Running!!

Now that the weather is cooler and the humidity is gone, running is wonderful again!! Ok I've only run twice this month. TWICE. And I have a half marathon in less than a month?? Ooook. No but get this:

1. I've come to terms with this Half not being the Half for me. Some people can train just fine in the humidity. Maybe they don't like it, but they do it anyway. I'm looking at you Claire ;) The winter was brutal, but I kept at it. When the wind was just too icy I bought a balaclava. When the sidewalks were covered with a foot of snow, I barreled through them. But in my own mind nothing can help humidity...except running indoors. Now, next year I think I might invest in a gym membership during the summer months, but that doesn't battle dreadmill boredom. Which leads me to...

2. With a month left, I was so fed up with not being able to run, I attempted to find some sort of indoor access. I had to rule out a day pass (do these still exist?) at the Y because I wasn't sure how I'd be able to handle running 144 times around the track (to do 12 miles). I also ruled out the Pettit Nat'l Ice Center's track because of the Wisconsin State Fair burgling the parking, causing its close to the public. I finally decided on using my parents' Nordic Track which is NOT a treadmill and five billion times harder than running!!! I could only do an hour. Which in Nordo time is apparently THREE MILES??? You've gotta be kidding me. I wasn't aware at how much different the muscle usage is...it's like riding a bike basically only standing up. The bottoms of my feet killed (like peddling would do), and my quads were worked like you wouldn't believe. Overall a GOOD workout for some cross training but not such a good substitute for a 12mi run. And staring at my parents' basement wall covered in Lord of the Rings posters and Presidential Exercise Awards "signed" by Bush himself, failed in the scenery department. All I had were the soothing sounds of Ira Glass to whisk me away.

3. The humidity broke this past Sunday and I didn't have time to squeeze two hours in, so I saved it for bright and early Monday morning before work. 5am, two hours and eight minutes, a SPECK shy of 12 miles. The weather was PERFECT. The two episodes of TAL eased the time. And I felt pretty good. Except for my feet...which brings me to:

4. Shoes. I've barely put 250miles on my current shoes. Maybe 300? But seriously not enough to require a new pair. But my feet KILL. I know your feet aren't going to feel the greatest after 12 miles, but honestly?? There's no way I'd be able to take much more and there are people out there who run like 50miles at a time! They just, I don't know, HURT. The bottoms. It's not blisters...it's just the whole foot. Like in the bones. Now as much as I never wanted to admit it, I don't think this current pair of shoes was ever for me. I've had problems from the getgo. Like the outside of my arch hurting. What causes that?! So yeah, I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a new pair. And REALLY get checked this time. The girl who sold me my first shoes (my former HS classmate) did a great job. Those ASIC Cumulus ruled. But these Kayanos I picked out myself because they were $40 off. Stupid. In addition to my feet killing me, I did something to that tendon that's right on the top of my ankle. Some kind of tibial something or other. It got all super puffed out and bulgy about 3 hours after my run. Ice and wrapping it did wonders though as now it's fine. I've never hurt that part of my foot in my year and a half though, so now I'm wondering if THAT'S a shoe issue as well!

5. EXCITED ABOUT RUNNING! Buying new shoes for over $100 MAKES you into running again! I also downloaded the iPhone iMapMyRun app because I don't own a Garmin and I heard that this app is actually surprisingly accurate. I bought a little pouch thing that snaps around my waste to carry my gels and my iPhone fits there just fine...so I'll test it out one of these days...use the app as well as map out/time my run manually. Cool weather is right around the corner. Just gotta get through August and the Indian Summer of September. Then I'm golden! Ready to take running by storm once again!

6. With that said, because this Chicago Half Marathon is a wash for getting anywhere close to a PR (just have NOT trained hard enough), I've got my eyes set on possibly running another Half on November 6...8 weeks from Chicago. It's like long enough to retool my training but short enough where I won't just slack off and lose interest (see: the past few months). I've also got three other races on the docket in October: an 8K, a 10K, and a 15K respectively, in that order. So that'll be good for training too.

7. The end!

Controversy

No, not the controversy regarding the fact that I FINALLY ran yesterday...the first run since the Half...ouch :) I'm talking about the controversy surrounding listening to music during races, or even running in general. Yesterday, while researching the volunteer opportunities for Milwaukee's Lakefront Marathon this October, I stumbled upon the story of one of the runners from last year getting DQ'd for wearing headphones during a couple miles of the marathon (against the rules if you're an elite runner racing for the cash).

