the house after about two minutes to get a jacket. Undoubtedly, I think this is one of the most annoying things about running in the fall: relearning what clothes go with what outside temperature. I am just starting to pin down what my classification system is again. For example: if it is above 35 degrees, shorts are still ok. At 54 degrees, I need to switch to long sleeves. 45 degrees deserves a headband and socks for mittens.

I definitely still need to work out the kinks though and every once in a while I find that I have too much clothing and/or accessories after about a mile. This is why I have an excess clothing tree at about that distance in my run. What is an excess clothing tree you ask? Well, it is this young tree on my run that has a bunch of low branches that I can tuck my extra shirt, mittens, headband, etc. into as I go by. Then, on my way back, I pick all that stuff up again. That way, I don't have to carry it all for most of my run. Of course, occassionally, I forget to pick the stuff up on my way back and it kinda just hangs out there on the tree for a day or so. I was telling Anya about my excess clothing tree the other day and she thought it was pretty funny. I'm not sure why. Personally, I am very appreciative of him. He takes good care of my stuff. (And yes, the tree is a boy.)

Closer and Closer

I ran 13.6 miles today, and my pace was about 12.8 min/mile. Unlike last weekend's run, this one was alone and involved some hills. I'm feeling like I'm in good shape for finishing the marathon.

Two weeks....!

Quick Update

I didn't run at all after Saturday, so I made myself go out today. The cold was making me want to stay in and be domestic. But actually, it was really nice. I ran 3.21 miles in 35 mins, which puts me at 10:48. I stopped while I felt good, and I don't feel any more tired now than I did earlier. So maybe I just needed an exercise break. I'll do 12-14 this Saturday, and then serious scaling back (6 the following Saturday).

Seriously, guys, it's getting close!!


On another note, I had to pay the remainder of my $3900 today. By the time the charge goes through I'll be around $1400 short, but I can keep fundraising for another month and then be reimbursed. Although of course I would have liked to keep my contribution lower, I've been really touched by people's generosity, and I feel like the experience I've gotten is invaluable. I have some fundraising stuff in the works, and I'm hoping that at the end I'll pay for the equivalent of my plane ticket and hotel and nothing else.

The Winner Is Me

As Kate so charmingly noted in her last post, today was the 20-mile run.

The day started off overcast and a little foggy, but it wasn't terribly cold when I left the house around 7:25, and the high for the day was supposed to be 73 - a perfect day.

I threw a bunch of gatorade and gus in my car and headed out to Hines Park. This is about 23 miles from my house. When I got there, it was chaos. I was a little later than I wanted to be, and there were runners milling around all over the place. As soon as I parked and started walking over to the other runners, I saw first one and then later the other of my UM compatriots. This turned out to be the first element that made the day pretty awesome.

We got signed in and started running. The course was along the park road, first out and back 5 miles one way, then 11 the other, then an extra 4 again to make the 20. We started with a slightly faster pace than I would have chosen, but I discovered two things:
1) Having people to talk to really does make the time fly. I knew this, but had forgotten how effective it is. Not only do you not notice how long you've been running, but the distraction makes you relax enough to warm up well and get through the initial part where you think you can't possibly run for more than 15 minutes.
2) I'm actually a lot stronger than I thought. It turns out that the hills here have really been taking it out of me. With a flatter course and the blessed regular hydration stations, I had much more stamina than I've felt in the last few weeks.

The result?
I finished in about 4:16, which includes all water stops and one full mile of walking. This puts my pace at 12:48, which is a lot faster than I've done any of my long runs for the last two months. I walked mile 18, and then picked it up again for miles 19 and 20, and my pace was still under 13 for the last two miles. I'm really tired now and I know tomorrow will be rough and achey, but I don't feel completely devastated.

And now I officially start scaling back my distances to prep for race day. Hooray!!

I can't wait!

Anya is going to run her 20-miler on Saturday and no doubt will have an awesome blog posting recapping the event soon afterwards. I can't wait and I know you can't either.