I then stumbled upon See Dane Run's blog where he discusses his personal distaste for running with music. What struck me, however, was that he used to like to listen to music on runs...that he "understands the allure." This got me thinking about the gray area inside the two opposing groups, To iPod or Not To iPod?

I've mentioned my running music story before over at Mag's blog, but to recap: because my old iPod pussed out on me, and because of running in the city at night, I stopped listening to music on my runs. And after the first couple times, I didn't even notice anymore. And I wasn't any faster or slower without the music either.

I do love music, however. At work, I'm usually headphones-on, and I'm that girl you hate who rolls her eyes when she has to take them off ;) I exchange new music with my indie-loving coworkers, but I love everything from Pink Floyd to the Dorsey Brothers, from Fleet Foxes to the Presets, from Simon & Garfunkel to Jay Z. Thus, I wondered if I'm supposed to be equally obsessed with listening to music while I run. As you know, I got my new iPod, loaded it up, and even made a specific playlist for my Half. This race, however, was actually an interesting test and confirmed a few things I was starting to realize about running and music:

1. It can be distracting, but in a bad way, oddly enough. While I loved the music when I first started, and I loved singing along to parts of songs that totally amp me up (looking at you Lady Gaga), which DID give me a burst of energy, I have to admit that for the last 3-4 miles of the Half, the music started to annoy me. Like parts of songs I wasn't as into made me more frustrated than usual, if that makes any sense. And when that happened, I kinda lost focus on the race itself.

2. MOST of my small handful of races have been iPod free. And I do remember how I liked hearing the variety of breath patterns and pattering of running shoes and along the pavement. It felt like a race rather than a training run. Don't get me wrong, the Half felt like a race. But I was definitely in a little cocoon-like iPod "pod"...aware of my surroundings, but focused more inward to the music, as opposed to outward at the race.

3. While I made sure I thanked/waved/smiled/thumbs up'd almost all the volunteers at the Half, I didn't necessarily hear their cheers with my music on. Normally the races I run aren't that packed with spectators, but if there are spectators, I'd hate to look like I was ignoring their praise with my earbuds planted firmly in place. They took time out of their morning to cheer us on, the least we can do is be grateful and give them a nod of appreciation, right?

4. Maybe I am loosing out on an opportunity to be quiet and one with my thoughts when I listen to music. I certainly remember appreciating sights and sounds when I'd run without it. In fact, I'd often try to look for funny observances that I'd relay back on this blog when I'd run sans iPod.

With all this said, however, I will admit a gray area. There are runs you just don't feel like doing and music definitely helps give a much-needed boost. I also admit that podcasts are a cool way to learn while running. As I've mentioned previously, This American Life has opened my eyes to a lot about our world, which is never a bad thing! Especially when you've got two hours of running ahead of you. Music can be a distraction from pain and I did use it to escape from the havoc inside my body during the 14 mile training run.

At the end of the day, I guess you just have to go with how you're feeling. While I think it's important to experience a musicless run from time to time, especially if you're a. running in nature (to experience those unique sounds), b. running in the city (to be safe), and c. running in a race (to appreciate the runners and spectators around you). I also think music can help during training, especially if you have to run the same route over and over and need SOMETHING to liven the experience.

I encourage you to read the comments at Dane's blog to see what a lot of other non-music runners have to say on the topic. It definitely made me think about leaving the iPod at home more often...especially for races!

Pre-Half Marathon - Part One

Man I better get out of this funk I'm in :\ I don't know what my problem is today, but I'm all meh-ish and blah. And it's beautiful outside too! I'll work out when I get home, maybe that'll put a skip back into my step.

In any case, it's like five--well pretty much FOUR days until the Half, and I'm nervous. I'm freaking myself out I think. There's nothing at all to be nervous about. It's "just running" haha! I've put in all the work. Nothing has gone horribly wrong. My knees feel decent, no worse than they ever do. It looks like it's going to be in the 50s and sunny. I really couldn't ask for a better set-up! I just need the morning to get here already, that's all. Just have to get through these next few days...

So on that note, here is my Week-Of Half Marathon Plan:

• Lots of water. I have a work tailgating party on Thursday where there will be beer-a-plenty, and of course I'm going to indulge, I'm too weak not too ;) But I will focus on a max of one. And in the meantime, water up any chance I get.

• Lots of sleep. I wasn't feelin' so hot this morning, so I took a half of a sick day and slept till 10. I know right? I swear, something is up with my body right now and I don't like it. I was talking to this marathoner/biker neighbor of mine the other day and he said "Make sure you get good sleep TWO nights before the race because you'll be all jacked up the night before and probably won't get good sleep no matter how hard you try." Good point. I read that sleep as a "lag time" of like 36 hours anyway, so it's much more important to get good sleep this whole week than the night before.

• Lots of carbs. Complex carbs/protein a tad more than usual all week. But keep fat and sugar at an even lower level than usual!! This is something I've already f'ed up today because I'm going sugar CRAZY having given it up the past six weeks. I've read some contradictory stuff about over-loading on carbs the night before. I think if I maintain a slightly elevated level all week, and just eat a healthy portion the night before, I'll be good to go. And NO salad...my belly doesn't like roughage before running. ;)

• Morning Plan: Breakfast will be an egg and toast and water right when I get up. I've got two precious Espresso Hammer Gels left for the occasion, so since they have caffeine in them, I'm trying to figure out if I should have just a little coffee when I wake up. I'm a MUST-HAVE-two-mugs-per-morning kinda gal, but hopefully like 8oz of coffee plus the gels PLUS the adrenaline will keep me jazzed up. In addition to the gels, I'll be bringing my Fuel Belt water bottle because my gummy mouth doesn't wait for water stations.

• IPOD! There were many combos of things I could do here. I'm backed up on This American Life podcasts, so I thought about Hour One devoted to TAL, and the remaining race devoted to music. But I've been on a music kick lately, so I found 2.4 hours of stuff to fill the entire race. This includes Girl Talk, of course, along with Lady Gaga and Pet Shop Boys, my more recent running music buddies. Added The Presets, Junior Boys, Scissor Sisters, and Cut Copy as well. Also making the list "Party in the USA." Random right? Awhile back, when the song first came out, I thought about it being a perfect running song and said to myself: "This will be the first song I'll add to my new iPod once I buy one." And so it was written, and so it shall be done.

Ok! Well it helps a little to visual this plan. I've run half the course on my regular runs, so I know the area. I just need to focus on the positives of the experience. You can't worry about something that may happen until it happens!

Part Two to follow on Friday.......

Half Training - Week Nine

I'm officially over yet another hump...the distance. Yesterday was my 14 mile run, and the furthest I'll go in my training. And possibly the furthest I'll go for quite awhile. It's going to be my White Whale. For this was a distance that SERIOUSLY pushed me to my pain threshold.

Let me start off with the fact that while last Tuesday's 5 mile was amazing and quick, my second 5 mile on Friday was horrible. My legs just wouldn't go! They were stiff and I never hit a comfortable stride. It put me in the worst mood for the rest of the day, let me tell you. So I did the 14 yesterday, hoping that Friday was just a fluke. Nope. I could tell right away that it was going to be more of the same: that stiffness that prevents a nice comfy stride. I do have to admit that I decided on a quicker pace than usual. Probably too quick. But I have a running acquaintance who just started, is training for a Half, and totally leaves me in the dust. This person is about my same size, age, etc. Jealousy is ugly my friends, it really is. It gets the best out of me sometimes. That's why I chose the quote that's at the top of this blog. Something to remind me that this is my own journey, no one else's. But meanwhile, jealousy also pushes me to be better. So I pushed this weekend and I pushed hard.

So basically, it wasn't that I was tired during my run, or that I was out of breath, or that I had cramps. It was solely my legs. They ached all over. It didn't feel like a pull or an injury of any kind. Just an all-over pain from the thigh all the way down to the bottoms of my feet. And they felt this way the entire time. So basically I was putting myself through pretty awful pain for a solid 2 and a half hours. I stopped maybe 3-4 times for intersections, stretched, but never walked.

Now, I'm trying REALLY hard not to be a wimp here, honestly. Because DUH running is freaking hard! This I know. Just for some reason yesterday was particularly rough. There were times where I wanted to cry a little, but I tried to pay more attention to This American Life and Girl Talk, my aforementioned saviors on these long runs. There were also times when I felt pure unadulterated glee! Granted these lasted about 30 seconds and maybe there were a total of 3-4 glee segments. Two minutes of glee gets lost in the 2.5hrs of pain.