It's been great running weather here in Ann Arbor. Anya has been running in the Arb a lot lately. She says she runs there because it has monster hills (if you've never been, just imagine hills that look like the stock market over the past week) and San Francisco will be hilly as well. I think she just likes to watch the college boys who run there without their shirts on.

Start Spreading the News...

Ok, so I have to admit: I kind of miss running in New York City.
Ann Arbor is pretty and there are country roads and river trails to run on. But it feels kinda lonely.
There's a point when you've been running for an hour and a half when it gets a little boring, and you're a little tired, and muscles are telling you that soon they will start actively protesting, and it seems completely sensible to stop at mile 10 of your 15-mile run. Anyplace I ran in NY, there were so many other people around me running and biking, and there was a sense of camaraderie that helped sustain me the longer I went. Also I think that the city is so large that you lose a sense of the distance you've run, which is psychologically useful for continuing on.

Anyway, a recap of the past week:
I was planning on a long run last Saturday, but I woke up to a torrential downpour that continued for a great deal of the day. After it let up a little, I went out for 8 miles, but it was very difficult to breathe as the humidity was still over 90%. Sunday it was still pouring, so I went to the gym with the goal of wearing myself out. It took half an hour on the bike, an hour on the elliptical, and half an hour on the treadmill.

Tuesday we were supposed to simulate a 4-mile race by warming up for a full mile and then trying to maintain an even pace at fairly high effort for 4 miles. This is straightforward in Central Park: the paths have been measured and so you know more or less where to go for what distance. Also, there are hills but most of them aren't particularly significant. Here, there are bigger hills and anywhere I went that would be safe in the evening involves crossing a lot of streets, which isn't conducive to a steady pace. So I went to the gym to use the treadmill. When I did the Run for Central Park in July, which was a 4-mile race, my pace was 10:47. So I figured ok, it's two months later and I'm stronger, so 10:40 should be completely reasonable. Right. After 2 miles I thought I was going to pass out. I'm sure a lot of it is the treadmill, which to me feels extremely unnatural in terms of constantly keeping up an exact pace, and again is psychologically difficult to stick with, but I was kind of frustrated. Again, this weekend, I went to do a 15-mile run and came home after 13. I think the fact that I'm not sleeping enough or drinking enough water is really catching up to me. I really need to make an effort to take care of myself.

One thing that was reassuring was all along I've been thinking I have to finish in five and a half hours in order to get the finishers' goodies (running shirt, Tiffany necklace). This is an average pace of 12:35. For shorter runs, this would be no problem at all. But once I get up over 10 miles, this was getting worrisome. Although I'd like first and foremost to just through the race, it would be painfully disappointing if I didn't get the bling, in part because of what it represents. I was looking at the website the other day though, and I think it's more like 6.5 hours. This is a 14:53 pace, which even if I end up walking a chunk of it, is still reasonable.

Yay Timely Posts!

Hi all, guest blogger Kate here! As Anya noted in her post, I got sick of waiting and waiting and waiting to hear about Anya's running adventures on her blog. I'm sure you all feel the same way. However, one of the many benefits of being Anya's roomie is that I often get to see Anya's running adventures as they unfold in real life. For my first ever post, I will share a very recent example: this evening, Anya ran into my room while I was dutifully studying (ok, ok, watching buffy) because she just had to show me how her running jacket matched her running shoes (both were a weird teal color) and her running shirt matched her running watch (both maroonish or something - the light is not that great in my room) and how, generally, everything she was wearing jived extremely well together. I think this is all very funny because I have been running for going on eight years now and am fairly confident that I have never walked out of the door to go for a run wearing anything that even remotely matched.

Ok, over and out for now, but I promise to try my very best to uphold my sacred oath as guest blogger and keep you all informed of Anya's running adventures!

Introducing My New Guest Blogger!

So my roomie gets really ornery about my failure to update. Therefore, she is now a guest blogger.
Also she's a better runner than I am AND she's running the Detroit half marathon the same day that I'm running a WHOLE marathon in SF.
Hooray!