The last three miles were probably the hardest I've ever pushed my body. I kept thinking: how will I make it??? And then I'd tell myself: Omg you have THREE miles left, just get through it it'll be fine! I also put this "I Am A Warrior" mantra into effect, and that helped a lot. But I could tell, I was running so awkwardly. Not exactly like limping, but picture sort of a waddle? Like a granny running? Or running after riding a horse for five hours? That's what I felt like (probably looked normal though). Around the 11.5 mile, I had to stop to wait for a traffic light. I stretched a little and drank water (hooray for my hand-held Fuel Belt bottle!!!!). But when I started back up??? NIGHTMARISH. It felt like running on broken legs! Guh. The other thing is that I kept thinking: aren't my endorphins supposed to kick in? Whatever those are called? Where's the "runner's high" from being in so much pain that my body just goes on auto-pilot? I think I was born without the capacity for a runner's high. Which kinda sucks because that's half the fun of BEING a long distance runner in the first place!

Anyway, so the final block, I sprinted. I always sprint. Even when there's nothing left. And when I crossed the imaginary line, I cried. Yep, couldn't hold it in. And it was the heaving type of crying, like not so much tears, but heavy jagged inhaling. And it wouldn't stop! I seriously felt like such a pansy! Well from the ridiculous to the ridiculous, I dragged myself up the stairs by my arms, and took off my ipod/shoes/jacket/clothes like an elderly person. I put the bathtub faucet at the coldest it could get. I grabbed my half gallon of chocolate milk and I got into the water. I cried some more because THAT was insanely painful. I put my running socks back on because my toes just couldn't withstand the cold. I sat there for about 15 minutes, soppy running socks, sweatshirt on, drinking chocolate milk and talking to myself aloud: "That was really horrible right? I mean that was seriously painful, am I wrong? I can't do that any more can I? Can I?? Thank God the Half is shorter than that. How do people run marathons? I just don't get it." And more crying. I got out and shivered for a solid half hour while I went on the internet, waiting for my skin to reach room temp so it wouldn't be such a shock when I took the HOTTEST shower I could!!

My boyfriend came home from work with a hot chocolate cherry mocha :) and made an Indian chicken dish...PERFECT for getting some proteins in my system. I spent the rest of the night collapsed on the couch watching that new Life series on Discovery HD, and probably had one of the best nights sleep in history. Today I'm sore, but not too awful. At lunch, I volunteered at my church's soup kitchen, which is a lot of scampering and squeezing around a tiny, tight dining area, and I handled it ok.

So now what's the Plan of Attack from here?
1. I've still got my two 5mi runs during the week, plus cross. This next weekend my "long" run drops significantly by half with an 8 mile, but I'm going to listen really intensely to my body and make sure this will be ok. How HORRIFYING would it be to go through all of this work and pain only to injure myself in the final weeks of training?! I officially know that I can do the 13.1, so that's all that really matters. While I tried really hard not to pay attention to my TIME, considering a good time (for someone with my experience) was inevitable, but I'm going to try not to obsess over it.
2. I'm going to pay more attention to my diet. I don't think I'm getting enough good carbs and DEFINITELY not getting enough protein. Especially right after my runs when those things are key. You can eat all the carbs/proteins in the world six hours after your run but they aren't going to replenish your muscles like they would right afterward. I'm also going to drink more water, less booze. Not that I'm some lush, but in these last three weeks, I've gotta just hunker down. A friend of mine just called me this morning who is in the Police Academy and wanted to know if I would participate in a study they were doing for class. Drink as much as you can in a small amount of time so the students could have experience with drunks. I passed it up. Free booze! I'm from WI, where that's like a mortal sin! ;) I kid of course (sort of), but honestly, I have to take better care of my body! Hopefully it'll help.

Ok that's all I got! Thanks yet again for reading the novels I write here, yikes! I just have to tell myself that this is probably a cake walk compared to being in labor for three days ;)

Half Training - Week Eight

I'm going to try REALZ hard to keep this short because my posts are far too long and blathery and peeps ain't got no time to be readin' these novels!!

I just got back from my TWELVE MILE RUN WHAT THE EFF?!?!??! I can't believe I did it. I mean I can't believe I DID IT did it! I will say this...I kept my promise of takin' 'er easy and stopping to stretch. I kind of had no choice. LOTS of super busy intersections! See I ran from my house in Bayview to my parents in Greenfield. This means nothing to most people person(s) reading this blog, but it's from Lake to 43rd St, with some wind-y-ness mixed in, which still makes no sense. Alls I know is that at my half way point which was "only" six miles, I looked to the north and could see downtown like super far in the distance and I got chills a little bit. Maaaaaaaaybe that could've been the yucky weather though...it was chilly, dismal, SUPER windy, and just generally the blahish day you could imagine. But I was kinda happy to be able to wear a jacket because I had a lot to carry. I've been all about bringing my phone just in case I seriously injure myself...so far so good!

So the run itself was good and bad. I mean not horrendous or anything, but I was really dehydrated. I had some delicious Bloody Marys with my mom last night :) And then a salty George Webb's MEGA breakfast of eggs, 'cakes, bacons, and 'browns MMMMM! I tried to drink as much water as I could, but omg, at mile 5ish, I was SO THIRSTY!!! I finally stopped at a gas station hoping they'd have a drinking fountain (bubbler, whatever, I'm from Iowa), and they didn't of course, so I had to cup my inked up hands (more crib notes) and drink from the faucet. Yikes. Hopefully I'm not bent over the toilet tomorrow! It barely made a dent in my thirst, so I just dealt with it at that point and learned my lesson. The funny thing is that after my MEGA breakfast at Webb's, the BF and I went to Sports Authority so I could buy some ankle weights and I scoured and asked about the Fuel Belt hand held water bottle. SA doesn't carry the awesomeness, so I walked away thirsty.

I think the biggest struggle were miles 7-10. I was just losing steam and sore and just like "why am I doing this again???" What kept me sane was two episodes of This American Life: "My Pen Pal" and "My Experimental Phase"...I had heard of This American Life before, but never really checked it out as I'm not necessarily and NPR/Talkish Radio type. But omg, this show is aaaaaaaaaaaaaaddicting!!!! I just get glued to every episode. Which translates to: um, perfect distance running companion??? YES! So these kept most of my attention away from pain and thirst. THEN because clearly my 12 miles were going to go over the 2 hour mark (and TAL eps are an hour long)...I switched Orange Bomb over to Girl Talk who, if you aren't already aware, is this dude who, among other things, mixes dirty booty hip hop with The Sounds of the Seventies. Seriously though, this guy's a genius and I went to his show here in Milwaukee awhile back and FREAKED OUT. I lost a flip flop. I lost 10 gallons of water via sweat. I danced on stage. It was amazing. ANYWAY! Gregg's music gets me through anything, so I started up Night Ripper and my last mile was absolutely the best mile I've ever run in my life. I didn't know I had anything left in my tank, but here it was!! I was fist pumping and rappin' along with Luda and just, yeah, freaking out all over the road! People in Greenfield, WI probably thought I was nuts.

So I did NOT bring my watch. But I left exactly at 2:00 and rolled in around 4:19. Now that includes all my stretch stops and dirty faucet shenanigans, so I'm all right with that time! When I got to my parents' house, I ran upstairs and immediately ran a COLD BATH!!! I didn't have any ice, but I wanted to try out this whole ice-ish bath phenomenon! Omg it's amazing! It really helps!! And I think I'd be able to withstand the ice too if I poured it in after sitting in the cold water for awhile. So yeah, I chatted with my mom and sat in the water for about 15 and then she drove me back home. THANKS MOMSI!

So yep! Only 1.1 miles to go and I'm there baby! Although next week is supposed to be 14...yowzah! Good times....good times.

Ok so I wrote a novel anyway. Then I'll spare you the details of when I ran 4.6mi during my lunch hour in the rain and didn't bring a hair dryer so pretty much had to be at my place of work with wet hair in two little buns at the top of my head for the remainder of the afternoon. Lesson learned! But I did that 4.6 in 9:05 minute miles, and THAT was awesome in my book!

Not awesome in my book?? PUSH UPS. I am absolutely terrible at push ups. I do the designated amount, but just SUCK at them. I'll keep trying though. It's all I can do! But yay for ankle weights! I'm hoping that in the final month of training for the Half, I'll be able to strengthen my legs more so it won't be as painful. Fingers crossed!

OH! One final thing...love Hammer Gel, but Hammer Gel Vanilla????? Yikes. It tasted like cold medicine. Very strange! No biggie...I still got my Espresso!